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North Ossetia – Complications Or Stability?

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WHAT NEXT FOR NORTH OSSETIA – COMPLICATIONS OR STABILITY? Igor Dulayev and Igor Savin The Republic of North Ossetia-Alania is located in the central part of Greater Caucasus. Despite its small territory (8,000 square km), there is huge variety, from flat plains in the North to high mountain ranges in the South, from steppes to alpine fields. This diversity determines the occupations of the republic’s inhabitants and where they live. The region’s population was 710,100 people by 1 January 2011. There is significant density in the population – around 89 people per square, one of the densest in Russia. This is exacerbated by the fact that the mountainous part of the republic, which accounts for 40 percent of the territory, is practically uninhabited; only 8,000 people live there. The high population density leads to the region being particularly urbanised – two thirds of the population live in towns, nearly half living in Vladikavkaz. The region is characterised by its multi-ethnicity and multi-faith population. The main faiths in the region are Christian Orthodoxy (dominant) and Islam. The most numerous ethnic groups are the Ossetians (65.1 percent) and Russians (20.8 percent), according to census data from 2010) 1. There are a total of up to 90 nationalities, but the most numerous are the Ingush at 4 percent (28,336), Armenians, Kumyks and Georgians. The main sources of employment are the non-ferrous metals industry, food and light industry. Agriculture is developing and there are attempts to revive the electrical industry. The republic is a subsidised region, in general two out of three roubles in the republic’s budget come from the federal centre.2 The region has a high level of social differentiation; unemployment, especially among young people, is considerable. Ethnicity / Identity The significance of ethnicity as a factor in North Ossetian society is decreasing in comparison to the 1990s, but still remains in the common consciousness. First and foremost, this is connected to security problems and therefore varies from region to region within the republic. Ethnicity as a factor is strongest in the Eastern part of the republic – Prigorodny (the epicentre of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict of the autumn of 1992) and Mozdok districts. It is worth noting that this does not depend on the ethnicity of the region’s majority: in Mozdok, the majority is Russian, in Prigorodny, it is Ossetian. While discussing the challenges facing society in the sphere of ethnic identification, it is necessary to mention the complexities within the Ossetian ethnic group itself. Historically, the Ossetians have been divided into three sub-ethnic groups: Digors in 1 Russian Census 2010. 2 This is a popular journalistic cliché based on interpretation of statistics of government income circulated in the press. http://www.mfrnoa.ru/info/category/prikazy_rasporyazheniya_mf_rso-alaniya Saferworld the West, Yirons in the East and Kudars in the South. For those belonging to lower social strata, differences within the ethnic group are more significant, since among them Kudars are viewed as competitors. However, despite some tension in relation to Kudars, with the passage of time and influence of external factors, i.e. the war in South Ossetia and the perceived threat from the East, a clear idea of an Ossetian unity is being formed, within which different groups do exist, but this is positive, because they bring variety. The idea that all the republic’s inhabitants, regardless of their nationality, are legitimate members of the Republic of North Ossetia, is coming into existence. “We are all Ossetians, there is one Ossetia.” “We all live here and we have the same problems.” 3 “I am closer to a poor Russian, than an Ossetian official, who robs me.”4 The so-called Ossetian-Ingush conflict occurred in the vicinity of Prigorodny district of Northern Ossetia, which became an object of territorial disputes that arose again after the fall of the Soviet Union, when the Ingush and North Ossetia-Alania republics were reconstructed. Before 1944 the Prigorodny district was part of Ingushetia, after that, as a result of the deportation of the Ingush, the region was included into North Ossetia. After returning from deportation, the Ingush often raised the question about returning the Prigorodny region to Ingushetia, which led to an armed conflict in 1992. The active stage of the conflict lasted from 31 October to 6 November. According to the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation, 583 people died from both sides, 939 were wounded, 261 went missing and 1,093 were kidnapped (Ingush statistics on this are different). Estimates vary, but from 30,000 to 70,000 Ingush inhabitants of North Ossetia were forced to leave the republic. The North Ossetian authorities and to some extent the Ingush authorities assert that there is no more conflict today between the Ossetians and the Ingush. However, according to several Ossetian and Ingush political scientists and historians, the conflict over the status of the Prigorodny district has not been fully resolved. The Prigorodny district does not have any value in and of itself; it is a symbol: a historical motherland for the Ingush, and for the Ossetians it is a frontier, which, if captured, would lead the ‘other’ to ruin the habitual picture of peace. This is confirmed by constant appeals by both sides to representatives of the federal centre, who ask for a resolution of the conflict, with each side expecting the solution to be favourable to them. “Moscow must say that it will not allow any more territorial demands from the Ingush.” 