Analysts assess nature of Chechen law enforcers' exercises on Ingush border

The activities of Chechen law enforcers on the border will not turn into any armed clashes, since the exercises are mainly of a demonstrative nature, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 11, the “Chechenavtodor” carried out excavation work on the bank of the Fortanga River, along which the border with Ingushetia passes. The above work provoked indignation in Ingushetia, both among local residents and among officials. Ramzan Kadyrov said that the protest against the work was organized in Ingushetia by “a bunch of provocateurs who were trying to put through the nationalist ace.” The leader of Chechnya also noted that he was able to take away from Ingushetia the lands that had passed to the republic during the time of Dzhokhar Dudayev. On November 21, a Chechen delegation arrived on the bank of the Fortanga River to decide on the belonging of the border lands in accordance with Sharia, but no representatives of Ingushetia did appear.

The Kremlin and federal authorities will not react to the conflict, Alexei Malashenko, a scientist, a political analyst and the head of scientific studies at the Dialogue of Civilizations Institute, is sure. "This is some sort of showdown [...] But it doesn't bother Moscow yet," he said, believing that no reaction of the Ingush population should be expected: "For the most part, they (Ingushes) are silent."

The activities of Chechen law enforcers on the Ingush border will not lead to further actions, said Sergey Goncharov, the president of the international association of veterans of the Alfa antiterrorist unit.

"Border conflicts [...] have been on for not even decades, but for hundreds of years. In this situation, Kadyrov wants to show that he is the boss [in Northern Caucasus]. The exercises [are held] in order to show the opponents that no agreement with them (Chechen authorities) is possible," Mr Goncharov has suggested.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 25, 2021 at 04:16 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.