Tragedy in Beslan “Remember. Love. Mourn”: what happened 17 years ago?

Photo: www.rbc.ru

Geography and general characteristics

The capital of North Ossetia (Alania) is the city of Vladikavkaz. It is noteworthy that the neighbors are the Stavropol Territory (north), Chechnya, Ingushetia (east), Georgia (south side) and South Ossetia (partially recognized). Located within the Northern slope of the Caucasus.

The Terek River flows from the Georgian side, on the right side, which is the city of Beslan, which is also the administrative center of the Right Bank region of North Ossetia (Alania).

The Right Bank occupies the eastern part of the Ossetian sloping plain. Neighbors - Ingushetia (east), Prigorodny district of the republic (southeast), Ardonsky district (south and southwest), Kirovsky district (southwest), Mozdoksky district (north).

Unites 11 municipalities (rural settlements), headed by the city of Beslan. Vladikavkaz is located 14 kilometers from it, and Nazran is 18 kilometers away.

Beslan plays an important role, being part of a transport hub such as Rostov-on-Don-Baku. And also the point where the railway line leading to Vladikavkaz begins. In terms of population, Beslan ranks third in the republic, behind Vladikavkaz and Mozdok.

Economy

Beslan is one of the centers of Ossetian alcohol production.

Industry

• Phoenix Distillery
• Distillery Vozrozhdenie
• Ariana Distillery
• Vodka
• Vodka
• Wine shop
• Oil depot "Energos"
• Oil depot "Romo"
• Distillery
• Champagne wine factory
• Timber processing plant
• Garment factory
• The Beslankombinat enterprise produces starchy maize, glucose, molasses and corn oil.
• Beslan grain receiving enterprise No. 2
• Beslan bakery
• Beslan butter and cheese plant
• Beslan massacre
• Brickworks
• Coil plant
• Beslan DRSU
• Beslan RSU
• MMPK "Pravoberezhnaya"
• Stroyfirma SMP-324
• Zilginsky brick factory
• Enterprise "Stroyizdeliya"
• – trailers and semi-trailers for trucks
• Beslan Electromechanical Plant - complete transformer substations
• — reinforced concrete products
• Enterprise "Stroymost" - reinforced concrete structures

Agriculture
Plant growing, horticulture and livestock farming are developed.

• Beslan Arboretum

Rivers

Large tributaries are Urukh, Ardon, Kambileevka, Gizeldon. The Terek and Urukh, partly the Ardon, are fed by glaciers, and therefore belong to the mountain rivers, while the Kambileevka and Sunzha are classified as foothill rivers. The latter are fed from rain, snow, and soil (mixed type of nutrition). In autumn and winter, the flow decreases significantly, but in the spring there is a flood. Due to the rapid current, they are not covered with ice.

Features of the soil of North Ossetia (Alania)

The mountains also influence here, which is why the soil cover has a huge variety: from mountain-meadow and swampy to black soil, there are also mixed types.

In the vicinity of the Ossetian inclined plain, carbonate chernozem is particularly widespread, in the south - slightly leached chernozem.

In the center of the plain, where groundwater is located quite close to the surface, there are meadow and meadow-bog soils. In the mountains - forested, with a moderate amount of humus. A large part of the territory has marshy soils. They are not highly fertile and have high acidity.

From the history of the founding of Beslan

It was created in 1847, its founders were immigrants from neighboring regions and republics. The historical name is Beslanykau, which meant “Beslan settlement” (this was the name of the local feudal lord). The official name is Tulatovo, after the surname of the owner of the land.

In 1941, Beslan had to be renamed Iriston, which meant “Ossetia,” but 9 years later it was called by a name already known to our contemporaries. A little later, during the “thaw”, mass construction of the so-called Khrushchev-era apartment buildings began here.

In mid-September 1961, there was a series of street riots in Beslan associated with police attempts to arrest five people, but law enforcement officers resisted. As a result, one was killed and seven were arrested. More than 700 people took part in the riots. But Beslan gained fame all over the world in 2004, in September.

