Pin made in the Soviet Union. The text on the pin reads:”Pyatigorsk”. Pyatigorsk is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia located on the Podkumok River. Population: 142,511 (2010 Census).
The writings of the 14th-century Arabian traveler Ibn Battuta included the earliest known mention of mineral springs. Peter the Great (reigned 1682-1725) fostered the earliest scientific study of them, but the information collected on his expedition has not survived. Interest revived at the end of the 18th century with the foundation of the first Russian settlement (Konstantinogorskaya fortress), erected at Mt. Mashuk in 1780.
The value of the Caucasian mineral waters led to the construction of a resort in 1803, and studies of their medical properties began thereafter: on April 24, Alexander I signed a decree which made the mineral waters state property. Many settlements developed near the springs.
During World War II the German Wehrmacht temporarily occupied Pyatigorsk. The Einsatzkommando 12 of Einsatzgruppe D had its headquarters in Pyatigorsk in 1942. The German occupation resulted in the killing of many Jewish inhabitants of the region.