Makhachkala,[a] previously known asPetrovskoye[b] (1844–1857) andPort-Petrovsk[c] (1857–1921), or by the localKumyk name ofAnji,[10][d] is the capital andlargest city ofDagestan, Russia. The city is located on theCaspian Sea, covering an area of 468.13 square kilometres (180.75 square miles), with a population of over 623,254 residents,[11] while the urban agglomeration covers over 3,712 square kilometres (1,433 square miles), with a population of roughly 1 million residents. Makhachkala is the fourth-largest city in theCaucasus, the largest city in theNorth Caucasus and theNorth Caucasian Federal District, as well as thethird-largest city on the Caspian Sea, afterBaku andRasht. The city is extremely ethnically diverse, with a minor ethnicRussian population.
The city's historic predecessor is the port town of Anji (Andzhi), which was located inKumykia, and which was a part of the possessions of theTarki state, the capital ofKumyks known from the 8th century.[12][13]
The city was namedPetrovskoye afterPeter the Great. After gaining city status in 1857, the Petrovskoye fortress was renamedPetrovsk-Port. After theRussian Revolution, Petrovsk-Port was renamed Makhachkala on May 14, 1921, afterBolshevik revolutionaryMakhach Dakhadaev [ru]. On the same day, it became capital of the newly formedDagestan ASSR. After thedissolution of the Soviet Union, the city became the capital of the Republic of Dagestan.
Makhachkala is an important economic, educational, scientific, and cultural centre of theNorth Caucasus. The city is a major Russian seaport on the Caspian Sea, and a transport hub. It is one of the fastest-growing cities in Russia, and is currently[when?] going through a construction boom.
Makhachkala's historic predecessors were the towns ofTarki and Anji (or Andzhi, or Anji-kala), dating their history, according to some sources, back toKhazar times.[14][15] Some chronicles suggest that it was the name of a citadel of Khazarian capital ofSemender, which was called Anji-kala.[16]
During thefirst Muslim conquests of Dagestan, it was exposed to an influx ofMuslims. During the reign ofUmayyad Caliph Hisham b. Abdülmelik (724-743), the caliph's brother Maslama succeeded in establishing Islamic dominance in the region with his conquests. In the following years, one of the Umayyad commanders, Marwan b. Mohammed also organized successful raids in Dagestan. However, the Islamic domination in the region ended in 796 (180 AH) when the Khazars capturedDerbent. In the early days of theAbbasids, the struggle against the Khazars continued. This struggle, which lasted for two centuries, ended with the victory of the Muslim Arabs. In 815, Sheikh Abu Ishaq and Sheikh Mohammed al-Kindi entered Dagestan with a volunteer army of about 2000 people and tried to spread Islam. In the second half of the 11th century, theSeljuk Turks took a part of the region under their control. Dagestan was invaded by theMongols in 1222. TheCumans (Kipchaks), who ruled in the north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus, played an important role in theTurkification of the region. Later on, theIlkhanids, theGolden Horde Khanate, theTimurids, theShirvanshahs and theSafavids dominated Dagestan respectively. Dagestan came underOttoman rule between 1578 and 1606.[17]
The Safavids started operations to spreadShiism in Dagestan at the beginning of the 19th century but were met with fierce resistance from Dagestanis.Shah Abbas II established a significant influence in Dagestan in 1639. It started to attract the attention of the Russians from the 17th century onwards. It remained the scene of a struggle for influence between Iranians, Russians and Ottomans from the beginning of the 17th century.[17]
When the Safavids began to lose their power at the beginning of the 17th century, the people of Dagestan united under the leadership of Çolak Surhay Khan of theGazikumukh Khanate, and they won a victory against Iran in 1712. To continue their success, he took the people of Dagestan, who asked for help from the Ottoman administration, under his protection by sending gifts to the sultans of theSublime Porte.[17]
Russian TsarPeter the Great visited what is now Makhachkala in 1722, and the settlement bore his name from 1844 to 1921
Although the Russians could not hold on to the interior of Dagestan, they expanded their sovereignty towards the Caspian coast and could only be stopped in front of Baku with the help of the Ottoman forces under the command of Mustafa Pasha. With a treaty signed between Russia and Iran in 1724, Derbend, Baku and some other places in the region were left to Russia. As a result of his struggles against the Russians,Nadir Shah captured the south of Dagestan, Derbend and Baku with the Rasht Treaty signed in 1732, and some lands between the Sulak and Kura (Kür) rivers with the 1735 treaty. After 1747, the Russians regained influence in Dagestan.[17]
