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Republic of Dagestan
Republic
Республика Дагестан
Other transcription(s)
 • AvarДагъистан ЖумхӀурият
Flag of Republic of Dagestan
Flag
Coat of arms of Republic of Dagestan
Coat of arms
Anthem: National Anthem of the Republic of Dagestan
CountryRussia
Federal districtNorth Caucasian[1]
Economic regionNorth Caucasus[2]
CapitalMakhachkala
Government
 • BodyPeople's Assembly[3]
 • Acting President[3]Ramazan Abdulatipov[4]
Area
[5]
 • Total50,300 km2 (19,400 sq mi)
 • Rank52nd
Population
 (2010 census)[6]
 • Total2,910,249
 • Estimate 
(2018)[7]
3,063,885 (+5.3%)
 • Rank12th
 • Density58/km2 (150/sq mi)
 • Urban
45.2%
 • Rural
54.8%
Time zoneUTC+3 (MSK Edit this on Wikidata[8])
ISO 3166 codeRU-DA
License plates05
OKTMO ID82000000
Official languagesRussian;[9] Aghul, Avar, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Dargwa, Kumyk, Lak, Lezgian, Nogai, Rutul, Tabasaran, Tsakhur[10][11]
Websitehttp://www.e-dag.ru/

The Republic of Dagestan (/[invalid input: 'icon']dɑːɡ[invalid input: 'ɨ']ˈstɑːn/ or /ˈdæɡ[invalid input: 'ɨ']stæn/; Russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, [Respublika Dagestan] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help); also spelled Daghestan) is a federal subject (a republic) of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea.

With a population of 2,910,249,[6] Dagestan is ethnically very diverse (it is Russia's most heterogeneous republic, where no ethnic group forms a majority) with several dozen ethnic groups and subgroups inhabiting the republic, most of which speak Caucasian and Turkic languages. Largest among these ethnic groups are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Azeri, Lezgin, and Laks.[13] Ethnic Russians comprise about 4.5% of Dagestan's total population.[14] Russian is the primary official language and the lingua franca among the ethnic groups.[15]

Dagestan has been a scene of low-level Islamic insurgency, occasional outbreaks of separatism, ethnic tensions and terrorism since the 1990s. According to International Crisis Group, the militant Islamist organization Shariat Jamaat is responsible for much of the violence.[16] Much of the tension is rooted in an internal Islamic conflict between traditional Sufi groups advocating secular government and more recently introduced Salafist teachers preaching the implementation of Sharia law in Dagestan.

Toponymy

The word Dagestan is of Turkic and Persian origin. Dağ means 'mountain' in Turkish, and -stan is a Sanskrit suffix meaning 'land'. The word Dagestan therefore means 'the land of mountains'. Dagestan used to be called Kohestan 'mountainous place' in Persian and Arabized as Ghahestan. When the Persian language gradually faded in those regions and the Turkish language prevailed, the Persian koh (kuh in contemporary Persian) was replaced with its Turkic equivalent dagh. The present city transliterated as Derbent is from the Persian Darband, meaning a point on a mountain that one cannot climb further. In Persian Islamic mysticism Darband is the place where Simorgh (Shahrokh or Phoenix) lives and is the end point and farthest point of the world that man can imagine. Some areas of Dagestan were known as Albania, Avaria, and Tarkov at various times.[17]

Names for Dagestan

  • Aghul – Республика Дагъустан (Respublika Daɣustan)
  • Arabic – جمهورية داغستان (Jumhūrīyat Dāghistān)
  • Avar – Дагъистаналъул Республика (Daɣistanałul Respublika)
  • Azerbaijani – Дағыстан Республикасы / Dağıstan Respublikası
  • Chechen – Деxастан пачхьалкъ (Dexastan Pačxalqʼ)
  • Dargin – Дагъистанес Республика (Daɣistanes Respublika)
  • Kumyk – Дагъыстан Республикасы (Dağıstan Respublikası)
  • Lezgian – Дагъустандин Республика (Daɣustandin Respublika)
  • Lak – Дагъустаннал Республика (Daɣustannal Respublika)
  • Nogai – Дагъыстан Республикасы (Dağıstan Respublikası)
  • Persian – جمهوری داغستان (Jomhuriye Dâghestân)
  • Russian – Респу́блика Дагеста́н (Respublika Dagestan)
  • Rutul – Республика Дагъустан (Respublika Daɣustan)
  • Tabasaran – Дагъустан Республика (Daɣustan Respublika)
  • Tsakhur – Республика Дагъустан (Respublika Daɣustan)
  • Turkish – Dağıstan Cumhuriyeti

