| Makhachkala (English) Махачкала (Russian) МахIачхъала (Avar) Магьачкъала (Kumyk) |
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Location of the Republic of Dagestan in Russia |
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Makhachkala
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| Administrative status | |
| Country | Russia |
| Federal subject | Republic of Dagestan |
| Capital of | Republic of Dagestan |
| Municipal status | |
| Urban okrug | Makhachkala Urban Okrug |
| City Head | Said Amirov |
| Representative body | Assembly of Deputies |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 466.3 km2 (180.0 sq mi) |
| Population (2010 Census, preliminary) |
577,990 inhabitants[1] |
| - Rank in 2010 | 26th |
| Population (2002 Census) | 462,412 inhabitants[2] |
| - Rank in 2002 | 37th |
| Density | 1,240 /km2 (3,200 /sq mi)[3] |
| Time zone | MSD (UTC+04:00)[4] |
| Founded | 15th century |
| Previous names | Petrovskoye (until 1857), Petrovsk-Port (until 1921) |
| Dialing code(s) | +7 8722 |
| Official website | |
Makhachkala (Russian: Махачкала́; Avar: МахIачхъала; Lezgian: Магьачкъала; Kumyk: Магьачкъала, Mağaçqala) is the capital city of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 577,990.[1]
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Makhachkala's historic predecessor was the town of Tarki, now a near suburb, whose history goes back to the 15th century and possibly much earlier. The modern city of Makhachkala was founded in 1844 as a fortress; town status was granted in 1857. The original Russian name of the city was Petrovskoye (Петро́вское)—after the Russian tsar Peter the Great who visited the region in 1722. However, among the locals it was known as Anzhi-Qala (A Fortress of Soil, Qala or Kala قلعه means Fortress in Arabic and Turkic). The city was renamed Petrovsk-Port (Петро́вск-Порт) in 1857, sometimes simply Petrovsk, and then Makhachkala in 1921. The city incurred major damage during the earthquake of May 14, 1970. It was shortly renamed as Shamilkala in 1920s.
In January 1919, during the Russian Civil War, the British based No. 221 Squadron Royal Air Force at Petrovsk. In March they were joined by No. 266 Squadron and both squadrons were involved in bombing operations against Bolshevik forces in Astrakhan and elsewhere. In August 1919 both squadrons were withdrawn from Petrovsk.[5]
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.[6]
On 15 December 2011, Gadzhimurat Kamalov, a Russian investigative journalist and founder of the independent Chernovik newspaper was shot dead in an apparent assassination.[7]
Administratively, the city is divided into three city districts: Kirovsky, Leninsky, and Sovetsky.
The population of Makhachkala included: [1]
The city is served by Uytash Airport, Russian Railways and Caspian Sea International Port.
The city's football team, FC Anzhi Makhachkala, play in the Russian Premier League.
Climate of Makhachkala has elements of (warm) subtropical and (chill) continental climate, with influence of semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk) - which occurs in the entire basin of the Caspian Sea.
| Climate data for Makhachkala | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 3.2 (37.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
7.2 (45.0) |
14.1 (57.4) |
20.7 (69.3) |
25.7 (78.3) |
28.5 (83.3) |
27.6 (81.7) |
23.3 (73.9) |
16.6 (61.9) |
11.0 (51.8) |
6.1 (43.0) |
15.63 (60.13) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 0.6 (33.1) |
1.1 (34.0) |
4.5 (40.1) |
10.7 (51.3) |
17.0 (62.6) |
22.0 (71.6) |
25.0 (77.0) |
24.1 (75.4) |
19.9 (67.8) |
13.5 (56.3) |
8.3 (46.9) |
3.6 (38.5) |
12.53 (54.55) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −2.1 (28.2) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
1.7 (35.1) |
7.3 (45.1) |
13.3 (55.9) |
18.3 (64.9) |
21.4 (70.5) |
20.5 (68.9) |
16.5 (61.7) |
10.3 (50.5) |
5.6 (42.1) |
1.0 (33.8) |
9.37 (48.87) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 24 (0.94) |
31 (1.22) |
22 (0.87) |
19 (0.75) |
24 (0.94) |
24 (0.94) |
25 (0.98) |
23 (0.91) |
36 (1.42) |
44 (1.73) |
27 (1.06) |
29 (1.14) |
328 (12.91) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 59 |
| Sunshine hours | 74.4 | 72.5 | 105.4 | 171.0 | 244.9 | 279.0 | 282.1 | 269.7 | 195.0 | 151.9 | 81.0 | 68.2 | 1,995.1 |
| Source: World Meteorological Organization (UN),[8] Hong Kong Observatory[9] for data of sunshine hours | |||||||||||||
Makhachkala is twinned with:
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