Pyatigorsk

Pyatigorsk (Russian: Пятиго́рск; Circassian: Псыхуабэ, Psıxwabæ) is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on the Podkumok River, about 20 kilometers (12 mi) from the town of Mineralnye Vody, which has an international airport, and about 45 kilometers (28 mi) from Kislovodsk. Since January 19, 2010, it has been the administrative center of the North Caucasian Federal District of Russia. Population: 142,511 (2010 census); 140,559 (2002 census); 129,499 (1989 Soviet census).

The name is derived from the fused Russian words "пять гор" (five mountains) and the city is so called because of the five peaks of the Beshtau (which also means five mountains in Turkic) of the Caucasus Mountains overlooking the city. Founded in 1780, it has been a health spa with mineral springs since 1803, as part of the Caucasian Mineral Waters.

Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov was shot dead by Nikolai Martynov in a duel at Pyatigorsk on July 27, 1841. There is a museum in the city devoted to his memory. Zionist activist Joseph Trumpeldor was born in Pyatigorsk.

The writings of the 14th-century Arabian traveler Ibn Battuta included the earliest known mention of the mineral springs. Peter the Great (reigned 1682–1725) fostered the earliest scientific study of them, but the information collected on his expedition has not survived. Interest revived at the end of the 18th century with the foundation of the first Russian settlement (Konstantinogorskaya fortress), erected at Mt. Mashuk in 1780.

The value of the Caucasian mineral waters led to the construction of a resort in 1803, and studies of their medical properties began thereafter: on April 24, Alexander I signed a decree which made the mineral waters state property. Many settlements developed near the springs: first Goryachevodsk (now part of Pyatigorsk) at the bottom of Mt. Mashuk, then Kislovodsk, Yessentuki, and Zheleznovodsk. During the Russian Empire, the settlement was the administrative capital of the Pyatigorsky Otdel of the Terek Oblast.

During World War II, the German Wehrmacht temporarily occupied Pyatigorsk. The Einsatzkommando 12 of Einsatzgruppe D had its headquarters in Pyatigorsk in 1942. The German occupation resulted in the killing of many Jewish inhabitants of the region.

The city is situated on a small plateau, 512 meters (1,680 ft) above sea level, at the foot of Beshtau, Mashuk, and three other outliers of the Caucasus Mountains, which protect it on the north. The snow-covered summits of Mount Elbrus are visible to the south.

Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is, together with two urban-type settlements (Goryachevodsky and Svobody) and five rural localities, incorporated as the city of krai significance of Pyatigorsk—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the city of krai significance of Pyatigorsk is incorporated as Pyatigorsk Urban Okrug Daria Kuznetsova is a local leader.