Russia's Soft Underbelly
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Ethnic Competition, Radical Islam and Challenges to Stability in the Republic of Dagestan
Ethnic Competition, Radical Islam, and Challenges to Stability in the Republic of Dagestan Edward C. Holland Doctoral Candidate Institute of Behavioral Science and Department of Geography Campus Box 487 University of Colorado Boulder, CO. 80309-0487 USA Email: [email protected] Phone: 1-303-492-4347; fax 1-303-492-3609 John O’Loughlin College Professor of Distinction and Professor of Geography Institute of Behavioral Science Campus Box 487 University of Colorado Boulder, CO. 80309-0487 USA Email: [email protected] Phone: 1-303-492-1619; fax 1-303-492-3609 Forthcoming COMMUNIST AND POST-COmMUNIST STUDIES 2010 Acknowledgements: This research was supported by a grant from the Human and Social Dynamics Initiative of the U.S. National Science Foundation, grant number 0433927. Thanks to Vladimir Kolossov, and Gearoid Ó Tuathail for help with the survey and the fieldwork in Dagestan, to our Dagestani colleagues, Eldar Eldarov, Shakhmardan Muduyev, Sharafudin Aliyev, and Zagir Atayev for their overwhelming hospitality on two field expeditions and to Nancy Thorwardson of the Institute of Behavioral Science for preparing the map for publication. We also acknowledge Alexei Grazhdankin and his colleagues of the Levada Center, Moscow for their timely, professional and friendly cooperation that ensured the success of the complex survey in Dagestan. Abstract Previous academic work on stability in Dagestan has focused on two potential cleavages, the republic’s ethnic diversity and the challenge from radical Islamist groups. Using results from a December 2005 survey, and focusing on Dagestan’s six main ethnic groups, this paper investigates attitudes towards the dual topics of the politicization of ethnicity and the relationship between terrorism and Islamism. -
Instrument of Ratification)1
Proposed Declaration (instrument of ratification)1 1. In accordance with Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Charter, the Russian Federation undertakes to apply the provisions of Part II to all the regional or minority languages spoken within its territory and which comply with the definition in Article 1. 2. In accordance with Article 2, paragraph 2, and Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Charter, the Russian Federation declares that the provisions set out below shall apply to the following languages in the specified territories: Abaza (Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia), Adyghe (Republic of Adygea), Aghul (Republic of Dagestan), Altai (Republic of Altai), Avar (Republic of Dagestan), Azeri (Republic of Dagestan), Balkar (Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria), Bashkir (Republic of Bashkortostan), Buryat (Republic of Buryatia), Chechen (Republics of Chechnya and Dagestan), Cherkess (Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia), Chuvash (Republic of Chuvashia), Dargin (Republic of Dagestan), Ingush (Republic of Ingushetia), Kabardian (Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria), Kalmyk (Republic of Kalmykia), Karachay (Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia), Khakas (Republic of Khakasia), Komi (Republic of Komi), Kumyk (Republic of Dagestan), Lak (Republic of Dagestan), Lezgian (Republic of Dagestan), Mountain and Meadow Mari (Republic of Mari El), Moksha and Erzya Mordovian (Republic of Mordovia), Nogai (Republics of Dagestan and Karachay-Cherkessia), Ossetic (Republic of North Ossetia), Rutul (Republic of Dagestan), Sakha (Republic of Sakha), Tabasaran (Republic of Dagestan), Tat (Republic of Dagestan), Tatar (Republic of Tatarstan), Tsakhur (Republic of Dagestan), Tuvan (Republic of Tuva) and Udmurt (Republic of Udmurtia) Article 8 – Education Paragraph 1.a.i; b.ii; c.ii; d.ii; e.ii; f.i; g; h; i. Article 9 – Judicial authorities Paragraph 1.a.ii; a.iii; a.iv; b.ii; b.iii; c.ii; c.iii. -
Identity, Autonomy and Conflict in Republics of Russia and Ukraine
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Communist and Post-Communist Studies 41 (2008) 79e91 www.elsevier.com/locate/postcomstud Identity, autonomy and conflict in republics of Russia and Ukraine Karina V. Korostelina Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, 3330 N. Washington Blvd., Truland Building, 5th Floor, Arlington, VA 22201, United States Available online 19 February 2008 Abstract This paper discusses the results of the survey conducted in co-operation with the European Research Center for Migration and Ethnic Relations, concerning identity in the Autonomous Republics of Russia and Ukraine. The survey queried 6522 residents of such republics as Bash- kortostan, Karelia, Komi, Sakha (Yakutia), and Tatarstan in Russia, and Crimea in Ukraine. It examined the construction of social identities, common narratives regarding threats and deprivations, confidence in public institutions, the prevalence of views toward national minor- ities as ‘fifth columns’, ethnic stereotypes, ethnocentrism, and other conflict indicators. An early warning model, built on the basis of the results, measured the potential for conflict based on these factors, and found that it was most pronounced in Bashkortostan and Crimea, and to a lesser extent in Tatarstan. Conflict was less likely in Sakha, Karelia, and Komi, although there were still certain indicators that suggested potential problems, including moderate support for independence in these republics. Ó 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Regents of the University of California. Keywords: Russia; Ukraine; Ethnic; National; Regional and religious identity; Autonomy; Conflict; Stereotypes; Threat; Trust; Deprivation; Ethnic minorities Introduction Since the fall of the USSR, several Autonomous Republics of the Russian Feder- ation have been seeking increased autonomy from Moscow. -