Geography

The republic is situated in the North Caucasus mountains. It is the southernmost part of Russia, and is bordered on its eastern side by the Caspian Sea.

Rivers

Map of Dagestan

There are over 1,800 rivers in the republic. Major rivers include:

Lakes

Dagestan has about 400 kilometers (250 mi) of coast line on the Caspian Sea.

Mountains

Most of the Republic is mountainous, with the Greater Caucasus Mountains covering the south. The highest point is the Bazardyuzi peak at 4,466 m.

Natural resources

Dagestan is rich in oil, natural gas, coal, and many other minerals.

Climate

The climate is hot and dry in the summer but the winters are harsh in the mountain areas.

  • Average January temperature: +2 °C (36 °F)
  • Average July temperature: +26 °C (79 °F)
  • Average annual precipitation: 250 (northern plains) to 800 mm (in the mountains).

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Dagestan

History

Main article: History of Dagestan
Map of the Caucasian isthmus. Designed and drawn by J. Grassl, 1856
In the old town of Derbent, a World Heritage Site

The oldest records about the region refer to the state of Caucasian Albania in the south, with its capital at Derbent and other important centres at Chola, Toprakh Qala, and Urtseki. The northern parts were held by a confederation of Dagestani tribes. In the first few centuries AD, Caucasian Albania continued to rule over what is present day Azerbaijan and mountains of Dagestan. It was fought over in classical times by Rome and the Persian Sassanids and was early converted to Christianity.

In the 5th century AD, the Sassanids gained the upper hand and constructed a strong citadel at Derbent, known henceforward as the Caspian Gates, while the northern part of Dagestan was overrun by the Huns, followed by the Caucasian Avars. It is not clear whether the latter were instrumental in the rise of the Christian kingdom in the Central Dagestan highlands. Known as Sarir, this Avar-dominated state maintained a precarious existence in the shadow of Khazaria and the Caliphate until the 9th century, when it managed to assert its supremacy in the region.

In 664, the Persians were succeeded in Derbent by the Arabs who clashed with the Khazars. Although the local population rose against the Arabs of Derbent in 905 and 913, Islam was eventually adopted in urban centres, such as Samandar and Kubachi (Zerechgeran), from where it steadily penetrated into the highlands. By the 15th century, Albanian Christianity had died away, leaving a 10th-century church at Datuna as the sole monument to its existence.

Due to Muslim pressure and internal disunity, Sarir disintegrated in the early 12th century, giving way to the Khanate of Avaristan, a long-lived Muslim state that braved the devastating Mongol invasions of 1222 and 1239, followed by Tamerlane's raid in 1389.

Kaitag embroidered textile, early 19th century, from southwest Dagestan

As the Mongol authority gradually eroded, new centres of power emerged in Kaitagi and Tarki. In the 16th and 17th centuries, legal traditions were codified and mountainous communities (djamaats) obtained a considerable degree of autonomy, while the Kumyk potentates (shamhals) asked for the Tsar's protection. Russians intensified their hold in the region in the 18th century, when Peter the Great annexed maritime Dagestan in the course of the First Russo-Persian War. Although the territories were returned to Persia in 1735, the next bout of hostilities resulted in the Russian capture of Derbent in 1796.

The 18th century also saw the resurgence of the Khanate of Avaristan, which managed to repulse the attacks of Nadir Shah of Persia and impose tribute on Shirvan and Georgia. In 1803 the khanate voluntarily submitted to Russian authority, but it took Persia a decade to recognize all of Dagestan as the Russian possession (Treaty of Gulistan).

