Terek (Kabard-Cherk. Terch k'ale) is a city in the
Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. The administrative center of the Tersk
region. The city is located in the western part of the Tersk region,
on the right bank of the Terek River. It is located 53 km east of
the city of Nalchik (on the road).
The area of the urban
settlement is 12 km2. The length of the city from north to south is
5 km, from west to east - 3 km.
Terek borders on the lands of
settlements: Arik in the north, Deyskoe in the east, International
and Aleksandrovskaya in the west.
The settlement is located
in the foothill zone of the republic, on the sloping Kabardian
plain. The terrain is relatively flat with hilly elevations in the
west and north. Average heights in the territory of the municipality
are 254 meters above sea level.
The hydrographic network is
represented by the Terek River. The river valley is occupied by
dense riverside forests. To the north of the city, there are
cascades of small canals designed for irrigation of agricultural
land in the region. To the north of the city is the Arikskie Dubki
forest.
The climate is humid, temperate, with warm summers
and cool winters. The average annual air temperature is about + 10.5
° С, and ranges from average + 22.5 ° С in July to average -2.0 ° С
in January. The average daily air temperature ranges from -5 ° С to
+ 10 ° С in winter, and from + 16 ° С to + 30 ° С in summer. Minimum
temperatures in winter are extremely rare below -12 ° С, in summer
maximum temperatures reach + 35 ° С. The average annual rainfall is
about 650 mm. Most of the precipitation falls between April and
June. The main winds are east and north-west.
The date of foundation of the city of Terek is
considered to be 1876, when the new railway station Murtazovo was
put into operation. The new station was formed on the lands of the
Kabardian noblemen Murtazovs, in whose honor the station got its
name. At that time, the station staff were located in only three
residential buildings. Years later, other residential and economic
buildings, as well as small private establishments, began to form
around the station.
In 1920, a district congress of Soviets
of Malaya Kabarda took place, based on the results of the meeting,
it was decided to build a new settlement near the station. According
to the developed plan, the new settlement was to become the district
center of Malaya Kabarda. At the same time, the district congress
chose the name Terek for the new settlement.
Initially, this
settlement was supposed to retain the name Murtazovo. But as the
Soviet power was consolidated in society, the desire to rename the
settlements that bore the names of the ("old-regime") Kabardian
princely and noble families prevailed. As a result, the settlement
was named after the Terek River, on the right bank of which it began
to be upset.
In 1935 Terek was given the status of an
urban-type settlement. In 1945 - the status of a workers'
settlement.
During the Great Patriotic War at the end of
1942, the village was occupied by German troops for several weeks.
Released in early 1943. Monuments and monuments have been erected in
the city in memory of the victims.
In August 1967, the Decree
of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR was published on
the transformation of the Terek village into a city of regional
subordination. The city council was formed in it.