In the 1840s, afterRussian Empire seized the Kumyk plateau, Anji-kala became the place where fort Petrovskoye was founded.[18] A town status was granted to the fortress in 1857.[2] The Russian name of the city wasPetrovskoye (Петро́вское)—after the RussianTsarPeter the Great, who waged war in the region in 1722[19][20] during hisPersian Campaign. However, among the localKumyks the city was still known asAnzhi-Qala,The Pearl Fortress (Qala means fortress or a city with walls, whileAnzhi / Inzhi / Inji means pearl inKumyk). There is also still a hill calledAnji-arqa, meaningthe hill of Anji.[12]
After gaining town status in 1857, the Petrovskoye fortress was renamedPetrovsk-Port (Петро́вск-Порт), sometimes simplyPetrovsk.[21]
In 1894, a railway line linked the city toVladikavkaz (in present-dayNorth Ossetia-Alania) andBaku (in present-dayAzerbaijan). However, despite the development, a report from 1904 detailed the spread ofmalaria and unsuitable drinking water in the city.[22]
In January 1919, during theRussian Civil War, the BritishNo. 221 SquadronRoyal Air Force based themselves at Petrovsk. In March they were joined byNo. 266 Squadron and both squadrons were involved in bombing operations against Bolshevik forces inAstrakhan and elsewhere. In August 1919 both squadrons were withdrawn from Petrovsk.[23] The city was invaded by theRed Army in March 1920.[22]
As part of the Soviet revolution, place names relating to monarchy or religion were changed, and thus on 14 May 1921, Petrovsk was renamed Makhachkala, after Dagestani revolutionaryMagomed-Ali 'Makhach' Dakhadaev. On the same day, it became capital of the newly formedDagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.[22] The city incurred major damage during an earthquake on 14 May 1970.[24] The city was briefly renamedShamilkala during the disintegration of the Soviet Union in honor of the Dagestani freedom fighterImam Shamil.
On 12 April 1944, a decision was made to resettle the inhabitants of Kumyk villages of Tarki, Kyakhulay and Alburikent, which owned the surrounding areas, to the settlements of the deported Chechens. Most of the released land was distributed to the Makhachkala city council (6243 out of 8166 hectares), in addition to the collective farms of the mountainous regions and industrial enterprises of Makhachkala.
After the return of the Kumyk population in 1957, the lands of the collective farms were not restored, personal property was also lost, many houses were occupied by people resettled from mountainous areas. The historical monuments of the ancient city were destroyed and used as construction materials for the infrastructure of Makhachkala.[26][27][28][29][30]
Makhachkala is close to areas of fighting and therefore it and the surrounding region has a heavy security service presence. On 25 November 2011, a protest took place in Makhachkala attended by up to 3,000 people demanding an end to illegal activities perpetrated by the security services.[31]
On December 15, 2011,Gadzhimurat Kamalov, a Russian investigative journalist and founder of the independentChernovik newspaper was shot dead in an apparent assassination.[32]
A report of the International Crisis Group from 2013 describes the city as being "a city of almost one million and gained spectacular economic resources due to a construction boom, skyrocketing land prices, substantial federal funds for reconstruction, infrastructure, transport, housing, courts and administrative services. But even a short visit revealed acute problems, including dirty streets, dilapidated buildings, inadequate utilities, hectic construction, lack of planning and poorly organised public transport".[33]
On 14 August 2023, a fire at a gas station in Makhachkala led to aseries of explosions, causing at least 25 deaths and 66 injuries.[34][35]
On 23 June 2024, unknown attackers carried out a terrorist attack in Makhachkala. Many people were killed and wounded. A priest was murdered, and a church and a synagogue burned.[43]
The most important industrial sector is theoil refineries, as well as mechanical engineering and textile factories. Numerous administrative and educational institutions are based in the city, including a regional research centre of theRussian Academy of Sciences with around 20 research departments. The city is also the media centre of the region. Numerous newspapers are published in Makhachkala, includingDagestanskaya Pravda and the IslamicAs-Salam. In addition, several regional television stations are based in the city.
For the purposes of administration, the city is divided intothree city districts [uk], from west to east:Kirovsky [ru],Sovetsky [ru] andLeninsky [ru]. In May 2015, these three city districts were granted municipal status.[6]
Thecoat of arms [ru] and flag of Makhachkala were adopted on December 15, 2006. The coat of arms shows the city's historic fortress in silver on a red field, with flames coming from either tower and asolar symbol above. It is supported by agolden eagle on each side, a crown on top, and crossed anchors (representing its maritime history) entangled with grapevines at the bottom.