The Russian administration, however, disappointed and embittered the highlanders. The institution of heavy taxation, coupled with the expropriation of estates and the construction of fortresses (including Makhachkala), electrified highlanders into rising under the aegis of the Muslim Imamate of Dagestan, led by Ghazi Mohammed (1828–32), Gamzat-bek (1832–34) and Shamil (1834–59). This Caucasian War raged until 1864, when Shamil was captured and the Khanate of Avaristan was abolished.

Dagestani man, photographed by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, circa 1907 to 1915

Dagestan and Chechnya profited from the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878, to rise together against Imperial Russia for the last time (Chechnya rose again various times throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries).

After the Bolshevik Revolution, Ottoman armies occupied Azerbaijan and Dagestan and the region became part of the short-lived Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus. After more than three years of fighting White movement reactionaries and local nationalists, the Bolsheviks achieved victory and the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed on 20 January 1921. Nevertheless, Stalin's industrialization largely bypassed Dagestan and the economy stagnated, making the republic the poorest region in Russia.

As with its neighbors Georgia, Azerbaijan and Chechnya, Dagestan developed a renewed nationalist movement in the late 1980s. Dagestani nationalism, however, rested on very unstable foundations, as the republic was (and is) extremely multiethnic, with many of its regions being recent additions, and even the existence of a unified Dagestan was relatively new with little historical context (previously, Avaria had been a separate entity, and most areas were completely unrelated to any sort of centralizing government). Dagestan's new elite, composed overwhelmingly of Avars, Dargins and Russians founded and consolidated its power. To this day, Dagestan is a very troubled region. There are various underground Wahhabist/Islamist movements (some more moderate than others, there was also a constitutional Islamizationist party before it was banned), originating as early as the late 80s.

Dagestan's poor population, often displeased with the "official" clergy (who they deem as government puppets, either of the Dagestani government or of Russia), is occasionally drawn to these groups as a form or reaction against the government (not in the least because of the unifying power of the common Muslim religion in a highly multiethnic area paired with the promises of the Islamists to "end inequality, patriarchalism and corruptions of the true faith" paired with their occasional assistance to poor communities). However, attraction to Islamism varies between sectors of the population. People from Southern Dagestan, poorer people, people with a lower education level and people from certain ethnic groups are more inclined to support Islamist tendencies.[citation needed] Whilst people from Northern Dagestan, Russians (who are not Muslim), Turkic peoples (who are often highly syncretic in their practice and often drawn instead to Turkic nationalism as a revolt against the authorities), more wealthy people, people from the hundred-or-so "governmental families", people with a higher education, and groups who are officially "not-native" to Dagestan (Russians, Azerbaijanis, Chechens, etc., regardless of actual nativeness they are not "titular groups") are less inclined.[citation needed] Separatism is also prominent: various groups resent the dominance of Dargins, Avars and Russians in government and revolt against this by calling Dagestan an artificial nation and demanding higher self-determination (i.e. secessionism). This is most noticeable among the Kumyks.[citation needed]

In 1999, a group of Muslim fundamentalists from Chechnya, led by warlords Shamil Basayev and Ibn Al-Khattab, launched a military invasion of Dagestan, with the aim of creating an "independent Islamic State of Dagestan". Although Basayev and Khattab had expected that they would be welcomed as liberators, the Dagestanis instead saw them as occupiers and unwelcome religious fanatics, and the initial resistance against the invasion was provided by the Dagestani police, spontaneous militias and villagers.[citation needed] Once Russian military help arrived, the invaders were beaten and driven back to Chechnya. As a retaliation, Russian forces subsequently reinvaded Chechnya later that year.[citation needed]

Demographics

A couple in traditional dress poses for a portrait in Dagestan. Photographed by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, circa 1907 to 1915.
Ethno-Linguistic groups in the Caucasus region
Dagestani man and woman. Photo of 1904.

