Dagestan Republic
The Dagestan Republic, located in the North Caucasus region of Russia, is a culturally rich and diverse area known for its complex ethnic makeup and linguistic variety. It became part of the Russian Federation following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, after previously being an autonomous republic within the USSR. Dagestan shares borders with Chechnya—a region marked by a history of conflict and independence movements—as well as Azerbaijan and Georgia. The region's mountainous terrain has contributed to the development of over thirty distinct ethnic groups, predominantly Muslim, with the Avars being the largest group.
Dagestan's capital is Makhachkala, and despite Russian being the official language, many residents speak local languages that are often mutually unintelligible. Economically, Dagestan faces challenges, including high unemployment and an unstable economy, partly due to its difficult geography and historical reliance on industries like fishing and agriculture. The region has also been affected by terrorism and violence linked to political unrest and extremist movements, which have contributed to its complex social landscape. Overall, Dagestan presents a unique blend of cultural heritage and contemporary challenges, making it an intriguing subject for further exploration.
Dagestan Republic
Summary: Dagestan, which is part of the Russian Federation, is in the Caucasus region, which lies between the Black and Caspian Seas. Formerly part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)often referred to as the Soviet UnionDagestan became a member of the Russian republic in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is adjacent to Chechnyathe site of a persistent independence movement opposed to the central Russian governmentand has occasionally seen the Chechen war for independence spill over its borders. Some mountain valleys of southern Dagestan are accessible only by helicopter, and the terrain has resulted in a region of over thirty language groups—most of them mutually unintelligible. These facts make Dagestan one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse administrative regions in the world. Most of Dagestan's population is Muslim, although small numbers of Christian and other religious communities live in the territory.
Overview
Dagestan, in the North Caucasus region, is a member of the Russian Federation. It previously was a member-republic of the USSR. It is situated on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, north of Azerbaijan and east of the independent state of Georgia and Russian territory of Chechnya—a mountainous region marked by frequent clashes since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. In particular, the post-Soviet independence movement in Chechnya resulted in terrorist incidents in Dagestan. Most residents of both Chechnya and Dagestan are Muslim. Partly reflecting Dagestan's topography, the country is a mix of ethnic groups who speak at least thirty languages, many of which are mutually unintelligible. The North Caucasus region is adjacent to three historic empiresthe Russian Empire to the north, the Persian Empire (later Iran) to the southeast, and the Ottoman Empire (later Turkey) to the southwest.
Area: 19,400 sq. mi. (50,250 sq km), situated in the Caucasus Mountains. Dagestan's eastern border is the Caspian Sea. To its west are Chechnyaa Russian republicand the independent state of Georgia. To the south of the Dagestan Republic is Azerbaijan, while Russia lies to its north. Southern Dagestan is marked by high peaks and narrow valleysn some cases, valleys are accessible only by helicopters.
Population: Estimated at 3.1 million, divided among thirty separate ethnic groupsone of the most diverse republics in the Russian Federation. The largest group is the Avars, about twenty percent of the population, followed by the Dargins, Kumyks, and Lezgins. Around ten percent of the population is comprised of ethnic Russians, while other groups include the Laks, the Tabasarans, and and the Nogai.
Capital: Makhachkala.
Major languages: Russian is the official language, but only about five percent of Dagestanis are ethnic Russians, and most residents do not speak Russian. Thirty languages are spoken in Dagestanmany of which are mutually unintelligible.
Major religions: Islam. Most residents of Dagestan are described as Sufi Muslims—followers of a tradition that emphasizes a personal relationship with Allah—combined with local traditions. This stands in contrast with Wahhabism, an Islamic movement generally associated with a more conservative understanding of the faith and a desire to implement Shariaor Muslim religiouslaw.
Currency: Russian ruble.
Economy: Dagestan's economy is unstable, and the region suffers from widespread unemploymenta source of political unrest. The severe topography of Dagestan's south makes extracting mineral resources complex. Some valleys are accessible only by helicopter. Fishing from the Caspian Sea was once a strong industry but has been weakened by restrictions on fishing sturgeonthe source of caviar. Dagestan has some reserves of natural gas and oil but primarily earns fees from pipelines carrying oil and gas westward from other regions. Agriculture in the flatland of northern Dagestan produces wheat, corn, sunflowers, fruit, and grapes for wine. Some agriculture processing also produces wine, canned fruit, textiles, and wood products. Dagestan is among the poorest regions of Russia, which likely contributes to political unrestrganized crime is rampant.
Government
Leader: Magomedsalam Magomedov was nominated by Russian President Dimitri Medvedev in February 2010 and unanimously approved by the Dagestan Parliament. Magomedov is an ethnic Dargin, the second largest ethnic group after the Avars. His appointment aligned with "ethnic rotation" in that he replaced Mukhu Aliyev, an ethnic Avar. An economist, Magomedov had been a member of the Dagestan parliament. His fatherMagomedali Magomedovhad been president of Dagestan from the end of the Soviet era until 2006, when he resigned at age seventy-five. Sergey Alimovich Melikov was appointed head of the Republic of Dagestan in October 2021.
