Magas (Russian: Мага́с) is the capitaltown of Ingushetia, Russia. It was founded in 1995 and replaced Nazran as the capital of the republic in 2002. Due to this distinction, Magas is the smallest capital of a federal subject in Russia. In 2019, it had a population of 8,771 inhabitants, up from 5,841 in 2010 and 272 in 2002.
History
The Republic of Ingushetia came into existence in 1992, having been split from the Chechen–Ingush ASSR. Nazran, the largest of three towns of the new republic, was made a temporary capital.
In 1995, President Ruslan Aushev founded Magas just a few kilometers south of Nazran, naming it after the medieval city of Maghas.[citation needed] The new town was supposed to serve purely for administrative needs. Magas/Maghas is 28 miles from the frontline for parts of 1942–1943.
It replaced Nazran as capital of the Republic in 2002.
The name is given in Persian as Magas or Makas. The name Magas is a homonym of the Persian word magas, meaning "fly", and the medieval writers al-Mas'udi and Juvayni made plays on words about the city's name. The Chinese transcription Muzashan uses the characters for wood (mu, 木) and mountain (shan, 山), which John Latham-Sprinkle interprets as a possible reference to the city's location in rough terrain.
27 февраля 1994 г. «Конституция Республики Ингушетия», в ред. Закона №1-РЗП от 8 мая 2013 г. «О поправке к Конституции Республики Ингушетия». Опубликован: Сборник Конституций субъектов Федерации "Конституции Республик в составе Российской Федерации", выпуск 1, 1995. (February 27, 1994 Constitution of the Republic of Ingushetia, as amended by the Law #1-RZP of May 8, 2013 On the Amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Ingushetia. ).
Народное Собрание Республики Ингушетия. Закон №5-РЗ от 23 февраля 2009 г. «Об установлении границ муниципальных образований Республики Ингушетия и наделении их статусом сельского поселения, муниципального района и городского округа», в ред. Закона №9-РЗ от 4 марта 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в Закон Республики Ингушетия "Об установлении границ муниципальных образований Республики Ингушетия и наделении их статусом сельского поселения, муниципального района и городского округа"». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован: "Ингушетия", №26–27, 3 марта 2009 г. (People's Assembly of the Republic of Ingushetia. Law #5-RZ of February 23, 2009 On Establishing the Borders of the Municipal Formations of the Republic of Ingushetia and on Granting Them the Status of a Rural Settlement, Municipal District, and Urban Okrug, as amended by the Law #9-RZ of March 4, 2014 On Amending the Law of the Republic of Ingushetia "On Establishing the Borders of the Municipal Formations of the Republic of Ingushetia and on Granting Them the Status of a Rural Settlement, Municipal District, and Urban Okrug". Effective as of the day of the official publication.).