Kizlyar (Russian: Кизля́р; Chechen: ГӀизлар) is a town of almost 50,000 people (2010) in Dagestan on the border with the Chechen Republic. It is in the delta of the Terek River 221 km (137 mi) northwest of Makhachkala, the capital of the republic.

Understand

St. George church in Kizlyar

Kizlyar is known as a center of viticulture and wine-making, and for making traditional knives, daggers, and sabers.

About 40% of its residents are Russians or Terek Cossacks, while the rest belong to a variety of Caucasian nationalities.

History

The first documented reference to Kizlyar dates back to 1609. In 1735 the Russian government built a fortress in Kizlyar and laid foundations for the Caucasus fortified borderline. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Kizlyar operated as one of the trading posts between Russia and the Middle East and Central Asia. During this period, the population was largely Armenian and Russian.

In January 1996 Chechen separatists raided the local airbase in the course of the Kizlyar raid, which claimed the lives of 78 Russian soldiers. In February 2018, five people were killed and five wounded after a shooting attack took place outside a Christian church in Kizlyar. Police killed the attacker in a shootout.

Climate

Kizlyar
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D       17     1 −6       19     2 −4       20     7 0       31     16 6       39     23 13       47     27 17       28     30 20       23     30 19       30     24 14       31     17 8       28     9 2       21     4 −2 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation+Snow totals in mm See the Kizlyar forecast at Climate-Data.org
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D       0.7     34 21       0.7     36 25       0.8     45 32       1.2     61 43       1.5     73 55       1.9     81 63       1.1     86 68       0.9     86 66       1.2     75 57       1.2     63 46       1.1     48 36       0.8     39 28 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation+Snow totals in inches

Get in

By train

Passenger trains regularly pass through the station on the route Moscow - Makhachkala, Tyumen - Makhachkala, Moscow - Baku, Volgograd - Grozny.

Get around

The main type of public transport is a route taxi (12 routes). Municipal city buses operate on three routes.

See

• Museum of Local Lore (Bagration Museum)
• Museum of modern history of the city of Kizlyar
• Museum of the Cossacks

Architectural monuments:

• the buildings of the former City Council (now a museum)
• the noble collection (19th century)

In the vicinity:

• "Nekrasovskoe settlement" of the 2nd-3rd centuries
• Settlement "Three-wall town" of the 16th century (between the villages of Alexandriiskaya and Krainovka)

Drink

• Kizlyar Brandy Factory. The local cognac factory produces a variety of alcoholic beverages but specializes primarily in a regional variant of brandy, marketed throughout Russia as "cognac". Kizlyarka is a type of grape vodka produced in Kizlyar.