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SECTION IV
Territorial Disputes in the North Caucasus 69
As stated in the introduction, in addition to a number of specific factors, every conflict in the
North Caucasus can be traced to a fundamental dispute over the status of a republic within the
Russian Federation, a dispute over the alignment of administrative borders or the political
jurisdiction of a particular territory, and the gross political mismanagement of the national leadership
and Moscow. In each case the goal of the conflicting parties is the same: to have their respective
group recognized as the “titular nationality” of the disputed territory and thus to ensure access to
political power, land, housing and jobs for members of the group.
The Historical Background to Conflict in the North Caucasus:
Disputes over territory among the various national groups have certainly been a permanent
feature of North Caucasian history. Prior to the Russian incursion into the region, however, these
disputes were confined to issues such as grazing rights in the sparse mountain pastures. In spite of
the high value of land and the population pressure exerted on it the disputes were localized and never
translated into widespread inter-group conflict. As a group of peoples, the North Caucasians were
extremely conservative and risk-averse. They were inclined to stay on their ancestral lands, and
traditionally—although they might form raiding parties to carry off cattle—they did not seize and
colonize the land of neighboring groups. Land was perceived as something more than a piece of
property and was elevated in the culture of North Caucasian groups to the status of something
sacred—a direct link with the ancestors who had lived and were buried there. The ethnic borders in
the region were elaborated in great detail between the various peoples, resulting in a complex mosaic
of settlements dispersed among isolated mountain valleys and of grazing rights across the adjacent
lowland steppe. This mosaic was destroyed during the Caucasian Wars and by the subsequent
colonization of the region by Russian settlers.
As a result of this colonization, Russians now represent the largest ethnic group in the North
Caucasus, accounting for 67.6% of the total population. The distribution of the Russian population
is, however, uneven. Russians are the overwhelming majority in the west and northwest and a
minority in the east of the region. 70 The Russians tend to dominate, however, in the major urban
centers which were originally established as Russian military fortresses, communication points and
69 This section is based on the long-term research of Magomedkhan Magomedkhanov and interviews conducted
with scholars and political figures for the SDI Project from March 1994-March 1995; research carried out by
Brian Boeck in Krasnodar Krai and the western North Caucasus in 1992-1993; Hill and Jewett, Report on
Ethnic Conflict; CMG Bulletin, January 1994-June 1995; and Vasil’eva and Muzaev, pp.28-41. Unless noted,
all population figures are from the 1989 Soviet census or the official statistics of the respective local
governments.
70 In 1989, Russians accounted for 85% of the total population in Krasnodar, 77% in Stavropol’, 55% in Adygeia,
42% in Karachaevo-Cherkessia, 32% in Kabardino-Balkaria, 30% in North Ossetia, 23% in Checheno-
Ingushetia, and only 9% in Dagestan.
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