Because its mountainous terrain impedes travel and communication, Dagestan is unusually ethnically diverse, and still largely tribal. It is Russia's most heterogeneous republic. Unlike most other parts of Russia, Dagestan's population is rapidly growing.[18]

Population: 2,910,249 (2010 Census);[6] 2,576,531 (2002 Census);[19] 1,802,579 (1989 Soviet census).[20]

Vital statistics

Source: Russian Federal State Statistics Service
Average population (x 1000) Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Fertility rates
1970 1,438 41,381 9,543 31,838 28.8 6.6 22.1
1975 1,544 42,098 10,292 31,806 27.3 6.7 20.6
1980 1,655 44,088 11,188 32,900 26.6 6.8 19.9
1985 1,744 50,053 12,010 38,043 28.7 6.9 21.8
1990 1,848 48,209 11,482 36,727 26.1 6.2 19.9 3.07
1991 1,906 47,461 12,062 35,399 24.9 6.3 18.6 2.94
1992 1,964 44,986 12,984 32,002 22.9 6.6 16.3 2.70
1993 2,012 41,863 14,777 27,086 20.8 7.3 13.5 2.46
1994 2,117 44,472 15,253 29,219 21.0 7.2 13.8 2.45
1995 2,209 45,680 15,700 29,980 20.7 7.1 13.6 2.41
1996 2,251 42,282 15,565 26,717 18.8 6.9 11.9 2.19
1997 2,308 41,225 15,662 25,563 17.9 6.8 11.1 2.10
1998 2,363 41,164 15,793 25,371 17.4 6.7 10.7 2.05
1999 2,417 38,281 16,020 22,261 15.8 6.6 9.2 1.87
2000 2,464 38,229 16,108 22,121 15.5 6.5 9.0 1.82
2001 2,511 38,480 15,293 23,187 15.3 6.1 9.2 1.79
2002 2,563 41,204 15,887 25,317 16.1 6.2 9.9 1.85
2003 2,609 41,490 15,929 25,561 15.9 6.1 9.8 1.81
2004 2,647 41,573 15,724 25,849 15.7 5.9 9.8 1.76
2005 2,684 40,814 15,585 25,229 15.2 5.8 9.4 1.69
2006 2,721 40,646 15,939 24,707 14.9 5.9 9.1 1.64
2007 2,761 45,470 15,357 30,113 16.5 5.6 10.9 1.81
2008 2,804 49,465 15,794 33,671 17.6 5.6 12.0 1.94
2009 2,850 50,416 16,737 33,679 17.7 5.9 11.8 1.96
2010 2,896 52,057 17,013 35,044 18.0 5.9 12.1 1.99
2011 2,914 54,427 16,917 37,510 18.1 5.8 12.3
2012 2,931 56,039 16,547 39,492 19.0 5.6 13.4 2.06(e)


Ethnic groups

The people of Dagestan include a large variety of ethnic groups. According to the 2010 Census,[6] Northeast Caucasians (including Avars, Dargins, Tabasarans and Lezgins) make up almost 77% of the population of Dagestan. Turkic peoples, Kumyks, Nogais and Azerbaijanis make up 19%, and Russians 4%. Other ethnic groups each account for less than 0.5% of the total population.

It should be noted that such groups as the Botlikh, the Andi, the Akhvakhs, the Tsez and about ten other groups were reclassified as Avars between the 1926 and 1939 censuses.[21]