Operation Lentil: Soviet Ethnic Cleansing of the Chechens Tom Shattuck
The Histories Volume 10 | Issue 2 Article 7 2019 Operation Lentil: Soviet Ethnic Cleansing of the Chechens Tom Shattuck Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/the_histories Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Shattuck, Tom (2019) "Operation Lentil: Soviet Ethnic Cleansing of the Chechens," The Histories: Vol. 10 : Iss. 2 , Article 7. Available at: https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/the_histories/vol10/iss2/7 This Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Scholarship at La Salle University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in The iH stories by an authorized editor of La Salle University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Histories, Volume 10, Number 2 92 VI Operation Lentil: Soviet Ethnic Cleansing of the Chechens By Tom Shattuck ‘13 On February 23, 1944, Lavrentii Beria ordered for the NKVD to systemically remove all of the Chechen people from their homes in the Caucuses to Kazakhstan and Kirghizia in Central Asia. Before this cleansing, the Chechens had a history of tension with the Russians. This age- old conflict culminated after the Germans retreated when the Soviet Union charged the entire Chechen population with treason for aiding the Germans. Despite the fact that several thousand Chechen men had volunteered in the Red Army to help fight the Germans, Stalin still used the pretext of a German retreat through an area of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Republic to condemn them all. In reality, Stalin just wanted to finally end the Chechen problem. Because the cleansing removed every Chechen from their home, the process proved to be brutal and deadly for the Chechens. -
A Female Demon of Turkic Peoples
Acta Ethnographica Hungarica 64(2), 413–424 (2019) DOI: 10.1556/022.2019.64.2.11 Albasty: A Female Demon of Turkic Peoples Edina Dallos Research Fellow, MTA–ELTE–SZTE Silk Road Research Group, Hungary Abstract: Albasty is one of the most commonly known malevolent beings among Turkic peoples from the Altay Mountains via the Caucasus and up as far as the Volga River. This article focuses on Turkic data from the Volga region (Chuvash, Tartar, Bashkir) and the Eurasian Steppe (Kazak, Kyrgyz, Nogay, Uzbek). Various areas can be ascertained on the basis of verbal charms and folk-belief narratives. On the Eurasian Steppe, for example, Albasty was first and foremost a puerperal demon. In this territory, specialists (kuuču) were called in to keep away or oust the demon at birth. Many recorded legends and memorates concern healing methods and the process of becoming a healer. In contrast, epic texts or narratives are rarer,in the Volga region, yet there are certain verbal incantations against the Albasty, which here is rather a push or disease demon. Keywords: Turkic beliefs, Turkic folklore texts, Turkic demonology, folklore of Inner Asia In this paper, I will endeavour to give an overview of a mythical creature, the concept of which is widespread among most Turkic peoples. This belief has a long history and can also be evidenced in the myths and beliefs of peoples neighbouring the Turks. No other Turkic mythical beast has such extensive literature devoted to it as the Albasty. Although most relevant literature deals with the possible etymologies of the term, there are plenty of ethnographic descriptions available as well. -
Investment and Business Climate in the Astrakhan Region1
European Union Organisation for Economic North-West Co-operation and Development Investment Agency OECD WORKSHOP INVESTMENT AND BUSINESS CLIMATE IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION: A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE ST. PETERSBURG, 9-10 NOVEMBER 2005 INVESTMENT AND BUSINESS CLIMATE IN THE ASTRAKHAN REGION1 Introduction 1. This study reviews the recent foreign direct investment (FDI) situation in the Astrakhan region in the larger context of Russia’s FDI developments. It analyses the advantages and drawbacks of the regional economic position, including its natural resources, human potential, economic policy and legal framework relevant for existing and potential foreign investors. It describes regional investment promotion and facilitation efforts, such as the plans to create a special economic zone in the region, and considers other initiatives aimed at improving the investment and business climate in the region. Finally the study proposes several policy options to promote foreign investment at regional level, in particular by suggesting the creation of a regional zone. 1. Foreign direct investment in the Russian Federation 1.1. Recent developments 2. Russia suffers from a low rate of capital investment which limits its economic growth potential. Rather than resulting from insufficient domestic savings, this situation mainly stems from a lack of confidence by Russian investors in the investment climate, as also indicated by persistently high capital flights.2 According to the Federal Service for State Statistics, Russian investments abroad outstrip foreign investment in Russia, with the main recipients being Belarus (16%), Iran (15%), Cyprus (13%), Netherlands (12%), followed by Liberia, Moldova, Armenia, Virgin Islands, United States and Germany. 3. The strategy of rapid switch from plan to market reduced considerably many formal obstacles to foreign investment, allowing FDI inflows to rise in the mid-1990s, peaking at USD4.9 billion in 1997, the year before the economic crisis. -
