Vladikavkaz
Vladikavkaz (Ossetian: Дзæуджыхъæу; Template:Lang-ru) is the capital of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is situated in the south-east of the republic at the foothills of the Caucasus mountains, situated on the Terek River, at 43°05′N 44°39′E / 43.083°N 44.650°E. Its population, which mostly consists of Ossetians, Russians, Armenians and Georgians, is around 312,000 (as of 2001)
The city was founded in 1784 as a fortress during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus and was for many years the main Russian military base in the region. The Georgian Military Highway, crossing the mountains, was constructed in 1799 to link the city with Georgia to the south, and in 1875 a railway was built to connect it to Rostov-on-Don and Baku in Azerbaijan. Vladikavkaz has become an important industrial centre for the region, with smelting, refining, chemicals and manufacturing industries.test
From 1931 to 1944 and from 1954 to 1990 its name was Ordzhonikidze (Орджоники́дзе) (after Sergo Ordzhonikidze, a Georgian Bolshevik), and from 1944 to 1954 it was called Dzaudzhikau (Дзауджика́у). Vladikavkaz resumed its old name, which means "Ruler of the Caucasus", shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union.
Vladikavkaz was fought over in both the Russian Civil War and Second World War. In February 1919, the anti-Communist Volunteer Army under General Anton Ivanovich Denikin seized the city, before being expelled by the Red Army in March 1920. In November 1942, the forces of Nazi Germany tried unsuccessfully to seize the city but were repelled. This marked the most easterly point ever reached by Nazi forces.