Tyrnyauz is a town and the administrative center of Elbrussky District

Elbrussky District

Elbrussky District is an administrative and a municipal district , one of the ten in the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia. Its administrative center is the town of Tyrnyauz. District's population: 35,968 ; Population of Tyrnyauz accounts for 57.9% of the district's population....

 of the Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, situated on the main road leading to the Upper Baksan valley area and on the main climbing route for Mount Elbrus

Mount Elbrus

Mount Elbrus is an inactive volcano located in the western Caucasus mountain range, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, Russia, near the border of Georgia. Mt. Elbrus's peak is the highest in the Caucasus, in Russia...

. Population: . Tyrnyauz is the largest town in the Baksan Valley and an essential provisioning point for trips into the Elbrus region.

The town was founded around a tungsten

Tungsten

Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...

 mine and processing plant, which is still the main employer in the area. In June 2001 the town was devastated by a massive flood

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

 and mudslide. Apartment blocks were buried in mud up to the fourth floor. No reliable figures exist for the number of casualties. The town has largely recovered as of 2004, but scars are still clearly visible.

Tyrnyauz is the birthplace of Valery Kokov

Valery Kokov

Valery Mukhamedovich Kokov was a Russian politician of Kabardian ethnicity.- Early Life and Political Career :Kokov was born in Tyrnyauz, Kabardino-Balkaria. He was the leader of Kabardino-Balkaria from 1990 to 2005...

, former President of Kabardino-Balkaria

President of Kabardino-Balkaria

The President of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, known commonly as the President of Kabardino-Balkaria, is the highest office within the Government of Kabardino-Balkaria.- References :*...

.