Kizlyar

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Kizlyar (Russian: Кизля́р) is a town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located in the delta of the Terek River 221 km northwest of Makhachkala. Population: 48,457 (2002 Census); 30,000 (1970).

The first reference to Kizlyar dates back to 1609, although some historians associate the place with Samandar, the 8th-century capital of Khazaria. 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 was one of the trading posts between Russia and the Middle East and Central Asia. In January 1996, the local airbase was raided by the Chechen separatists in the course of the Kizlyar raid, which claimed the lives of 78 Russian soldiers.

In the early 19th century, Kizlyar became a center of viticulture and wine making. The local "cognac factory" (Кизлярский Коньячный Завод) produces a variety of alcoholic beverages but specializes primarily in a regional variant of brandy, marketed throughout Russia as "cognac".

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Coordinates: 43°51′N, 46°43′E