Ethnic
group 		1926 Census 1939 Census 1959 Census 1970 Census 1979 Census 1989 Census 2002 Census 2010 Census1
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Avars 177,189 22.5% 230,488 24.8% 239,373 22.5% 349,304 24.5% 418,634 25.7% 496,077 27.5% 758,438 29.4% 850,011 29.4%
Dargins 125,707 16.0% 150,421 16.2% 148,194 13.9% 207,776 14.5% 246,854 15.2% 280,431 15.6% 425,526 16.5% 490,384 17.0%
Kumyks 87,960 11.2% 100,053 10.8% 120,859 11.4% 169,019 11.8% 202,297 12.4% 231,805 12.9% 365,804 14.2% 431,736 14.9%
Lezgians 90,509 11.5% 96,723 10.4% 108,615 10.2% 162,721 11.4% 188,804 11.6% 204,370 11.3% 336,698 13.1% 385,240 13.3%
Laks 39,878 5.1% 51,671 5.6% 53,451 5.0% 72,240 5.1% 83,457 5.1% 91,682 5.1% 139,732 5.4% 161,276 5.6%
Tabasarans 31,915 4.0% 33,432 3.6% 33,548 3.2% 53,253 3.7% 71,722 4.4% 78,196 4.6% 111,152 4.3% 118,848 4.1%
Nogais 26,086 3.3% 4,677 0.5% 14,939 1.4% 21,750 1.5% 24,977 1.5% 28,294 1.6% 38,168 1.5% 40,407 1.4%
Rutuls 10,333 1.3% 20,408 2.2% 6,566 0.6% 11,799 0.8% 14,288 0.9% 14,955 0.8% 24,298 0.9% 27,849 1.0%
Aghuls 7,653 1.0% 6,378 0.6% 8,644 0.6% 11,459 0.7% 13,791 0.8% 23,314 0.9% 28,054 1.0%
Tsakhurs 3,531 0.4% 4,278 0.4% 4,309 0.3% 4,560 0.3% 5,194 0.3% 8,168 0.3% 9,771 0.3%
Azerbaijanis 23,428 3.0% 31,141 3.3% 38,224 3.6% 54,403 3.8% 64,514 4.0% 75,463 4.2% 111,656 4.3% 130,919 4.5%
Russians 98,197 12.5% 132,952 14.3% 213,754 20.1% 209,570 14.7% 189,474 11.6% 165,940 9.2% 110,875 4.7% 104,020 3.6%
Chechens 21,851 2.8% 26,419 2.8% 12,798 1.2% 39,965 2.8% 49,227 3.0% 57,877 3.2% 87,867 3.4% 93,658 3.2%
Others 43,861 5.6% 52,031 5.6% 61,495 5.8% 63,787 4.5% 57,892 3.6% 58,113 3.2% 25,835 1.0% 19,646 0.7%
1 18,430 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.[22]

The indigenous ethnic groups of Dagestan are bolded.

There are also forty or so tiny groups such as the Hinukh, numbering 200, or the Akhvakhs, who are members of a complex family of indigenous Caucasians. Notable are also the Hunzib or Khunzal people who live in only four towns in the interior.

Languages

Over thirty local languages are commonly spoken, most belonging to the Northeast Caucasian language family. Russian became the principal lingua franca in Dagestan during the 20th century;[23] prior to that, beginning in the 18th century, it had been Classical Arabic.[24] The northern Avar dialect of Khunzakh has also served as a lingua franca in central Dagestan.[25]

Religion

Religion in Dagestan (2012)[26][27]

  Muslim (83%)
  Russian Orthodox (2.4%)
  Caucasian Neopaganism (2%)
  Unaffiliated Christian (1%)
  Spiritual but not religious (9%)
  Atheist and non-religious (2%)
  Other and undeclared (0.6%)
Makhachkala Grand Mosque
Islamic school in Sasitli village
Znamensky Cathedral in Khasavyurt

According to a 2012 official survey[26] 83% of the population of Dagestan adheres to Islam, 2.4% to the Russian Orthodox Church, 2% to Caucasian Neopaganism, 1% are unaffiliated generic Christians. In addition, 9% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious", 2% is atheist and 0.6% follows other religions or did not answer to the question.[26]

Dagestanis are largely Sunni Muslims, of the Shafii rites, that has been in place for centuries. On the Caspian coast, particularly in and around the port city of Derbent, the population (primarily made of the Azeris) is Shia.

A relatively large number of native Tati speaking Jews, designated by the Soviet state censuses as the "Mountain Jews" were also present in this same coastal areas, but since 1991 and the collapse of the Soviet Union they have migrated to Israel and the United States. These were an extension of much larger Jewish community across the border in Azerbaijan (districts of Quba and Shimakha).[28]

The appearance of Sufi mysticism in Dagestan dates back to the 14th century. The two Sufi tariqas that spread in the North Caucasus were the Naqshbandiya and the Qadiriya. The mystic Tariqas preached tolerance and coexistence between the diverse people in the region. The Communist total intolerance for any religion after the Communist Revolution of 1917 also suppressed the Sufi movements. Shaykh Said Afandi al-Chirkawi is prominent scholar, spiritual leader and murshid of Naqshbandi and Shadhili tariqahs in Dagestan.[29]

