Russia's Wild Wild South: Two Tales of Economic Woes, Political Corruption and Spreading Insurgent Violence in Ingushetia and Dagestan

Abstract

The Northern Caucasus has been a troubled region for the Russian Federation for nearly two decades. In the 1990s, two wars took place in Chechnya and violence spread into the neighboring republics of Ingushetia and Dagestan. Since the end of the second Chechen conflict in 2002, blossoming insurgencies have begun in both republics, threatening the stability of the entire Northern Caucasus. This study analyzes the origins of the insurgencies using the contemporary scholarly findings on internal conflict as they relate to the two republics. Economic conditions, political repression, factors related to diverse ethnic makeup of the republics, as well as the spillover effect are examined in the study to address the spread of insurgent violence within Ingushetia and Dagestan in an attempt to assist in the development of better government policies.