Kadyrov's statements remind of Chechnya's long-standing claims to Ingush villages

Residents of the eight villages, which Ramzan Kadyrov has threatened to alienate from Ingushetia, are ethnic Ingushes, Yakub Gogiev, a geographer, has stated. Back in 2013, Chechnya formally included the settlements of the Sunzha District of Ingushetia into itself, Timur Akiev, a rights defender, has noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Ramzan Kadyrov has already warned the Ingush party twice in recent days that if the manifestations of dissatisfaction with the current borders do not stop, they will be revised again, and again in favour of Chechnya.

While speaking of eight villages that could be transferred to Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov meant the border villages of the Sunzha and Malgobek Districts of Ingushetia, says Yakub Gogiev, the founder of the Ingush historical and geographical society "Dzurdzuki". According to his version, 95% of residents of these villages are ethnic Ingushes.

Timur Akiev, the head of the Ingush branch of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial"*, has recalled that Chechnya had been making claims to the territories of Ingushetia since 2012.

"It got to the point that on February 9, 2013, the law of the Chechen Republic came into force, according to which the Sunzha District of Chechnya should have included the territories of the Sunzha District of Ingushetia, including the cities of Karabulak and Sunzha," Mr Akiev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

*The organization has been put by the Russian Ministry of Justice on the register of non-commercial organizations (NCOs) performing the functions of a foreign agent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 26, 2021 at 09:05 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.