After the Russian occupation of Dagestan from Persia in 1813 (see Russo-Persian Wars), and the gradual decline of native values in the region, Islam became a rallying point for all those who wished to preserve their native identity. Rasul Magomedov, a contemporary writer of Dagestan, writes about the unifying role of Islam:

Before Islam, all Dagestani tribes were divided in respect of language, religion, ethnic structure and geography like all other Caucasian peoples. This situation caused severe hostility and conflicts. After all native tribes became Muslims, a unity in belief could be sustained among Dagestani tribes which also stopped ethnic conflicts among them.

The number of Christians among the non-Slavic indigenous population is very low, with estimates between 2,000 and 2,500. Most of these are Pentecostal Christians from the Lak ethnic group.[30][31] The largest congregation is Osanna Evangelical Christian Church (Pentecostal) in Makhachkala, with more than 1,000 members.[32]

Economy

The major industries in Dagestan include oil production, engineering, chemicals, machine building, textile manufacturing, food processing, and the timber. Oil deposits are located in the narrow coastal region. The Dagestani oil is of high quality, and is delivered to other regions. Dagestan's natural gas production goes mostly to satisfy local needs. Agriculture is varied and includes grain-farming, viticulture and wine-making, sheep-farming, and dairying. The engineering and metalworking industries own 20% of the republic's industrial production assets and employ 25% of all industrial workers. Dagestan's hydroelectric power industry is developing rapidly. There are five power plants on the Sulak River providing hydroelectric power. It has been estimated that Dagestan's total potential hydroelectric power resources are 4.4 billion kW. Dagestan has a well-developed transportation system. Railways connect the capital Makhachkala to Moscow, Astrakhan, and the Azerbaijani capital, Baku. The Moscow-Baku highway also passes through Dagestan, and there are air links with major cities.[33][34]

Conditions for economic development are favorable in Dagestan, but – as of 2006 – the republic's low starting level for a successful transition to market relations, in addition to rampant corruption, has made the region highly dependent on its underground economy and the subsidies coming from the central Russian government.[34][35] Corruption in Dagestan is more severe than in other regions of the former Soviet Union, and is coupled with a flourishing black market and clan-based economic system.[16]

In 2011 Rostelecom started implementation of WDM-based equipment on the backbone network for data transmission in the Republic of Dagestan. Due to WDM introduction the fiber-optic communication lines bandwidth increased to 2.5 Gbit/s. Rostelecom invested about 48 million rubles in the project.[36]

Dagestani conflict

Main article: Insurgency in the North Caucasus

Since 2000, Dagestan has been the venue of a low-level guerrilla war, bleeding over from Chechnya; the fighting has claimed the lives of hundreds of federal servicemen and officials – mostly members of local police forces – as well as many Dagestani national rebels and civilians.

More recently, among other incidents:

  • On May 15, 2008, two MVD officers were killed and one police officer heavily wounded during an ambush on their vehicle in Gubden.
  • On September 8, 2008, Abdul Madzhid and several rebels were killed in an ambush by Russian special forces.
  • On October 21, 2008, rebels ambushed a Russian military truck, killing five troops and wounding nine others.
  • On January 6, 2010, a suicide bomber attempted to blow up a police station in Makhachkala, killing six officers and wounding 14 others.
  • On March 31, 2010, 12 people were killed and 18 wounded by two suicide bombings in the town of Kizlyar outside the offices of the local interior ministry and the FSB security agency. The second bomb went off twenty minutes after the first, as a crowd had gathered. In the early hours of the next morning two people died as a bomb went off in their car, apparently prematurely, near the village of Toturbiikala.
  • On July 15, 2010, Pastor Artur Suleimanov, a Muslim convert to Christianity, was murdered by a gunman. The pastor was killed in his car as he was leaving the Hosanna House of Prayer in Makhachkala, Dagestan in the North Caucasus region, according to a religious persecution watchdog group, Voice of the Martyrs, report. Pastor Suleimanov's church is one of the largest Protestant churches in Dagestan. Christians in the Russian Republic of Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, face harassment and intimidation from various groups. Pastor Suleimanov's life had been threatened on several previous occasions.[37]
  • On September 23, 2011, Magomed Murtuzaliyev, a high-level law enforcement official, was shot and killed by gunmen.[38]
  • On September 28, 2011, 7 civilians and a police officer were killed by a car bomb in the village of Hajjalmakhi.[39]
  • On May 4, 2012, 12 people were killed in two separate explosions on the outskirts of Makhachkala, capital of Russia's Dagestan region.[40]
  • On August 28, 2012, Sheikh Said Afandi, an influential 75-year-old Sufi cleric, was killed along with six others in a suicide bombing. Afandi, a Sufi Muslim, opposed violent jihad in Dagestan.[41]