The North Caucasus: the Challenges of Integration (III), Governance, Elections, Rule of Law
The North Caucasus: The Challenges of Integration (III), Governance, Elections, Rule of Law Europe Report N°226 | 6 September 2013 International Crisis Group Headquarters Avenue Louise 149 1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32 2 502 90 38 Fax: +32 2 502 50 38 [email protected] Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... i Recommendations..................................................................................................................... iii I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 II. Russia between Decentralisation and the “Vertical of Power” ....................................... 3 A. Federative Relations Today ....................................................................................... 4 B. Local Government ...................................................................................................... 6 C. Funding and budgets ................................................................................................. 6 III. Elections ........................................................................................................................... 9 A. State Duma Elections 2011 ........................................................................................ 9 B. Presidential Elections 2012 ...................................................................................... -
The Security of the Caspian Sea Region
16. The Georgian–Abkhazian conflict Alexander Krylov I. Introduction The Abkhaz have long populated the western Caucasus. They currently number about 100 000 people, speak one of the languages of the Abkhazo-Adygeyan (west Caucasian) language group, and live in the coastal areas on the southern slopes of the Caucasian ridge and along the Black Sea coast. Together with closely related peoples of the western Caucasus (for example, the Abazins, Adygeyans and Kabardians (or Circassians)) they play an important role in the Caucasian ethno-cultural community and consider themselves an integral part of its future. At the same time, the people living in coastal areas on the southern slopes of the Caucasian ridge have achieved broader communication with Asia Minor and the Mediterranean civilizations than any other people of the Caucasus. The geographical position of Abkhazia on the Black Sea coast has made its people a major factor in the historical process of the western Caucasus, acting as an economic and cultural bridge with the outside world. Georgians and Abkhaz have been neighbours from time immemorial. The Georgians currently number about 4 million people. The process of national consolidation of the Georgian nation is still far from complete: it includes some 20 subgroups, and the Megrelians (sometimes called Mingrelians) and Svans who live in western Georgia are so different in language and culture from other Georgians that it would be more correct to consider them as separate peoples. Some scholars, Hewitt, for example,1 suggest calling the Georgian nation not ‘Georgians’ but by their own name, Kartvelians, which includes the Georgians, Megrelians and Svans.2 To call all the different Kartvelian groups ‘Georgians’ obscures the true ethnic situation. -
Russia the Ingush-Ossetian Conflict in the Prigorodnyi Region
Russia Page 1 of 32 RUSSIA THE INGUSH-OSSETIAN CONFLICT IN THE PRIGORODNYI REGION Human Rights Watch/Helsinki Human Rights Watch New York · Washington · London · Brussels Copyright © May 1996 by Human Rights Watch. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalogue Number: 96-75960 ISBN: 1-56432-165-7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report is based on a trip to the Republic of Ingushetiya, hereafter Ingushetiya, and the Republic of North Ossetia- Alaniya, hereafter North Ossetia, both states of the Russian Federation, from August 11-19, 1994. Until 1994, North Ossetia was the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), a part of the former Soviet Union. Until 1992, Ingushetiya was part of the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), and was also part of the former Soviet Union. Human Rights/Helsinki representatives visited Vladikavkaz, Kartsa, Chermen, Tarskoye, Kurtat, Dachnoye, and Maiskii in North Ossetia and Nazran and Gaziyurt in Ingushetiya. Jeri Laber and Rachel Denber edited the report, and Shira Robinson provided production assistance for its publication. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki thanks both North Ossetian and Ingush authorities as well as officials from the Russian Temporary Administration (now the Temporary State Committee) for their cooperation with the mission participants. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki would like to express our appreciation to all those who read the report and commented on it, including Prof. John Collarusso of McMaster University. We would also like to thank the members of the Russian human rights group Memorial, who provided generous assistance and advice. In 1994 Memorial published an excellent report on the conflict in the Prigorodnyi region, "Two Years after the War: The Problem of the Forcibly Displaced in the Area of the Ossetian-Ingush Conflict." Finally, we would like to thank the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Henry Jackson Fund, the Merck Fund and the Moriah Fund for their support. -