A street in Makhachkala
In proportions of 2:3, the flag displays the main shield of the city's coat of arms.[44]
The Caspian Sea International Port handles crude oil, petroleum, construction materials, grain, cargo and timber and operates 24 hours a day. The port offers communications with the rest of Russia, as well as withBelarus,Ukraine, theBaltic states,Iran,Turkey and Central Asia. A railyard at the port connects the port to the North Caucasus Railway network.[46]
FC Anzhi Makhachkala, the city's former top team, played at Dynamo Stadium before moving toAnzhi Arena. Anzhi were purchased by Dagestani commodities billionaireSuleyman Kerimov in 2011,[47] whose investments allowed the club to sign players such as Brazilian World Cup winnerRoberto Carlos[48] and Cameroonian strikerSamuel Eto'o who, during his time at the club, became the world's highest paid player.[49] The club lived its golden era, finished in the Top 5 for two consecutive seasons (2011-12 and2012-13) and qualified for the UEFA Europa League, reaching the round of 16 on both occasions. However, after 2013, due to unrest in the region, the players moved to live and train in Moscow, while the local matches in Makhachkala were guarded by armed patrols.[50] This situation, followed by severe budget cuts, made the club lose most of its key players, going on to finish bottom of the table in the 2013–14 season, and later folding in 2022 after having fallen to the third division.
Makhachkala has acold semi-arid climate (Köppen:BSk) with warm, relatively dry summers and, cool relatively moist winters. The strongrain shadow of the Caucasus and the ability of theSiberian High to freely move westwards from its source in the Tibetan and Mongolian plateaus makes the climate quite dry, although frequently overcast throughout the winter, which is owing to the relatively low latitude and nearness to the Caspian Sea very mild by Russian standards. Summers are sunnier but also dry as the region is exposed to steep descending vertical velocity from the Indian monsoon, and the greatest rainfall occurs in the autumn season from September to November. October 1987 with 245 millimetres or 9.65 inches has been the wettest month, whilst no precipitation occurred in February 1958, October 1974 and April 1986.
The coldest month since records began in 1882 has been February 1929 with a mean monthly temperature of −9.5 °C or 14.9 °F, whilst the hottest have been July 2010 and August 2014 with means of 27.1 °C or 80.8 °F each, although August 9, 2017, is the hottest day, reaching 40.2 °C or 104.4 °F. The coldest night was on February 9, 2012, when the mercury fell to −26.8 °C or −16.2 °F, beating the previous record of −26.5 °C or −15.7 °F from December 28, 1888.
Climate data for Makhachkala (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1882–present)[i]
^abКнига "Дагестан: Путеводитель с картой" Калинин Алексей, Аякс-пресс, 2021
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^Османов, А. И. Аграрные преобразования в Дагестане и переселение горцев на равнину (20-70-е годы XX в.). — Ин-т истории, археологии и этнографии ДНЦ РАН, 2000. — 333 с.
^Ибрагимов М.-Р. А. Депортация населения Дагестана в годы Великой Отечественной войны (1941—1945 гг.) и её этнокультурные последствия // Вестник Дагестанского научного центра : научный журнал. — ДНЦ РАН, 2011. — 5 декабря (№ 43). — С. 84–90. — ISSN 1684-792X.
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Народное Собрание Республики Дагестан. Закон №16 от 10 апреля 2002 г. «Об административно-территориальном устройстве Республики Дагестан», в ред. Закона №106 от 30 декабря 2013 г. «О внесении изменений в некоторые законодательные акты Республики Дагестан». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Дагестанская правда", №81, 12 апреля 2002 г. (People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan. Law #16 of April 10, 2002On the Administrative-Territorial Structure of the Republic of Dagestan, as amended by the Law #106 of December 30, 2013On Amending Various Legislative Acts of the Republic of Dagestan. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
Народное Собрание Республики Дагестан. Закон №6 от 13 января 2005 г. «О статусе и границах муниципальных образований Республики Дагестан», в ред. Закона №43 от 30 апреля 2015 г. «О статусе городского округа с внутригородским делением "Город Махачкала", статусе и границах внутригородских районов в составе городского округа с внутригородским делением "Город Махачкала" и о внесении изменений в отдельные законодательные акты Республики Дагестан». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Дагестанская правда", №8, 15 февраля 2005 г. (People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan. Law #6 of January 13, 2005On the Status and Borders of the Municipal Formations of the Republic of Dagestan, as amended by the Law #43 of April 30, 2015On the Status of the "City of Makhachkala" Urban Okrug with Intra-Urban Divisions, the Status and the Borders of the Intra-City Districts Comprising the "City of Makhachkala" Urban Okrug with Intra-Urban Divisions, and on Amending Various Legislative Acts of the Republic of Dagestan. Effective as of the day of the official publication.).
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