The death of little people

After the assault by security forces who saved students from the fire, hundreds of wounded and maimed people forever imprinted this day in their memory. The whole world mourned along with the residents of Beslan. In that terrible tragedy, 334 people died, 186 of them were children.

Residents received medical and material assistance from all over the world. Victims were transported for treatment, and special enterprises were organized to rehabilitate victims of the terrorist attack. At this time, beautiful Beslan became a real horror film, where it was not fiction. Fire, screams, tears and pain - this is what eyewitnesses of those events remember.

Terrorist attack on September 1, 2004 in the city of Beslan

On September 1, 2004, Chechen soldiers captured Beslan school No. 1, more than 1,100 people, most of whom were children and teenagers, were taken hostage. Of these, 333 died (186 children), more than a thousand were forced to go to the hospital for medical help.

During the operation to free the prisoners, 10 FSB soldiers were killed. This happened on September 3 of the same year. Group “A” (“alpha”) suffered losses in the form of three fighters, group B (“pennant”) lost seven.

The terrorist attack in Beslan was the latest in a series of spring-summer attacks. Shamil Basayev is considered their culprit. He is also guilty of the following crimes:

• murder of Akhmat Kadyrov;
• military raid on Ingushetia;
• armed attack on Grozny;
• two explosions of planes with passengers;
• Moscow terrorist attack near the Rizhskaya metro station.

Shamil Basayev was killed in the summer of 2006 within the village of Ekazhevo.

On September 13, 2004, Vladimir Putin promised to take several measures aimed at combating all kinds of terror and actively improving socio-economic conditions in the southern part of the country. To be more precise, the President of the Russian Federation proposed to abolish the right to select senior officials directly in the Southern Federal District - instead, they will be approved by presidential decree. The corresponding bill was developed in the fall and adopted in the winter of 2004. Thus, the current government in the country has strengthened even more.

What were the militants trying to achieve?

Day one - September 1

Initially, they did not put forward any demands. On the first day of detention, the hostages were allowed to go to the toilet and drink water from trash cans, but there was not enough for everyone. In the afternoon, the invaders handed over a note explaining that in the event of an assault, they would blow up the school building. A little later they released the hostage, who handed over a written message that read: “Wait.” In the afternoon, the unexpected happened - a terrorist with a suicide belt blew herself up. As a result, the militants shot 20 people. Fearing a riot, they got rid of all the men, carrying out a mass execution on the second floor, and throwing the corpses out of the windows into the courtyard.

Photo: www.rbc.ru

The first condition of the thugs was to summon government representatives to negotiations: the head of Ingushetia Murat Zyazikov, the President of North Ossetia Alexander Dzasokhov, as well as the former Secretary of the Russian Security Council Vladimir Rushailo. According to other information, the third person whom the militants wanted to see within the walls of the school was the director of the Research Institute of Disaster Medicine, Dr. Leonid Roshal, who arrived at the scene of the incident.

Day two - September 2

On the second day of autumn that year, terrorists allowed the former head of Ingushetia, Ruslan Aushev, to enter the building. He agreed with the thugs to release 26 people - women with young children. The militants in negotiations with the ex-president put forward the following demands: the release of the terrorists who took part in the attack on Nazran on the night of June 22, as well as the withdrawal of federal troops from the territory of Chechnya. According to many sources, the last condition was the granting of independence to Chechnya, but this information was not officially confirmed.

At that time, a day had already passed since the capture. The hostages were weakened and the stress they experienced was affecting their general condition. After communicating with Aushev, the thugs became embittered. They stopped giving me water and forbade me to sleep. Right in the gym hall, boards were torn off the floor, thus creating a pit for excrement. She was allowed to use it as she pleased.

Photo: www.rbc.ru “They called on us to maintain discipline with the words: “Hands like a bunny!” In this position, my hands became very numb,” said the former hostage, at that time a ninth grade student, Agunda Vataeva.

To quench their thirst, people captured by terrorists were forced to drink their own urine. Many could not stand it and fainted. Among them were diabetics, which complicated the situation.

