Nalchik (Russian: Нальчик IPA: [ˈnalʲtɕɪk]; Kabardian: НалщӀэч, Nalṣ̂ăčʼ [naːɮɕʼakʲ]; Karachay-Balkar: Нальчик [naltʃɯk]) is the capital city of Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, situated at an altitude of 550 meters (1,800 ft) in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about 100 kilometers (62 mi) northwest of Beslan (Beslan is in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania).

The modern city dates from the early 19th century when the expanding Russian Empire built a fort there in 1818.

During World War II, on 2 November 1942, Nalchik was occupied by Romanian mountain troops (Vânători de munte) under the command of Brigadier General Ioan Dumitrache, its capture earning the Romanian General the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

General Dumitrache went to great length ordering his troops to protect local population during the time Nalchik was occupied by Romanian forces.

[19] On October 13, 2005, Nalchik was attacked by a large group of Yarmuk Jamaat militants led by Shamil Basayev and Anzor Astemirov.

[6] The population of the city in 2021 included the following breakdown by ethnicity:[20] 2002 census data is as follows:[21] Nalchik is a balneological and mountain climatotherapy resort, with several sanatoriums.