Qusar (Azerbaijani Qusar) is a city in the north of Azerbaijan, the administrative center of the Gusar region. Kusary is located in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus, on the Kusarchay River, 35 km southwest of the Khudat railway station and 180 km from Baku.

History
In 1836, Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov visited Kusar (these data are not confirmed by scientific sources (see: Lermontov Encyclopedia. M., 1981)), where he met with the scientist-philosopher Haji Ali-efendi and there he heard from the famous ashug Lezgi Ahmed dastan “Ashug Gharib” and after that he wrote the famous work “Ashik-kerib” based on the motives. The city has preserved the house-museum of the poet with a memorial plaque on which the famous lines of Lermontov are written:
“”Greetings to you, gray-haired Caucasus! I am not a stranger to your mountains. As I loved, my majestic Caucasus, Your sons are warlike”
In 1938, the village of Qusar received the status of a city.
The city of Qusar was the capital of Dagestan in 1822 – 1840:
“The year 1822 passed peacefully in Dagestan, and Yermolov took advantage of this to make some administrative changes. Major General Krabbe was appointed commander of the troops and military district chief of Dagestan instead of Baron Wrede. His very administration was transferred from Cuba to the Kusary tract, where also the headquarters of the Apsheron regiment”

Geography
The city is located near the mountains of Bazarduzu, Shah-dag and the border with Russia. The mountain river Kusarchay flows in Kusar. The city also has an artificial lake Fialka.

Climate
Gusar is located in the temperate climate zone, due to the relatively high altitude and the proximity of the mountains, the winter here is moderately cool, and the summer is warm, but not hot. The air temperature during the day can change by more than 15 degrees. For example, in summer, after hot weather, long days of rain can begin, and in winter, after thaws, frosts of -20 and sometimes even lower can occur.
The maximum recorded temperature is +39 (2014), and the minimum is -31 (1943). The average annual precipitation is about 498 mm. Snow cover in the city itself usually lasts 70 days. Periodic thaws melt the snow. The first snow usually falls in late October – early November.

Economy
The city has a canning, dairy and asphalt plants.

Culture and education
In 1998, the State Lezgi Drama Theater was opened in Kusar.
In 2008, there were 6 secondary schools in the city, of which one was Azerbaijani and 5 were Russian. The city also has two public pre-schools, one private pre-school, Panda, and an English course, Apex.

Transport
In total, there are several intracity routes operating during the daytime. The city has a bus station, from where buses run to Guba, Baku and the region.