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The North Caucasus: the Challenges of Integration (I), Ethnicity and Conflict

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The North Caucasus: the Challenges of Integration (I), Ethnicity and Conflict THE NORTH CAUCASUS: THE CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATION (I), ETHNICITY AND CONFLICT Europe Report N°220 – 19 October 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................. i I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 II. THE BASIC FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................... 3 A. ETHNO-CULTURAL DIVERSITY .................................................................................................... 3 1. Ethnicity ....................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Religion ........................................................................................................................................ 4 3. Social institutions, practices and customs .................................................................................... 5 B. COLONISATION AND INTEGRATION INTO THE RUSSIAN STATE ..................................................... 6 C. LEGAL AND SOCIAL CHALLENGES TO CO-EXISTENCE .................................................................. 8 III. THE CHECHEN CONFLICT ......................................................................................... 9 A. ETHNIC SEPARATISM AND THE FIRST WAR .................................................................................. 9 B. FROM SEPARATISM TO ISLAMISM ............................................................................................... 11 C. THE SECOND WAR ..................................................................................................................... 11 1. The security strategy .................................................................................................................. 12 2. Chechenisation of the conflict ................................................................................................... 13 3. Contemporary Chechnya ........................................................................................................... 14 IV. OTHER ETHNIC CONFLICTS AND TENSIONS ..................................................... 16 A. THE INGUSH-OSSETIAN CONFLICT ............................................................................................. 17 B. DAGESTAN: CHALLENGE OF RESTORING HISTORICAL JUSTICE .................................................. 19 C. KABARDINO-BALKARIA: STRUGGLE OVER LAND ...................................................................... 21 D. CLASHES IN STAVROPOL KRAI ................................................................................................... 23 V. NATIONAL MOVEMENTS REVIVED ...................................................................... 25 A. AUTONOMY: NOGAY CLAIMS FOR AN ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT ................................................... 25 B. POWER SHARING: KUMYK CLAIMS TO ETHNIC REPRESENTATION .............................................. 27 C. DIVIDED PEOPLES: THE LEZGINS OF DAGESTAN AND AZERBAIJAN ............................................ 28 D. HISTORICAL GRIEVANCES AND REHABILITATION: THE CIRCASSIANS ........................................ 29 E. RECOGNITION AS A DISTINCT ETHNIC GROUP: THE COSSACKS .................................................. 30 VI. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................ 32 APPENDICES A. MAP OF THE NORTH CAUCASUS ....................................................................................................... 33 B. GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................... 34 C. GLOSSARY OF TERMS ...................................................................................................................... 35 D. ETHNIC GROUPS IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS AND THEIR POPULATIONS ............................................. 37 E. ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP .................................................................................... 38 F. CRISIS GROUP REPORTS AND BRIEFINGS ON EUROPE SINCE 2009 .................................................... 39 G. CRISIS GROUP BOARD OF TRUSTEES ................................................................................................ 40 Europe Report N°220 19 October 2012 THE NORTH CAUCASUS: THE CHALLENGES OF INTEGRATION (I), ETHNICITY AND CONFLICT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Europe’s deadliest conflicts are in Russia’s North Cauca- war in 1992, as both groups asserted claims over the Prigo- sus region, and the killing is unlikely to end soon. The state rodny district. Though Russia invested large sums to re- has fought back against attacks, first claimed by Chechen turn displaced persons and rehabilitate their communities, separatists, now the work of jihad-inspired insurgents, the Ingush in Prigorodny remain unintegrated in the rest that have hit Moscow, other major cities and many Cauca- of North Ossetia. Exclusionary historical narratives and sus communities. But its security-focused counter-insur- competition over land and decision-making, fuel conflicts gency strategy is insufficient to address the multiple causes in other multi-ethnic republics, especially Dagestan, Kabar- of a conflict fed by ethnic, religious, political and economic dino-Balkaria and Stavropol Krai. Some of the groups grievances that need comprehensive, flexible policy re- maintain maximalist aspirations, including the change of sponses. Moscow is increasingly aware of the challenge internal borders and establishment of new ethnically- and is testing new approaches to better integrate a region identified entities. finally brought into the Russian Empire only in the nine- teenth century and that has historically been a problem for Inter-ethnic tensions do not presently threaten major vio- the Russian state. Diversity in religion, ethnicity, historical lence, but they may grow with the recent revival of national experience and political allegiances and aspirations com- movements that were particularly strong in the late 1980s plicate efforts to alleviate local tensions and integrate it more and early 1990s. Though political parties based on national with the rest of the country. Understanding this pluralism or religious identity are prohibited, a new law simplifying is essential for designing and implementing policies and registration is likely to make it easier for politicians with laws that advance conflict resolution rather than make dif- nationalist agendas to infiltrate small parties. Large in- ferences more irreconcilable. vestments and a return to regional elections are likely to facilitate ethnic competition and mobilisation if local com- The challenge of ethnic nationalism has been most evident munities feel their rights and interests are not adequately in Chechnya where two bloody wars caused tens of thou- protected by the state. Already groups such as the Nogays, sands of deaths. During the early 1990s, separatists sought Kumyks, and Lezgins in Dagestan and the Circassians full independence for their republic, but the failure of their and Cossacks are sharpening their organisational capacity state-building project and the ruthless manner in which and political demands that tend to focus on rehabilitation Moscow fought transformed the nationalist cause into an and justice, state support for native language and culture, Islamist one, with a jihadi component. Chechen fighters development, greater autonomy and access to land. Ten- began to use terrorism widely, and the state responded with sions are beginning to appear where the legal framework massive, indiscriminate force. After 2003, it adopted a is not sufficient to address these, existing laws are not im- policy of Chechenisation, transferring significant political, plemented, and police and local administrative capacity administrative and security functions to ethnic Chechens. are perceived as ethnically biased and corrupt. Today the republic has gone through a major reconstruction, and its head, Ramzan Kadyrov, wields virtually unlimited Many of these disputes and tensions feed into the Islamist power. Governance and rule of law remain major concerns, insurgency that causes most of today’s violence. Parts of the but human loss is significantly reduced. The effects of the younger generation that twenty years ago would have joined ongoing insurgency continue to be felt across the North nationalist movements to address their grievances have Caucasus, where it has spurred mobilisation around fun- become disenchanted with those movements and choose damentalist Islam. to join the Islamist insurgency instead. It increasingly oper- ates across the entire region, attracting youth of all ethnic- Several inter-ethnic conflicts that developed at the end of ities, and attacking not only federal forces and local police, the Soviet Union remain unresolved, continuing to fuel but also civil servants and elites who disagree with its fun- tensions. The Ingush-Ossetian conflict led to full-fledged damentalist interpretation of Islam. The North Caucasus: The Challenges of Integration (I), Ethnicity and Conflict Crisis Group Europe Report N°220, 19 October 2012 Page ii A day rarely goes by without an attack on a Russian secu- rity official or the killing of an alleged insurgent in a coun- ter-terrorist operation. Some 750 people were killed in 2011, and with over 500 hundred
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