Beslan 949030 225985989 2008-07-16T09:43:58Z 81.18.52.141 translated data from russian wikipedia {{coor title dm|43|12|N|44|34|E|}} [[Image:North ossetia map.png|right|thumb|200px|Map of North Ossetia-Alania]] '''Beslan''' ({{lang-ru|Бесла́н}}; [[Ossetic language|Ossetic]]: {{unicode|Беслӕн}}) is a [[types of settlements in Russia|town]] located in the [[North Ossetia-Alania|Republic of North Ossetia-Alania]], [[Russia]]. It lies about fifteen kilometers north of [[Vladikavkaz]] and is the administrative center of [[Pravoberezhny District, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania|Pravoberezhny District]]. Beslan is the third largest town in the republic behind [[Vladikavkaz]] and [[Mozdok]]. Its population as of the [[Russian Census (2002)|2002 Census]] was 35,550 (up from 32,469 recorded in the [[Soviet Census (1989)|1989 Census]]). ==Important features== Beslan is an important railway junction, situated on the main line between [[Rostov-on-Don]] and [[Baku]], and is the starting point of a branch line to Vladikavkaz. It is an industrial-agricultural town dominated by a large corn processing plant established in the 1940s. ==History== The town was founded in 1847 by migrants from elsewhere in [[Ossetia]] and was named ''Beslanykau'' ("the settlement of Beslan") after a local lord, Beslan Tulatov. In official use, though, the town was known after Tulatov's surname as ''Tulatovo'' or ''Tulatovskoye''. It was renamed ''Iriston (Ossetia)'' in 1941 and in 1950, when the rapidly industrializing town was unified into a single municipality, it was renamed as Beslan. ===Beslan school hostage crisis=== {{main|Beslan school hostage crisis}} On [[September 1]], [[2004]], Beslan's Secondary School Number One was seized by a group of at least 32 [[Islamist terrorism|terrorists]] related to the [[Second Chechen War]]. The siege ended on [[September 3]] with a bloody shootout between the terrorists and the Russian security forces. According to official data, 334 civilians were killed, 186 of them children, and hundreds more wounded. ==Ethnic groups== Ethnic groups in the town (2002 data): *[[Ossetians]] (81.77%) *[[Russians]] (13.51%) {{Cities and towns in North Ossetia-Alania}} {{South-Russia-geo-stub}} [[Category:Beslan school hostage crisis]] [[ar:بيسلان]] [[bg:Беслан]] [[be:Горад Беслан]] [[ca:Beslan]] [[da:Beslan]] [[de:Beslan]] [[et:Beslan]] [[es:Beslán]] [[eo:Beslan]] [[fr:Beslan]] [[ko:베슬란]] [[hr:Beslan]] [[id:Beslan]] [[os:Беслæн]] [[is:Beslan]] [[it:Beslan]] [[he:בסלאן]] [[ka:ბესლანი]] [[nl:Beslan]] [[ja:ベスラン]] [[no:Beslan]] [[pl:Biesłan]] [[pt:Beslan]] [[ro:Beslan]] [[ru:Беслан]] [[sr:Беслан]] [[sh:Beslan]] [[fi:Beslan]] [[sv:Beslan]] [[tr:Beslan]] [[zh:别斯兰]]