Dagestan

For other uses, see Dagestan (disambiguation).

Republic of Dagestan
Republic
Республика Дагестан
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: National Anthem of the Republic of Dagestan
Country	Russia
Federal district	North Caucasian
Economic region	North Caucasus
Capital	Makhachkala
Government
• Body	People's Assembly
• Acting President	Ramazan Abdulatipov
Area
• Total	50,300 km2 (19,400 sq mi)
• Rank	52nd
Population  (2010 census)
• Total	2,910,249
• Estimate  (2018)	3,063,885 (+5.3%)
• Rank	12th
• Density	58/km2 (150/sq mi)
• Urban	45.2%
• Rural	54.8%
Time zone	UTC+3 (MSK )
ISO 3166 code	RU-DA
License plates	05
OKTMO ID	82000000
Official languages	Russian; Aghul, Avar, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Dargwa, Kumyk, Lezgian, Lak, Nogai, Rutul, Tabasaran, Tsakhur
Website	http://www.e-dag.ru/

The Republic of Dagestan (/dɑːɡˈstɑːn/ or /ˈdæɡstæn/; Template:Lang-ru, [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 largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea.

With a population of 2,910,249, 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, Azerbaijani, Chechen, Dargin, Kumyk, Lezgian, and Laks. Ethnic Russians comprise about 4.5% of Dagestan's total population. Russian is the primary official language and the lingua franca among the ethnic groups.

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. 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 Turkic and -stan is a Persian 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 Turkic 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.

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)
• Georgian – დაღესტანის რესპუბლიკა (Daghestanis Respublika)
• Kumyk – Дагъыстан Республикасы (Dağıstan Respublikası)
• Lezgian – Республика Дагъустан (Suwarin xalq'pačaħ)
• Lak – Дагъустаннал Республика (Daɣustannal Respublika)
• Nogai – Дагестан 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.

• Area: 50,300 square kilometers (19,400 sq mi)
• Borders:
  • internal: Republic of Kalmykia (N), Chechen Republic (W), and Stavropol Krai (NW)
  • international: Azerbaijan (S), Georgia (SW)
  • water: Caspian Sea (E)
• Highest point: Bazardyuzi Mountain (4,466 m)
• Maximum north-south distance: 400 kilometers (250 mi)
• Maximum east-west distance: 200 kilometers (120 mi)

Rivers

Map of Dagestan

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

• Sulak River
• Samur River
• Terek River
• Rubas River
• Avar Koisu

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 (31 in) (in the mountains).

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Dagestan

History

Main article: History of Dagestan

Pattern of migration of Nakh-Dagestanian peoples (Ingush, Chechens, and present 26 nations of Dagestan) from the birthplace in the Fertile Crescent to the slopes of the Caucasus (red arrow points to the area of present day Azerbaijan from which the Nakh-Dagestanian tribes started the spread in the Caucasus)10,000 BC after they overused the land and created deserts. Bernice Wuethrich, Johanna Nichols (19 May 2000). "Peering Into the Past, With Words". Science 288 (5469): 1158

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 Samian peregrinations took place from Ukraine to this land, they returned to their natal country by 150 BC. 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). 21 December 1917 Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan declared independence from Russia and formed a single state "United Mountain Dwellers of the North Caucasus" (also known as Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus) which was recognized by major world powers. The capital of the new state was moved to Temir-Khan-Shura (Dagestan)The first prime minister of the state was elected Tapa Chermoyev a Chechen prominent statesman, second prime minister was elected an Ingush statesman Vassan-Girey Dzhabagiev who also was the author of the Constitution of the land in 1917, in 1920 he was reelected for the third term. In 1921 Russians attack and occupy the country and forcefully join in to the Soviet state. Caucasian war for independence continues the government goes into exile. 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 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Dagestan

The Government building of the Republic of Dagestan

The Parliament of Dagestan is the People's Assembly, consisting of 72 deputies 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, Lezgins, Laks, 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).

Demographics

A couple in traditional dress poses for a portrait in Dagestan. Photographed by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, circa 1907 to 1915.

Ethnolinguistic groups in the Caucasus region

Dagestani man and woman, April 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.

