Pyatigorsk [key], city (1989 pop. 129,500), Stavropol Territory, SE European Russia, on the Podkumok River in the N Caucasus. The administrative center of the North Caucasian federal district, it is a rail terminus and a health resort. The city has an electrotechnical industry, shops for the repair of agricultural equipment, and factories that produce food, clothing, footwear, and other items for resort visitors. The name Pyatigorsk [Rus.,=five mountains] derives from the five peaks of the Besh-Tau Mts. that overlook the city. Founded in 1780, Pyatigorsk has been a spa since 1803. There is a museum devoted to the memory of the Russian poet M. Y. Lermontov, who was shot in a duel at Pyatigorsk in 1841.
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