Maysky

Rayon (sector) centre of Kabardino-Balkariya, 41 km north-east of Nalchik. Located at the bottom of the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus, in the Mozdok steppe, on the left bank of the Terek River. Railway station (Kotlyarevskaya) in the Mineralny Vody - Grozny line; railway branch to Nalchik. Population (1992 est.) 25.4 thousand, (1979 est.) 21.6 thousand.

The Russian military post of Prishib was founded on the site of present Maysky in 1819. In 1824, it was a small square fortification. There was a Cossack settlement near the fortification. In 1829, the post was transformed into the stanitsa (Cossack village) of Prishib (population of about 2 thousand). In this year, A.S. Pushkin visited Prishib during his trip to the Caucasus. In 1875, the station of Kotlyarevskaya of the Vladikavkaz railway was built 3 km south of the stanitsa (a constituent of Terek oblast (province) since 1860). The station settlement of Kotlyarevsky arose in 1888. It was subordinated to the Prishib stanitsa administration. In 1920-1925, the settlement merged with the former stanitsa, got the name of Prishib and in 1925, changed it to Maysky. Since 1937, Maysky is a rayon (sector) centre of Kabardino-Balkariya. Town since 1965.

Present Maysky is an industrial and agricultural centre of Kabardino-Balkariya. Crops of grain (wheat, barley, corn), technical (sunflower, ambary, etc.) and feed crops; fruit-farming; dairy farming and beef raising; aviculture; horse-breeding; fur farming. Vacuum electronic machine-building plant, X-ray instrumentation works, concrete product plant and structural element works; flavouring industry (including starch plant, alcohol-yeast factory), etc.

In the northern part of Maysky, archaeologists are digging the ancient settlement of Nizhny Dzhulat. Another local sight is the so-called Pushkin oak in the area of the railway station.