Dagestan , republic in southwestern Russia. Dagestan lies on the eastern end of the northern flank of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, along the western shore of the Caspian Sea. The capital is Makhachkala. Dagestan can be divided into five physical regions. The first, occupying most of the Dagestan , which translates as "land of the mountains", is situated in Russia's North Caucasus with Chechnya and Georgia to the west, Azerbaijan to the south and the Caspian Sea to the east. Dagestan (/ ˌdæɡɪˈstæn, - ˈstɑːn / DAG-i-STA (H)N; Russian: Дагестан; IPA:[dəɡʲɪˈstan]), officially the Republic of Dagestan , [a] is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Federal District. The republic is the southernmost tip of Russia, sharing land borders with the countries of Azerbaijan and Georgia to the south and southwest, the ... The Head of the Republic of Dagestan is the republic’s highest-ranking official, who heads its executive branch and directs the Government of the Republic of Dagestan .
