North Ossetia–Alania

All of the republic's rivers belong to the drainage basin of the Terek River. Major rivers include:

• Terek River (~600 km)
• Urukh River (104 km)
• Ardon River (101 km)
• Kambileyevka River (99 km)
• Gizeldon River (81 km)
• Fiagdon River
• Sunzha River (278 km)

Mount Kazbek

All of the mountains located on the territory of the republic are a part of the Caucasus. Mount Kazbek is the highest point (5,033 m), with Mount Dzhimara being the second-highest (4,780 m).

Natural resources include minerals (copper, silver, zinc), timber, mineral waters, hydroelectric power, and untapped reserves of oil and gas.

The climate is moderately continental.

• Average January temperature: −5 °C (23 °F)
• Average July temperature: +24 °C (75 °F)
• Average annual precipitation: 400–700 millimeters (16–28 in) in the plains; over 1,000 millimeters (39 in) in the mountains.

The territory of North Ossetia was first inhabited by Caucasian tribes. Some Nomadic Alans settled in the region in the 7th century, forming the kingdom of Alania. It was eventually converted to Christianity by missionaries from Byzantium. Alania greatly profited from the Silk Road which passed through its territory.

After the Middle Ages, the Mongols' and Tartars' repeated invasions decimated the population, now known as the Ossetians. Islam was introduced to the region in the 17th century by Kabardians. Conflicts between the Khanate of Crimea and the Ottoman Empire eventually pushed Ossetia into an alliance with Imperial Russia in the 18th century. Soon, Russia established a military base in the capital, Vladikavkaz, making it the first Russian-controlled area in the northern Caucasus. By 1806, Ossetia was under complete Russian control.

Border changes after World War I.

The Russians' rule led to rapid development of industry and railways which overcame its isolation. The first books from the area came during the late 18th century, and became part of the Terskaya Region of Russia in the mid-19th century.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 resulted in North Ossetia being merged into the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921. It then became the North Ossetian Autonomous Oblast on 7 July 1924, then merged into the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on 5 December 1936. In World War II, it was subject to a number of attacks by Nazi German invaders unsuccessfully trying to seize Vladikavkaz in 1942.

The North Ossetian ASSR declared itself the autonomous republic of the Soviet Union on 20 June 1990. Its name was changed to the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania in 1994.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union posed particular problems for the Ossetian people, who were divided between North Ossetia, which was part of the Russian SFSR, and South Ossetia, part of the Georgian SSR. In December 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Georgia abolished the autonomous Ossetian enclave amid the rising ethnic tensions in the region, which was further fanned by Moscow; a lot of the conflict zone population, faced with the ethnic cleansing, was forced to flee across the border to either North Ossetia or Georgia proper. Some 70,000 South Ossetian refugees were resettled in North Ossetia. North Ossetia provoked the predominantly Ingush population in the Prigorodny District, which sparked the Ossetian–Ingush conflict. The results of the conflict were that 7,000 Ossetians and 64,000 Ingush refugees had to flee their homes.[16] As well as dealing with the effects of the conflict in South Ossetia, North Ossetia has had to deal with refugees and the occasional spillover of fighting from the wars around them. On 23 March 1995, North Ossetia–Alania signed a power-sharing agreement with the federal government, granting it autonomy.[17] This agreement would be abolished on 2 September 2002.[18]

The most widespread resources are zinc- and lead-containing complex ores. There are deposits of limestone, dolomites, marble, and touchstone. There is also a large availability of construction materials, such as clay, sand, and gravel. The local oil deposit reserves are estimated at 10 million metric tons.[19]

The agricultural sector is varied and specializes in the cultivation of wheat, corn, and sunflowers; horticulture; viticulture; and cattle and sheep breeding.[23][24]

North Ossetia's industry is mainly concentrated in Vladikavkaz. Major companies located here include Elektrotsink, Gazoapparat, an instrument-making plant, Elektrokontraktor, a factory producing automotive electrical equipment, a large-panel construction complex, and companies in the food industry. The Sadonsky industrial center has grown around the mining and forest industries.[24]

Cableway in Tsey canyon.