World Directory of Minorities
World Directory of Minorities Europe MRG Directory –> Russian Federation –> Avars Print Page Close Window Avars Profile According to the 2002 national census, there are 814,473 Avars in the Russian Federation. Avars are a mountain people and are numerically the largest group in Dagestan. They account for approximately 28 per cent of the population of Dagestan and are one of the republic's 14 official ‘titular' nationalities. Small populations of Avars also reside in Georgia and Azerbaijan. Historical context The Avar people were constituted as a singular ‘official' nationality from a large variety of culturally related local groups in the 1930s. Avars in Dagestan inhabit primarily mono-ethnic districts. Traditionally Avars have played a pre-eminent role in the delicate, informal power-sharing system between the many ethnic groups in Dagestan. This system has successfully contained a number of traditional rivalries, for instance, that between Caucasian highlanders, such as the Avars, and Turkic lowlanders. An example is the repeated rejection in three post-Soviet referenda in Dagestan that would have established a presidency, an institution that would concentrate power in the hands of one ethnic group over others. Avars played a central role in blocking the introduction of a presidency, which would have diminished their numerical advantage. Instead, Dagestan's 1993 constitution provides for a collective presidency, known as the State Council, composed of 14 members, one from each of Dagestan's 14 official titular nationalities - including Avars. Although the chairmanship of the State Council was originally intended to be a post rotating between ethnic groups, it was abolished in 1998 in recognition of the de facto control over the chairmanship of an ethnic Dargin. -
Genetic Analysis of Male Hungarian Conquerors: European and Asian Paternal Lineages of the Conquering Hungarian Tribes
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences (2020) 12: 31 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-00996-0 ORIGINAL PAPER Genetic analysis of male Hungarian Conquerors: European and Asian paternal lineages of the conquering Hungarian tribes Erzsébet Fóthi1 & Angéla Gonzalez2 & Tibor Fehér3 & Ariana Gugora4 & Ábel Fóthi5 & Orsolya Biró6 & Christine Keyser2,7 Received: 11 March 2019 /Accepted: 16 October 2019 /Published online: 14 January 2020 # The Author(s) 2020 Abstract According to historical sources, ancient Hungarians were made up of seven allied tribes and the fragmented tribes that split off from the Khazars, and they arrived from the Eastern European steppes to conquer the Carpathian Basin at the end of the ninth century AD. Differentiating between the tribes is not possible based on archaeology or history, because the Hungarian Conqueror artifacts show uniformity in attire, weaponry, and warcraft. We used Y-STR and SNP analyses on male Hungarian Conqueror remains to determine the genetic source, composition of tribes, and kin of ancient Hungarians. The 19 male individuals paternally belong to 16 independent haplotypes and 7 haplogroups (C2, G2a, I2, J1, N3a, R1a, and R1b). The presence of the N3a haplogroup is interesting because it rarely appears among modern Hungarians (unlike in other Finno-Ugric-speaking peoples) but was found in 37.5% of the Hungarian Conquerors. This suggests that a part of the ancient Hungarians was of Ugric descent and that a significant portion spoke Hungarian. We compared our results with public databases and discovered that the Hungarian Conquerors originated from three distant territories of the Eurasian steppes, where different ethnicities joined them: Lake Baikal- Altai Mountains (Huns/Turkic peoples), Western Siberia-Southern Urals (Finno-Ugric peoples), and the Black Sea-Northern Caucasus (Caucasian and Eastern European peoples). -
A Balkanist in Daghestan: Annotated Notes from the Field Victor A
A Balkanist in Daghestan: Annotated Notes from the Field Victor a. Friedman University of Chicago Introduction and Disclaimer The Republic of Daghestan has received very little attention in the West. Chenciner (1997) is the only full-length account in English based on first-hand visits mostly in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Wixman's (1980) excellent study had to be based entirely on secondary sources, and Bennigsen and Wimbush (1986:146-81 et passim), while quite useful, is basically encyclopedic and somewhat dated. Since Daghestan is still difficult to get to, potentially unstable, and only infrequently visited by Western scholars (mostly linguists), I am offering this account of my recent visit there (16-20 June 1998), modestly supplemented by some published materials. My intent is basically informative and impressionistic, and I do not attempt to give complete coverage to many topics worthy of further research. This account does, however, update some items covered in the aforementioned works and makes some observations on Daghestan with respect to language, identity, the political situation, and a comparison with the another unstable, multi-ethnic, identity construction site, i.e., Balkans, particularly Macedonia. Background Daghestan is the third most populous Republic in the Russian Federation (after Bashkortostan and Tatarstan; Osmanov 1986:24). The northern half of its current territory, consisting of the Nogai steppe and the Kizljar region settled in part by Terek Cossacks, was added in 1922, after the fall of the North Caucasian