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Makhachkala
Makhachkala (English); Махачкала (Russian); Магьачкъала (Kumyk)
— Inhabited locality —
;
	; Location of the Republic of Dagestan on the map of Russia
	; Location of Makhachkala on the map of the Republic of Dagestan
	Coordinates: 42°58′N 47°30′E / 42.967°N 47.5°ECoordinates: 42°58′N 47°30′E / 42.967°N 47.5°E
; Coat of arms	; Flag
	Administrative status
Country	Russia
Federal subject	Republic of Dagestan
In administrative jurisdiction of	Republic of Dagestan[citation needed]
Administrative center of	Republic of Dagestan[citation needed]
	Municipal status
Municipal Status	Urban okrug
City Head[citation needed]	Said Amirov[citation needed]
Representative body	City Duma[citation needed]
	Statistics
Area	466.3 km2 (180.0 sq mi)[citation needed]
Population (2002 Census)	462,412 inhabitants
- Rank	37th
- Density	992 /km2 (2,600/sq mi)
Population (2007)	620,500 inhabitants[citation needed]
Time zone	MSK/MSD (UTC+3/+4)
Founded	15th century[citation needed]
Dialing code(s)	+7 8722[citation needed]
Official website	http://www.mkala.ru/

Makhachkala (Russian: Махачкала́, Avar: МахIачхъала, Kumyk: Магьачкъала, Mağaçqala) is a city in Russia, the capital of the Republic of Dagestan. It is located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, at 42°59′N 47°30′E / 42.983°N 47.5°E / 42.983; 47.5. Population: 462,412 (2002 Census).

[edit] History

Makhachkala's historic predecessor was the town of Tarki, now a mere suburb, whose history goes back to the 15th century and possibly much earlier. The modern city of Makhachkala was founded in 1844 as a fortress; town status was granted in 1857. The original name of the city was Petrovskoye (Петро́вское)—after the Russian tsar Peter the Great who visited the region in 1722. However, among the locals it was known as Anzhi-Qala (A Fortress of Soil, Qala or Kala قلعه means Fortress in Persian and Arabic). The city was renamed Petrovsk-Port (Петро́вск-Порт) in 1857, sometimes simply Petrovsk, and then Makhachkala in 1921. The city incurred major damage during the earthquake of May 14, 1970. It was shortly renamed as Shamilkala in 1920s and was occupied by Ottoman Empire between October 6, 1918 and November 17, 1918.^[3]

In January 1919, during the Russian Civil War, the British based No. 221 Squadron Royal Air Force at Petrovsk. In March they were joined by No. 266 Squadron and both squadrons were involved in bombing operations against Bolshevik forces in Astrakhan and elsewhere. In August 1919 both squadrons were withdrawn from Petrovsk.^[4]