For all three days, the militants refused to replace children with adults and monetary rewards for the release of hostages, as well as to give people the necessary medicine, water and food.

Photo: www.rbc.ru

Day three - denouement

According to Agunda Vataeva, who lost her mother under such terrible circumstances, on the third day all the hostages wanted the situation to be resolved. And it didn’t matter how. The main thing is that it all ends. People wanted to sleep and collapsed from fatigue and stress, and the militants threatened that they would shoot those who lost consciousness.

At about one o'clock in the afternoon, a car with four rescuers drove up to the school building, who, according to an agreement with the terrorists, were supposed to remove the corpses from the yard. At that moment, two powerful explosions occurred in the school gym, due to which the walls of the building partially collapsed and the hostages rushed out. Mothers threw their children out of broken windows. Seeing schoolchildren running out, specialists from all units and local militia residents, who had been on duty near the school grounds since the first day of the capture, went on the offensive. The militants, assessing the situation, began shooting indiscriminately. They shot at the backs of the fleeing hostages and began to retreat, hiding behind the children who came to hand. The bandits moved along with the remaining hostages to the assembly hall and dining room, from which they continued to shoot the escaped hostages. Those who could not move on their own were killed by thugs with machine guns. About two hundred people remained in the hands of the militants.

Photo: www.rbc.ru

What is there in Beslan?

Beslan, as a relatively small settlement, is devoid of noticeable attractions. Government institutions here can be literally counted on one hand. If we talk about education, it is represented by:

school number 8

• Beslan Sunday school;
• ten schools for teenagers;
• Gymnasium;
• Boarding school named after Ivan Kulidi (physical education teacher who died due to a Chechen terrorist attack);
• Musical;
• Sports;
• Artistic;
• vocational school;
• college.

The medical sector in Beslan is represented by:

• North Caucasus Center;
• district hospital;
• Emergency medical service station;
• local hospital;
• local children's hospital;
• Infectious diseases clinic;
• maternity hospital

