5 surprising facts about Dagestan

1. The most multi-ethnic region of Russia

Usually, the status of ‘republic’ means that, in addition to Russian, the language of the national majority is recognized as a state language. But, in Dagestan, there is not one such language, but 14! That’s exactly how many ethnicities are recognized as indigenous in Dagestan and each language has equal status.

By the most modest estimates, among the 3.2 million population of Dagestan, there live about 100 ethnic peoples who speak more than 50 languages. Such linguistic and ethnic diversity has survived, because historically there was a system of self-governing communities there.

Interestingly, representatives of different peoples speak Russian among each other – it has universal significance. Most often, the majority of Dagestanis immediately understand which people a person in front of them belongs to and can switch to another language. The largest group are the Avars, followed by the Dargins, Kumyks, Lezgins and Laks.

2. The most ancient people on the planet lived there

As archaeologists have established that, 2 million years ago, the most ancient humans came to the Caucasus from their Middle East homeland. Habitation sites of these ancient people were found in the mountains of Dagestan, such as the sites of Ainikab, Mukhkay and Gegelashur. During excavations, stone tools (hand axes) were discovered, ranging in age from 2 million to 7,000 years.

Archaeologists can trace the entire history of humanity there. You can find rock paintings, ceramic vessels, as well as Bronze Age artifacts, such as coins, arrowheads and much more.

3. There are traces of all the most important ancient civilizations

Along the coast, the ‘Caspian Route’ passed through Dagestan, which was a branch of the famous Great Silk Road that connected West and East. Therefore, in the coastal areas, one can find artifacts from many ancient civilizations: Iran, India, Syria, Egypt, the Bosporan Kingdom and even the Roman Empire.

Archaeologists have found, for example, entire bronze hoards of Egyptian king Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205–180 BC) and coins of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt from the Hellenistic era.

4. There were several states on the territory of Dagestan

The first state, the so-called ‘Caucasian Albania’, arose here around the 1st century BC. Over time, Christianity spread there. Later, the lands of Dagestan were ruled by the Huns and the Khazars, while the Tatar-Mongols and Arabs also tried to conquer these places. Legends also formed about the courageous resistance that the Dagestanis offered to Tamerlane.

By the way, Islam, which today predominates in the republic, spread there only by the 15th century, although it appeared even earlier under the influence of the Caliphate.

Many autonomous states also existed on the territory of Dagestan.

The longest influence and dominion over the territory was that of Iran and it was the Iranians who built the Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent, the most ancient on the territory of modern Russia. 

Dagestan’s relations with Russia were not simple. Several times, Russian rulers tried to make campaigns into the lands of Dagestan, but never did this bring success. Several times, individual Dagestani rulers asked Russia for protection and became subjects of the empire. Dagestan found itself at the epicenter of the Russo-Persian and Russo-Turkish wars.

Dagestan then became part of the Russian Empire in 1813 after the Treaty of Gulistan between Russia and Persia, but, almost until the end of that century, the authorities struggled with local rebels.

5. The land of wrestlers

Back in the Russian Empire, the strongman Sali-Suleiman became famous throughout the country, performing in the circus and demonstrating his talents. He never lost a fight in his career and became a two-time world champion. In Soviet times, a strong wrestling and coaching school developed in Dagestan, which is still famous far beyond the borders of Russia.

It seems that the very climate and mountainous terrain have always favored the training of physical strength and endurance. Every day, local residents descend and climb steep mountain slopes and walk dangerous mountain paths. Since ancient times, every ‘aul’ (small mountain village) formed paramilitary self-defense detachments and images of wrestlers are found even on stone reliefs from as far back as the 14th century there. So, the fighting spirit is in the blood of the Dagestanis.

And, today, the most famous former wrestler in the world, UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, hails from Dagestan. And he is far from the only successful athlete from the region. Locals joke: “Throw a stone into a crowd and you'll hit a ‘Master of Sports’; throw two stones and you'll hit European champions; throw a handful of stones and you'll hit Olympic champions!”

You can read more about these and other intriguing facts about the republic in the new book ‘Dagestan: History, Culture, Identity’ (SLOVO, 2026), co-written by 26 local Dagestani authors. Soon, it will be published in English.