North Caucasus Federal District Manager: In January 2010, Russian President Medvedev created a new North Caucasus Federal District incorporating the ethnic republics of Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Karachaevo-Cherkesia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Medvedev named Alexander Khloponin as the presidential representative in the district and a vice premier for the region. In those dual rules, Khloponin reports both to Medvedev and then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Terrorism and Dagestan
Since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991which sparked an independence movement interwoven with radical Islamist fundamentalism in neighboring ChechnyaDagestan has been the site of several terrorist incidents, including many attacks aimed at Russian forces stationed in Dagestan in response to Islamist violence there and neighboring Chechnya. From 1999 to 2009, over 200 members of Dagestan's security forces died in clashes with "terrorists." Anthropologists have observed that the Dagestan tradition of "blood feuds"—in which relatives of a killed person demand revenge—may account for some killings in which relatives of people killed by security forces take vengeance against security forces in general. Such killings are officially attributed to extremists or terrorists. In other cases, Chechen Islamist independence fighters led operations into Dagestan. During the late 2010s and 2020s, international terror organizations, including Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Islamic State - Khorasan Province (ISIS–K), also gained a presence in Dagestan and other parts of the Russian Federation. Attacks included:
1995: Chechen independence leader Shamil Basayev lead a raid on a hospital in the Dagestan town of Budennovsk, resulting in the deaths of 166 hostages when Russian anti-terrorist police stormed the hospitalBasayev escaped.
1996 (November): An explosion in Kaspiysk in an apartment building housing Russian border guards killed sixty people. Chechen independence fighters were blamed.
1998: Islamists linked to the Wahhabi sect briefly tried to introduce ShariaIslamic religiousin two mountain villages.
1999: In August, a previously unknown group, the Dagestan Liberation Army, declared an independent state covering parts of Dagestan and Chechnya and called on Muslims to take up arms to revenge killings by Russian security forces. It also called for the arrest of Dagestani President Magomedali Magomedov. Fighters from Chechnya crossed into Dagestan to support the effort, leading to a fortnight of fierce fighting. On September 4, 1999, explosions hit an apartment building in the Dagestan town of Buynaksknear the Chechen borderhousing Russian border guards and their families. The blasts killed sixty-four and injures 133, one of a series of terrorist attacks linked to Chechen rebelswhich lead to a return of Russian troops to Chechnya.
2002 (May): At least thirty-four people were killed in a bombing during the Victory Day military parade in Kaspiysk, Dagestan. A separate attack occurred the same day in the Chechen capital of Grozny.
2005 (July): At least ten people were killed in a terrorist bombing in the capital of Makhachkala.
2009: A senior police official and the interior minister of Dagestan were assassinated.
2010 (March): A double suicide bombing in the Dagestan city of Kizlyar killed at least one dozen people and injured twenty-three. Most of the victims were members of Russian security forces. The attacks occured the same day as the twin bombings of the Moscow subway. The latter attack is blamed on "black widows" of the Chechen independence movement. On April 5, 2010, an explosion hit a railroad in Dagestan. Russian investigators believed the Dagestan explosions were carried out by the same group of Chechen rebels responsible for the Moscow subway bombings.
2015: Russian security forces killed the leader of the Caucasus Emirate militant groupAliaskhab Kebekov
2017: The Russian government claimed the last problematic group in the North Caucasus was successfully eliminated.
2022: Russian authorities attempted to recruit military reservists to support their invasion of Ukraineleading to protests in Dagestan. One hundred people were arrested in Makhachkala during demonstrations following the death of a significant number of service members from the Dagestan region.
2023: In October, antisemitic riots broke out in Dagestan in response to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamasa Palestinian political and military organization designated as a terrorist group by Israel.
2024: In June, simultaneous attacks targeting synagogues, Russian Orthodox churches, and a post office occured in the cities of Makhachkala and Derbent killed twenty-one people and the five alleged perpetrators.
History
The area of contemporary Dagestan has long been the focus of conflicts between nearby empiresnotably the Russian Empire to the north, the Persian Empire to the southeast, and the Ottoman Empire to the west.
As long ago as 300 BCE until the spread of Islam in the seventh century, the area of Dagestan was part of Caucasian Albania. Dagestan was then included in the rapid expansion of Islam when Arabs invadedmost Dagestant people have practiced Islam ever since. Over the next 800 years, the area of the North Caucasus mountains that includes Dagestan was successively invaded by various groups, including the Turks (eleventh century), Mongols (thirteenth century), and Persians (fifteenth century).
Starting in the mid-1500s, a group of Cossacks established a colony in the Caucasusthe base for Russian military activities during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible, 15447-1584)and lasted for the next two centuries. Tsar Peter I (Peter the Great) launched the Second Russian-Dagestan War in 1722 to gain control of the area from the Persian Empire. The Persian Empire refused its treaty conditions and continued fighting for control of Dagestan until the Treaty of Gulistan was signed in 1813, under which Dagestan was formally annexed to Russia.
However, mountain tribes in Dagestan continued to resist Russian rule, notably during the Caucasian War (1816-1856). Resistance to Russian rule was particularly notable among the ethnic Avars and their leader, Imam Shamil (1797-1879).
After the Bolsheviks asserted authority over the Caucasus region in the 1920s, Dagestan became an autonomous republic within the USSR. It avoided the large-scale deportations imposed on residents of neighboring Chechnya under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin during World War II (1939–45).
In the breakup of the USSR in 1991, Dagestan remained a republic within the newly formed Russian Federation in March 1992, unlike other areas of the Caucasus—notably Chechnya and Georgia—which demanded independence. Independence was granted in the case of Georgia but not Chechnya.
Bibliography
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