Nartan (village)

This article is about a village in Chegemsky District of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia. For the road crossing of the same name located in the same district, see Nartan (road crossing).

Nartan (Russian: Нартан) is a village (selo) in Chegemsky District of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia, located on the right bank of the Nalchik River, 5.5 kilometers (3.4 mi) east of Nalchik, the capital of the republic. Population: 12,325 (2002 Census).^[1] The majority of the population are ethnic Kabardin. There are also, however, a number of Turkish and Russian inhabitants.

Until 1924, the village was called "Klishbiyevo" after the noble family that owned it.

The village is situated in the Kabardian Valley of the foothills of surrounding Greater Caucasus mountains located further south. The outskirt of the area, known locally as Upper Nartan, joins the urban sprawl of eastern Nalchik.

Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the villagers were mainly occupied in rural economy. The Nartan collective farm had sufficient land holdings and a material and technical basis for a farming economy. The main crops grown are cereals, such as maize, wheat, barley, rye, and sunflower. In addition, fruits, such as apples and pears, and vegetables were grown, and livestock such as cattle was maintained. As a collective farm, households had individual plots of lands attached for growing for personal consumption and occasionally for market. Some households in Nartan continue to maintain the original personal use lands as gardens.

Community and consumer facilities of the village include the local government building, a village club house, a supermarket, three schools, including two secondary and one elementary school, an outpatient clinic (now a village hospital), and a kindergarten. There is also a republican boarding school for the orphans in the village.

At present, the population of the village—mainly females—is self-employed working on the lands attached to their residences. The unemployment rate is very high for both qualified and unqualified labor. The leaseholders of the former collective farm properties as the employers are not able to provide the population with suitable work. In the end, the people leave for earnings and for good to Central Russia or foreign countries.

Notable residents

• Soslanbek Klishbiyev, the last representative of the princely family that owned the village. He served as the head of the Nalchik Okrug in 1910–1917. He was executed by the local Bolsheviks under the leadership of Betal Kalmykov soon after the October Revolution.
• Bekmurza Mashevich Pashev, an epic poet and folklorist, who invented his own Arabic script alphabet to write poems in his native tongue.
• Oleg Oprishko, a historian, the author of books on the history of Kabardino-Balkaria.

References

1. ^ Федеральная служба государственной статистики (Federal State Statistics Service) (2004-05-21). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек (Population of Russia, its federal districts, federal subjects, districts, urban localities, rural localities—administrative centers, and rural localities with population of over 3,000)" (in Russian). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года (All-Russia Population Census of 2002). Federal State Statistics Service. http://www.perepis2002.ru/ct/doc/1_TOM_01_04.xls. Retrieved 2010-03-23. 

Coordinates: 43°31′N 43°42′E / 43.517°N 43.7°E / 43.517; 43.7