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

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	1.92
2010	2,896	52,057	17,013	35,044	18.0	5.9	12.1	1.92
2011	2,914	54,427	16,917	37,510	18.1	5.8	12.3	1.98
2012	2,931	56,039	16,547	39,492	19.0	5.6	13.4	2.03
2013	2,955	55,783	16,229	39,554	18.8	5.5	13.3	2.02(e)

Ethnic groups

The people of Dagestan include a large variety of ethnic groups. According to the 2010 Census, Northeast Caucasians (including Avars, Dargins, Laks, 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.

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.

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

More than 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; prior to that, beginning in the 18th century, it had been Classical Arabic. The northern Avar dialect of Khunzakh has also served as a lingua franca in central Dagestan.

Religion

Religion in Dagestan (2012)

  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 83% of the population of Dagestan adheres to Islam, 2.4% to the Russian Orthodox Church, 2% to Caucasian Neopaganism, 1% are non-denominational 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.

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).

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.

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. The largest congregation is Osanna Evangelical Christian Church (Pentecostal) in Makhachkala, with more than 1,000 members.

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.

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. 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.

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.

Dagestani conflict

Main article: Insurgency in the North Caucasus

A border guard outpost

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.
• On September 23, 2011, Magomed Murtuzaliyev, a high-level law enforcement official, was shot and killed by gunmen.
• On September 28, 2011, 7 civilians and a police officer were killed by a car bomb in the village of Hajjalmakhi.
• On May 4, 2012, 12 people were killed in two separate explosions on the outskirts of Makhachkala, capital of Russia's Dagestan region.
• 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.

Notable residents

• Vakha Arsanov (1950–2005), vice president in Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
• Rustam Asildarov (b. 1981), militant leader of the Shariat Jamaat organisation in Dagestan
• Hizgil Avshalumov (1913–2001), novelist, poet and playwrighter of Mountain Jewish descent
• Rasul Gamzatov (1923—2003), poet
• Abdulkhakim Ismailov (1916–2010), World War II soldier
• Sergey Izgiyayev (1922–1972), poet, playwright and translator of Mountain Jewish descent
• Rappani Khalilov (1969–2007), militant leader of the Shariat Jamaat of the Caucasian Front during the Second Chechen War, in Dagestan
• Kuramagomed Kuramagomedov (b. 1978), freestyle wrestler who competed for Russia in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and won a world title in 1997
• Ilgar Mollachiev, militant leader of the Shariat Jamaat of the Caucasian Front in the Second Chechen War, in Dagestan
• Yagutil Mishiev (b. 1927), writer
• Eduard Puterbrot (1940–1993), artist
• Israel Tsvaygenbaum (b. 1961), artist
• Khabib Nurmagomedov, UFC fighter in the lightweight division
• Rustam Khabilov, UFC fighter in the lightweight division

See also

• Former countries in Europe after 1815
• Insurgency in the North Caucasus
• List of clashes in the North Caucasus
• Music of Dagestan

References

• 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. ).

External links

• Template:Ru icon Official governmental website of Dagestan
• Egbert Wesselink (1998). "Dagestan (Daghestan): Comprehensive Report". Caspian.net. Archived from the original on 5 October 2001. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
• Dagestan in Iranica Encyclopaedia
• History of Islam in Russia
• "The North Caucasus," Russian Analytical Digest No. 22 (5 June 2007)
• BBC Country Report on Dagestan
• University of Texas maps of the Dagestan region
• Radio Free Europe discusses religious tension in Dagestan
• ISN Case Study: The North Caucasus on the Brink (August 2006)
• Articles on Dagestan, reports from research, photos
• Dagestan in Pictures Template:Ru icon
• Daghestan's Kaitag Embroideries – and Henri Matisse?
• Template:Ru icon Dagestan Republic News Portal

Further reading

• Kaziev, Shapi. Imam Shamil. "Molodaya Gvardiya" publishers. Moscow, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2010
• Kaziev, Shapi. Akhoulgo. Caucasian War of 19th century. The historical novel. "Epoch", Publishing house. Makhachkala, 2008. ISBN 978-5-98390-047-9
• Kaziev, Shapi. Caucasian highlanders. Everyday life of the Caucasian highlanders. 19th century (In the co-authorship with I.Karpeev). "Molodaya Gvardiy" publishers. Moscow, 2003. ISBN 5-235-02585-7
• Kaziev, Shapi. Crash of tyrant. Nadir Shah (Крах тирана). The historical novel about Nadir Shah. "Epoch", Publishing house. Makhachkala, 2009. ISBN 978-5-98390-066-0