Notes

1. ↑ 12345
   www.gks.ru/free_doc/doc_2016/bul_dr/mun_obr2016.rar Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2021
2. Gorodetskaya I. L., Levashov E. A.
   [books.google.com/books?id=Do8dAQAAMAAJ&dq=%D0%91%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD Beslan] // Russian names of residents: Dictionary-reference book. - M.: AST, 2003. - P. 48. - 363 p. — 5000 copies. — ISBN 5-17-016914-0.
3. [web.archive.org/web/20071221020932/www.izvestia.ru/news/news88661 Basayev took responsibility for the terrorist attacks in Russia and spoke in detail about Beslan]. — Izvestia, 09/17/04
4. ↑ 12
   [region15.ru/docs/osseta-naselenie/ Population of North Ossetia]. Retrieved April 10, 2021. [www.webcitation.org/6gez2Qawb Archived from the original on April 10, 2016].
5. [demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus59_reg2.php All-Union Population Census of 1959. The size of the urban population of the RSFSR, its territorial units, urban settlements and urban areas by gender] (Russian). Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2013. [www.webcitation.org/6GDOghWC9 Archived from the original on April 28, 2013].
6. ↑ 1234567891011
   www.MojGorod.ru/r_sevosetia/beslan/index.html People's encyclopedia “My City”. Beslan
7. [demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus70_reg2.php All-Union Population Census of 1970 The size of the urban population of the RSFSR, its territorial units, urban settlements and urban areas by gender.] (Russian). Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2013. [www.webcitation.org/6GDOiMstp Archived from the original on April 28, 2013].
8. [demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus79_reg2.php All-Union Population Census of 1979 The size of the urban population of the RSFSR, its territorial units, urban settlements and urban areas by gender.] (Russian). Demoscope Weekly. Retrieved September 25, 2013. [www.webcitation.org/6GDOjhZ5L Archived from the original on April 28, 2013].
9. [demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus89_reg2.php All-Union Population Census of 1989. Urban population]. [www.webcitation.org/617x0o0Pa Archived from the original on August 22, 2011].
10. [www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls All-Russian Population Census 2002. Volume. 1, table 4. Population of Russia, federal districts, constituent entities of the Russian Federation, districts, urban settlements, rural settlements - regional centers and rural settlements with a population of 3 thousand or more]. [www.webcitation.org/65AdCU0q3 Archived from the original on February 3, 2012].
11. [www.gks.ru/bgd/regl/B09_109/IssWWW.exe/Stg/d01/tabl-21-09.xls Number of permanent population of the Russian Federation by cities, urban-type settlements and districts as of January 1, 2009]. Retrieved January 2, 2014. [www.webcitation.org/6MJmu0z1u Archived from the original on January 2, 2014].
12. osetstat.gks.ru/wps/wcm/connect/rosstat_ts/osetstat/resources/9c255c004f0a3da4b34bb322524f7e0f/Number+of+population+city+districts%2C+municipal+districts%2C+city+and+rural+settlements+and+ settlements+locations.xls Results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census for North Ossetia-Alania. Population of urban districts, municipal districts, urban and rural settlements and settlements
13. ↑ 1234
    [osetstat.gks.ru/wps/wcm/connect/rosstat_ts/osetstat/resources/8f2c3d8047de1dcd9ee1beed3bc4492f/Number+by+MO+on+01/01/2015.pdf Estimation of the population of municipalities of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania as of January 1, 2011-2015 years]. Retrieved May 4, 2015. [www.webcitation.org/6YGuBDx5i Archived from the original on May 4, 2015].
14. [www.gks.ru/free_doc/doc_2015/bul_dr/mun_obr2015.rar Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2015]. Retrieved August 6, 2015. [www.webcitation.org/6aaNzOlFO Archived from the original on August 6, 2015].
15. taking into account the cities of Crimea
16. [www.gks.ru/free_doc/doc_2016/bul_dr/mun_obr2016.rar Population of the Russian Federation by municipalities as of January 1, 2021. Table “31. Population of cities and towns by federal districts and constituent entities of the Russian Federation as of January 1, 2021.” RAR archive (1.0 MB)]
17. [osetstat.gks.ru/wps/wcm/connect/rosstat_ts/osetstat/resources/e95cac004053347a8ce0df0fa8517bb1/VOLUME+4.+National+composition+and+language+proficiency%2C+citizenship.zip Volume4. Table 4. National composition of the RSOA by municipalities according to the 2010 census]. [www.webcitation.org/6IzUCSwjD Archived from the original on August 19, 2013].
18. [www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru/pravoberezhny02.html Ethno-Caucasus. National composition of the Right Bank region according to the 2002 census]
19. [www.russian-mosques.com/ShowMosque.aspx?regionCode=SE+&cityName=Beslan&mosqueID=4df157b8-a612-4aa3-89eb-d142d5b0e857 North Ossetia-Alania Republic, Beslan]
20. [www.goragospodnya.ru/blagochinija-i-hramy/item/218-czerkov-velikomuchenika-georgiya-pobedonoscza Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious]

Religion and culture

Most of the population adheres to the Orthodox faith (there are three churches and two chapels). In addition to them, there is a Pentecostal organization and a mosque on the territory.

The newspaper “Life of the Right Bank” is published weekly - the official organ. It describes all the latest news from Beslan and the republic as a whole.

It should be noted that the situation in Beslan (and throughout Ossetia) is almost always tense due to its proximity to Chechnya, however, this does not prevent the city from actively developing and living a quiet life. We can only hope that over time, life in the south of the country will completely improve.

Monuments

• Stele with the name of the city
• Monument to Beslan Tulatov
• Monument "Tree of Sorrow"
• Monument to Joseph Stalin on Stalin Street
• Memorial complex to the soldiers who fell during the Second World War
• Bust of Joseph Stalin on a pedestal
• Monument to Kosta Khetagurov
• Monument to Vladimir Lenin
• Monument "Good Angel of Peace"
• Monument to the Fallen Policemen of 1944
• Monument to employees of the Alpha and Vympel divisions
• Monument to the heroes of the civil war near the railway station
• Monument to Hero of Russia Zaur Dzhibilov.