Kizliar

a city in the Dagestan ASSR, located in the delta of the Terek River. Railroad station on the Gudermes-Astrakhan line 221 km northwest of the city of Makhachkala. Population, 30,000 (1970).

The first mention of Kizliar dates from 1609. A fortress was constructed in 1735, marking the beginning of the city and of the construction of the Caucasus fortified lines. Kizliar became an administrative center of a district of the Terek Region in 1785. The city was one of the centers of trade between Russia and the Middle East during the 18th and 19th centuries. Since the beginning of the 19th century, it has been the center of an important wine-growing and wine-making region.

Kizliar has plants for the production of electric equipment, cognac, wine, butter and cheese, fruit and vegetable canned goods, and grape juice, as well as a flour-milling combine. The city also has an electromechanical technicum, a medical school, and a museum of local lore.