Politics

The Government building of the Republic of Dagestan

The Parliament of Dagestan is the People's Assembly, consisting of 72 deputees elected for a four year term. The People's Assembly is the highest executive and legislative body of the republic.

The Constitution of Dagestan was adopted on July 10, 2003. According to it, the highest executive authority lies with the State Council, comprising representatives of fourteen ethnicities. The members of the State Council are appointed by the Constitutional Assembly of Dagestan for a term of four years. The State Council appoints the members of the Government.

The ethnicities represented in the State Council are Aguls, Avars, Azerbaijanis, Chechens, Dargins, Kumyks, Laks, Lezgins, Russians, Rutuls, Tabasarans, Tats, and Tsakhurs.

Formerly, the Chairman of the State Council was the highest executive post in the republic, held by Magomedali Magomedovich Magomedov until 2006. On February 20, 2006, the People's Assembly passed a resolution terminating this post and disbanding the State Council. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered the People's Assembly the candidature of Mukhu Aliyev for the newly established post of the President of Dagestan. The nomination was accepted by the People's Assembly, and Mukhu Aliyev became the first President of Dagestan. The current President of Dagestan is Ramazan Abdulatipov (acting since 2013, following the resignation of Magomedsalam Magomedov).[42]

Notable residents

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Президент Российской Федерации. Указ №849 от 13 мая 2000 г. «О полномочном представителе Президента Российской Федерации в федеральном округе». Вступил в силу 13 мая 2000 г. Опубликован: "Собрание законодательства РФ", No. 20, ст. 2112, 15 мая 2000 г. (President of the Russian Federation. Decree #849 of May 13, 2000 On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in a Federal District. Effective as of May 13, 2000.).
  2. ^ Госстандарт Российской Федерации. №ОК 024-95 27 декабря 1995 г. «Общероссийский классификатор экономических регионов. 2. Экономические районы», в ред. Изменения №5/2001 ОКЭР. (Gosstandart of the Russian Federation. #OK 024-95 December 27, 1995 Russian Classification of Economic Regions. 2. Economic Regions, as amended by the Amendment #5/2001 OKER. ).
  3. ^ a b Constitution, Article 8
  4. ^ RT.ru. Putin replaces head of South Russian republic of Dagestan
  5. ^ "Сведения о наличии и распределении земель в Российской Федерации на 01.01.2019 (в разрезе субъектов Российской Федерации)". Federal Service for State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1 [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года [2010 All-Russia Population Census] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service.
  7. ^ "26. Численность постоянного населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2018 года". Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  8. ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). 3 June 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  9. ^ Official throughout the Russian Federation according to Article 68.1 of the Constitution of Russia.
  10. ^ According to Article 11 of the Constitution of Dagestan, the official languages of the republic include "Russian and the languages of the peoples of Dagestan"
  11. ^ Solntsev, pp. XXXIX–XL
  12. ^ Всероссийский Центральный Исполнительный Комитет. Декрет от 20 января 1921 г. «Об Автономной Дагестанской Социалистической Советской Республике». (All-Russian Central Executive Committee. Decree of January 20, 1921 On Autonomous Dagestan Socialist Soviet Republic. ).
  13. ^ Dagestan. Encyclopædia Britannica (Online edition)
  14. ^ Heinrich, Hans-Georg (2011). Will Russia Become a Muslim Society?. Peter Lang. p. 46. ISBN 3631609132. Retrieved August 6, 2012. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Dalby, Andrew (2004). Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages. Columbia University Press. p. 59. ISBN 0231115695. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  16. ^ a b Russia’s Dagestan: Conflict Causes. International Crisis Group Europe Report N°192. 3 June 2008
