A note on drinking – Dagestan is not a dry republic, but still, the majority of people in Makhachkala and the republic, in general, do not touch alcohol. Being majority Muslim here does mean that beer houses and bars have to operate in a certain way.

Dagestan is a semi-autonomous republic in Russia’s Southern Caucuses known for its ruggedly beautiful mountainous terrain, its long history of conflict, and its wrestlers. While Dagestan is predominantly Muslim, there is significant ethnic diversity in the region.

Shirvani Arabic is a variety of Arabic that was once spoken in what is now central and northeastern Azerbaijan (historically known as Shirvan) and Dagestan (southern Russia)….

Dagestan has great ethnic diversity, with about 30 ethnic groups and 81 nationalities, most of whom speak either Caucasian, Turkic, or Iranian languages. Largest among those ethnic groups are the Avar, Russian, Dargin, Kumyk, and Lezgin, who together constitute the bulk of the population.

WARNING: Travel to Dagestan is unsafe due to political instability, criminal activity, bombings, Islamist terrorist attacks, and crime. Many governments recommend against any travel to Dagestan.

It is one of the most linguistically and ethnically diverse, as well as the most heterogeneous republic of Russia. The residents of the republic mostly speak North Caucasian and Turkic languages; however, Russian is the primary language and the lingua franca in the republic.

The majority of Dagestanis are Sunni Muslims. *It is sometimes known as the Mountain of Languages, or Mountain of Nationalities – with some national groups occupying no more than one or two villages.

Chechnya and Dagestan are the names of two small neighboring areas in the larger region known as the Caucasus. It is not really part of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, or the Middle East.

Founded initially as a Russian fort in the mid 19th Century Makhachkala has gone by many names (both Russian and native). A note on drinking – Dagestan is not a dry republic, but still, the majority of people in Makhachkala and the republic, in general, do not touch alcohol.

Once it was Chechnya, today it is the republic of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea that is the most explosive place in Russia – and in Europe. There are bomb attacks almost daily, shootouts between police and militants, tales of torture and of people going missing.

Magas
Its capital is the town of Magas. At 3,628 square km, in terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia’s federal subjects….Ingushetia.

The name Dagestan historically refers to the eastern Caucasus, in 1860 taken by the Russian Empire and renamed the Dagestan Oblast. The current, more autonomous Republic of Dagestan covers a much larger territory, established in 1921 as the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, by inclusion of the eastern part of Terek Oblast .

Dagestan is one of the most linguistically and ethnically diverse, as well as the most heterogeneousrepublic of Russia.[14] The residents of the republic mostly speak Caucasian, Iranicand Turkiclanguages,[13]however Russianis the primary language and the lingua francain the republic.[15]

The southernmost point of Russia is located about seven kilometers southwest of the peak. Other important mountains are Diklosmta (4,285 m (14,058 ft)), Gora Addala Shukgelmezr (4,152 m (13,622 ft)) and Gora Dyultydag (4,127 m (13,540 ft)). Dagestan is rich in oil, natural gas, coal, and many other minerals.

Dagestan has been a scene of low-level Islamic insurgency, occasional outbreaks of separatism, ethnic tensions and terrorism since the 1990s. According to International Crisis Group, the militant Islamist organization Shariat Jamaat is responsible for much of the violence.