Kurtat valley

M. Tuganov Art Museum in Vladikavkaz

Despite the proximity to Chechnya, North Ossetia is making efforts to develop its tourist industry.[25] Projects under a program for spa, resort, and tourism development have been successfully implemented in the mountainous part of the republic, according to the head of the regional government.[21] There are nearly 3,000 historical monuments in the Republic and more than half of its area is occupied by Alania National Park, the North Ossetia National Preserve, and game preserves. There are more than 250 therapeutic, mineral, and freshwater springs in the republic with estimated daily reserves of 15,000 cubic meters. Besides providing the basis for health spas, these mineral waters also have the potential to be bottled and sold. North Ossetian mineral waters are known for their unique qualities, as well as special mineral composition.[24][25]

In terms of its infrastructure, North Ossetia–Alania ranks second in the Southern Federal District and 10th in the nation.[19] The republic has some of the most extensive telecommunication networks in the North Caucasus region and in Russia. It ranks first in terms of its telecom network installations in the Southern Federal District.

The republic ranks fourth in Russia in terms of its paved roads, and its expanding transport and logistics complex provides communication networks between Russia and the South Caucasus, as well as Central Asia. The complex includes two federal highways (Georgian Military Road connects Vladikavkaz with Transcaucasia) running across the Greater Caucasus Range, two customs checkpoints for cars, a developed railway network, Vladikavkaz international airport, and well-equipped transport terminals.[19]

The majority of the population of North Ossetia are Christians who belong to the Russian Orthodox Church, although there is also a Muslim minority who are of Ossetian-speaking origin.

According to the 2010 Census,[9] Ossetians make up 65.1% of the republic's population. Other groups include Russians (20.8%), Ingush (4.0%), Armenians (2.3%), Kumyks (2.3%), Georgians (1.3%), Ukrainians (0.4%), Chechens (0.3%), and Caucasus Greeks (0.2%).

There are two official languages in North Ossetia: Russian, which is official in all Russian territory, and Ossetian. Ossetian is an Indo-European language, belonging to the East Iranian group. Russian, acting as a lingua franca in the region, is an East Slavic language and as such also belongs to the Indo-European family, which means the two languages are related, albeit distantly. This makes North Ossetia the only Russian republic whose constituent people group's native language is Indo-European.

According to a 2012 survey which interviewed 56,900 people,[32] 49% of the population of North Ossetia–Alania adheres to the Russian Orthodox Church, 10% declare to be unaffiliated Christian believers, 2% are either Orthodox Christian believers who do not belong to churches or members of non-Russian Orthodox bodies. The second-largest religion is Ossetian ethnic religion, generally called Uatsdin (Уацдин, "True Faith"), a Scythian religion organized into movements such as the Atsætæ Church, comprising 29% of the population. Muslims constitute 4% of the population, and Protestants the 1%. In addition, 1% of the population declares to be "spiritual but not religious" and 3% to be atheist.[32]

According to a 2013 estimate, up to 15% of North Ossetia's population practice Islam.[34]

• Парламент Республики Северная Осетия — Алания. Закон №520А от 24 ноября 1994 г. «О государственном гимне Республики Северная Осетия — Алания», в ред. Закона №44-РЗ от 31 июля 2006 г «О внесении изменений в Закон Республики Северная Осетия — Алания "О государственном гимне Республики Северная Осетия — Алания"». Опубликован: Газета "Северная Осетия". (Parliament of the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania. Law #520A of 14 November 1994 On the State Anthem of the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania, as amended by the Law #44-RZ of 31 July 2006 On Amending the Law of the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania "On the State Anthem of the Republic of North Ossetia – Alania". ).
• Верховный Совет Республики Северная Осетия. 12 ноября 1994 г. «Республика Северная Осетия-Алания. Конституция.», в ред. Конституционного Закона №5-РКЗ от 4 декабря 2013 г. «О внесении изменений в Конституцию Республики Северная Осетия–Алания». Вступил в силу 7 декабря 1994 г. Опубликован: брошюрой "Конституция Республики Северная Осетия–Алания". (Supreme Council of the Republic of North Ossetia. November 12, 1994 Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. Constitution., as amended by the Constitutional Law #5-RKZ of December 4, 2013 On Amending the Constitution of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania. Effective as of December 7, 1994.).