  17. ^ Zonn, Igor S.; et al. The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia. Berlin. p. 280. {{cite book}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help); Unknown parameter |poublisher= ignored (help)
  18. ^ Ware, Robert Bruce. Islamic Resistance and Political Hegemony in Dagestan
  19. ^ Federal State Statistics Service (21 May 2004). Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian).
  20. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность наличного населения союзных и автономных республик, автономных областей и округов, краёв, областей, районов, городских поселений и сёл-райцентров [All Union Population Census of 1989: Present Population of Union and Autonomous Republics, Autonomous Oblasts and Okrugs, Krais, Oblasts, Districts, Urban Settlements, and Villages Serving as District Administrative Centers]. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года [All-Union Population Census of 1989] (in Russian). Институт демографии Национального исследовательского университета: Высшая школа экономики [Institute of Demography at the National Research University: Higher School of Economics]. 1989 – via Demoscope Weekly.
  21. ^ Wixman, Ronald (1984). "The Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook". Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc: 11. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  22. ^ "Перепись-2010: русских становится больше" (in Russian). Perepis-2010.ru. 2011-12-19. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  23. ^ Beliaev, Edward (2006). Dagestan. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark. p. 89. ISBN 0761420150. Retrieved 2013-04-04. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ Kemper, Michael (2011). "An Island of Classical Arabic in the Caucasus: Dagestan". In Françoise Companjen, László Károly Marácz, Lia Versteegh (ed.). Exploring the Caucasus in the 21st Century: Essays on Culture, History and Politics in a Dynamic Context. Amsterdam: Pallas Publications. pp. 63–90. ISBN 9789089641830. Retrieved 2013-04-04.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  25. ^ Comrie, Bernard (1981). The Languages of the Soviet Union. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 199. ISBN 0521232309. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
  26. ^ a b c Arena – Atlas of Religions and Nationalities in Russia. Sreda.org
  27. ^ 2012 Survey Maps. "Ogonek", № 34 (5243), 27/08/2012. Retrieved 24-09-2012.
  28. ^ Mountain Jews at World Culture Encyclopedia
  29. ^ "Biography of Shaykh Said Afandi al-Chirkawi". Islamdag.info. July 22, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  30. ^ "Slavic Center for Law & Justice". SCLJ. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
  31. ^ http://www.jstor.org/pss/4030847
  32. ^ [1][dead link]
  33. ^ Dagestan Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2008. Archived 2009-10-31.
  34. ^ a b Dagestan Republic Kommersant 2004-03-10
  35. ^ Dagestan’s Economic Crisis: Past, Present and Future North Caucasus Weekly 2006-12-31
  36. ^ Broadband Russia Newslatter
  37. ^ "The Voice of the Martyrs' Be-A-Voice Network". Be-a-voice.net. Retrieved 2012-01-15.
  38. ^ "Russia: Official Killed in Dagestan". The New York Times. September 23, 2011.
  39. ^ The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/09/28/world/europe/international-us-russia-dagestan-bomb.html?hp. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  40. ^ "BBC News – Dagestan Russia blasts: At least 12 dead in Makhachkala". Bbc.co.uk. May 4, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
  41. ^ "Sheikh Murdered Over Religious Split Say Analysts | Russia | RIA Novosti". En.rian.ru. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  42. ^ "Putin replaces head of South Russian republic of Dagestan". RT. January 28, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dagestan.
  • В. М. Солнцев и др., ed. (2000). Письменные языки мира: Российская Федерация. Социолингвистическая энциклопедия (in Russian). Москва: Российская Академия Наук. Институт языкознания. p. 651. проект №99-04-16158.
  • 10 июля 2003 г. «Конституция Республики Дагестан», в ред. Закона №45 от 7 октября 2008 г. (July 10, 2003 Constitution of the Republic of Dagestan, as amended by the Law #45 of October 7, 2008. ).

Further reading

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