5 “Nobody asks about your nationality, but if they start talking about theirs, then I talk about mine too.” 6 Ethnicity carries out two functions for the inhabitants of North Ossetia: the first is the manifestation of identity, the second is a defensive mechanism against the 3 Interview with Vladikavkaz administration employee, 14.09.2011. 4 Interview with a representative of the Mozdok district administration, 09.09.2011. 5 Focus group in Oktyabrskoye village, 28.09.2011. 6 Focus group in Oktyabrskoye village, 28.09.2011. 2 The North Caucasus: Views from Within neighbours to the East, i.e. the Ingush. The dichotomy ‘us and them’ shows a considerable gulf in this context: the words ‘they’, ‘neighbours from the East’ are used, thus depersonalising the opponent. In general, according to experts and focus group participants, relations between ethnic groups in North Ossetia are quite stable, but this excludes the Ingush. The fact that there are few negative stereotypes is evidence of this. Even the Georgians inspire a benevolent attitude, despite the conflict in South Ossetia and the existence of more than 100,000 Ossetians from the Southern Caucasus. “We have always lived peacefully with the Russians and the Georgians…we have nothing to divide.” 7 The character of interethnic relations can be illustrated by the number of interethnic marriages between the Russians and the Ossetians, the Ossetians and the Georgians, the Ossetians and the Armenians, which has remained stable over the last 20 years, according to the civil registry office, even though the number shrank after the 1980s. Statistics show that the number of Ossetians has risen, both in relative and absolute terms, and the number of Russians has fallen; according to the 2002 census there were 445,310 (62.7 percent) Ossetians, and in 2010 there were 459,688 (65.1 percent). In contrast, in 2002 there were 164,734 (23,2 percent) Russians, and in 2010 there were 147,090 (20.8 percent). This can be explained by objective reasons: after the expulsion of Ossetians from Georgia and their exit from Central Asia, they mostly settled in North Ossetia. The Russians’ outflow can be explained by the lack of security in the 1990s and by the decline of industry, a source of employment for most of them. (“And where could the Ossetians go, when they were thrown out and their belongings were taken away for peanuts?” 8, “And we (Ossetians) and Russians are both Christians, we have few children. That’s why there are more Ossetians now – because they came here.” “For us it was more important that there was no work and you were always waiting for your neighbours (Ingush) to kidnap someone or cause an explosion in the market.”) 9. It is worth noting that the topic of religion emerges in discussions about identity, which did not happen before. Nevertheless, saying that everything is well in interethnic relations would not be correct. Especially for the Russians, the ‘perception index’ is an aspect of tension, i.e. the idea that Ossetians have more ability to defend their interests, because they are the most numerous ethnic group. This is supported by the existing mechanisms of traditional society, which are used in election campaigns and lobbying. However, it is interesting that there is no ethnic mobilisation: “Russians are in the majority in my district, why can’t they unite?” 10 , “What difference does it make to me, whom to vote for, as long as I know them and they are a decent person?”11 , with the exception of Prigorodny district, where people do not want to vote for Ingush 7 Focus group in Oktyabrskoye village, 28.09.2011. 8 Interview with an employee of UFMS on the Republic of the North Ossetia-Alania, 29.08.2011. 9 Focus group with social workers, 26.09.2011. 10 Interview with a representative of the Mozdok district administration, 09.09.2011. 11 Interview with a former employee of an international organisation, 31.08.2011. 3 Saferworld candidates: “anybody but them,” “don’t we have any Ossetians worthy of the role?” 12 The reason for the narrowing of opportunities for the ‘non-titular’ population – such phrases are used only in Ossetian newspapers, in the Ossetian language – is the merging of business and bureaucracy, because Ossetian businesses do well with the support of Ossetian officials, and everybody else feels ‘non-titular’.
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