Baksan (Kabardian-Cherk. Bakhsen) is a city of republican significance in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. The city is the administrative center of municipalities Baksan City District and Baksan District (which is not part of).
The Baksan village was founded in 1891 by immigrants from Central Russia and Ukraine. The name is from the hydronym Baksan. In 1960, the village of Staraya Krepost (Kabardian Kuchmazukino) was added to it, and in 1965 the working village of Baksan was formed. Since 1967 - the city of Baksan.
The city is located in the northern part of the republic, on the
left bank of the Baksan River, at its exit from the gorge to the
foothill plain. It is located 18 km (in a straight line) north of
the republican center of the city of Nalchik.
The federal
highway "Caucasus" P-217 runs along the western outskirts of the
city, and its bypass road passes through the city center. The
federal highway "Prokhladny-Baksan-Elbrus" A-158 leading to the
Elbrus region runs along the southern outskirts.
The area
occupied by the city is 27.79 km2.
It borders on the lands of
the settlements: Dygulybgey in the south, Islamey in the south-west,
Psychokh in the north, Baksanenok in the east and Kishpek in the
southeast.
The city is located in the foothill zone of the
republic. Average heights are about 455 meters above sea level. The
terrain is mainly a sloping foothill plain, characterized by a
gentle slope of the terrace to the east, in the form of wide hollows
and gentle sloping slopes. The Mahogaps mountain range rises to the
southwest of the city. The bowels of the city are composed of a
thick layer of alluvial boulder-pebbles, with sandy filling of water
soils located at a depth of 17-20 meters.
The hydrographic
network is represented, first of all, by the Baksan River and its
channels (Geduko, Novaya Nakhalovka Canal, Baksanenok). A network of
canals has been laid in the vicinity, providing water flow from
Baksan to the north, to Malka. The largest of them,
Baksano-Malkinsky, stretches to the east of the city. To the
northeast of the city of Baksan, two watercourses flow out of it,
already belonging to the Malka basin - Sukha Psarysh and Mokra
Psarysh. The Novaya Nakhalovka canal, which also feeds the
Baksanenok River, also in fact originates from the Baksano-Malkinsky
Canal, and not from the Baksan River itself. To the north-west and
north of the city there are the Nevolka and Khatakumsky canals,
which originate from Baksan upstream. The Hatakum Canal is named
after the small drying up stream Hatakum that flows out of it; later
it connects with the Baksano-Malkinsky canal. The Nevolka canal is
used to flow from Baksan to Kurkuzhin.
The climate is humid,
temperate, with warm summers and cool winters. The average annual
air temperature is about + 9.5 ° С, and ranges from average + 21.5 °
С in July to average -3.0 ° С in January. The average daily air
temperature ranges from -10.0 ° C to + 15.0 ° C in winter, and from
+ 16.0 ° C to + 30.0 ° C in summer. The average annual rainfall is
about 650 mm. In spring, with sharp temperature changes, strong
winds blow from the mountains. The prevailing wind direction is
southwest.
In 1822, opposite the aul Kuchmazukino
(Kabard-Cherk. Kushmezykuei), a Russian military settlement was
founded, which was part of the Caucasian military line.
In
1825, after the annexation of Kabarda to the Russian Empire, the
population of the Kuchmazukino aul, not wanting to recognize the
power of the tsarist administration, moved beyond the Kuban to
continue the war with other Adygs.
After the end of the
Caucasian War, in 1867 the inhabitants of the Kuchmazukino aul moved
back to Kabarda and settled to the east of the military
fortification, to their original place.
In 1891, the Baksan
farm was founded to the west of the military fortification by
immigrants from the Central (mainly Kursk) provinces of the Russian
Empire.
In 1920, with the final establishment of Soviet power
in Kabarda, by the decision of the Revolutionary Committee of the
Nalchik District, Kuchmazukino, like other Kabardian settlements,
was renamed, due to the presence of princely and noble families in
their names. As a result, the village received a new name - Old
Fortress.
During the Great Patriotic War, the village and the
farm were occupied by German troops in October 1942. Released in
early January 1943. Several monuments have been erected in the city
in memory of the fallen soldiers.
In 1960, the village of
Staraya Krepost (about 8,000 inhabitants in 1959) and the Baksan
farm (3,583 inhabitants in 1959) were merged into the village of
Baksan.
In 1964 the village was given the status of an
urban-type settlement.
In 1967, the urban-type settlement was
given the status of a city.
In 2003, the village of
Dugulubgey was included in the city. After that, on August 8, 2003,
Baksan received the status of a city of republican subordination and
was transformed into the Baksan urban district.
In 2008,
Dygulybgey was separated from the city, with the return of the
status of a village, as part of the Baksan urban district.