Civil war in Ingushetia
Encyclopedia
The civil war in Ingushetia began in 2007 as an escalation of an insurgency in Ingushetia
connected to the separatist conflict in Chechnya
. The conflict has been described as a civil war
by local human rights activists and opposition politicians; others have referred to it as an uprising. By mid-2009 Ingushetia had surpassed Chechnya as the most violent of the North Caucasus
republics.
, owner of the highly critical opposition website Ingushetia.ru, was killed while in police custody. The aftermath of the killing was marked by an upsurge in separatist activity and animosity towards Russia and Russians among the Ingush
population. At the center of this controversy was the deeply unpopular President Murat Zyazikov
, a former KGB
general who was criticized both by human rights groups and by some in the Russian government. The Ingush Interior Minister Musa Medov was targeted by a suicide bomber in October 2008. Eventually, Zyazikov was asked to resign. On 30 October 2008 Russian president Dmitry Medvedev
signed a decree to remove Zyazikov from office and replace him with Lieutenant Colonel Yunus-bek Yevkurov
. This was hailed by the Ingush opposition as a victory.
However, the violence did not end. According to police sources, nearly 50 people (including 27 rebels, 18 policemen and two civilians) died in the almost daily clashes in this small republic (less than 500,000 inhabitants) in the first three months of 2009. Assassinations and attempted assassinations of high-profile figures continued. On 10 June 2009 Aza Gazgireeva, the Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ingushetia
, was gunned down, and on 13 June former Deputy Prime Minister Bashir Aushev
was shot dead outside his home. Ingush President Yevkurov was seriously wounded in a suicide bomb attack on 22 June, and Construction Minister Ruslan Amerkhanov
was shot dead in his office in August. In October 2010, the Islamist group Ingush Jamaat
announced a moratorium on killing police officers; according to President Yevkurov, 400 police officers had been killed in Ingushetia in the five years to 2 October 2010.
Ingushetia
The Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
connected to the separatist conflict in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. The conflict has been described as a civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
by local human rights activists and opposition politicians; others have referred to it as an uprising. By mid-2009 Ingushetia had surpassed Chechnya as the most violent of the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
republics.
History
In 2008 Magomed YevloyevMagomed Yevloyev
Magomed Yakhyаvich Yevloyev was an Ingush journalist, lawyer, and businessman, and the owner of the news website Ingushetiya.ru, known for being highly critical of Murat Zyazikov, the President of Ingushetia, a federal subject of Russia bordering Chechnya...
, owner of the highly critical opposition website Ingushetia.ru, was killed while in police custody. The aftermath of the killing was marked by an upsurge in separatist activity and animosity towards Russia and Russians among the Ingush
Ingush people
The Ingush are a native ethnic group of the North Caucasus, mostly inhabiting the Russian republic of Ingushetia. They refer to themselves as Ghalghai . The Ingush are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak the Ingush language...
population. At the center of this controversy was the deeply unpopular President Murat Zyazikov
Murat Zyazikov
Murat Magometovich Zyazikov is the former president of the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia. He was born in what is now Kyrgyzstan. Zyazikov was a controversial politician in Ingushetia.- Political Career :...
, a former KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
general who was criticized both by human rights groups and by some in the Russian government. The Ingush Interior Minister Musa Medov was targeted by a suicide bomber in October 2008. Eventually, Zyazikov was asked to resign. On 30 October 2008 Russian president Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
signed a decree to remove Zyazikov from office and replace him with Lieutenant Colonel Yunus-bek Yevkurov
Yunus-bek Yevkurov
Yunus-bek Bamatgireyevich Yevkurov is the current president of the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia, appointed by President Dmitry Medvedev on 30 October 2008...
. This was hailed by the Ingush opposition as a victory.
However, the violence did not end. According to police sources, nearly 50 people (including 27 rebels, 18 policemen and two civilians) died in the almost daily clashes in this small republic (less than 500,000 inhabitants) in the first three months of 2009. Assassinations and attempted assassinations of high-profile figures continued. On 10 June 2009 Aza Gazgireeva, the Deputy Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ingushetia
Supreme Court of Ingushetia
The Supreme Court of Ingushetia is the highest legal tribunal of the Russian subject of Ingushetia, which lies to the west of Chechnya.The Court has undergone a tragic period in the 2000s, with Deputy Chief Justice Khasan Yandiyev, being assassinated on April 13, 2008, and successor Aza Gazgireeva...
, was gunned down, and on 13 June former Deputy Prime Minister Bashir Aushev
Bashir Aushev
Bashir Magometovich Aushev was a Russian-Ingush politician, who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Ingushetia from 2002 until 2008.Aushev served as Deputy Prime Minister under former Ingush President Murat Zyazikov. Zyazikov was a former Soviet K.G.B. agent, who was unpopular in Ingushetia...
was shot dead outside his home. Ingush President Yevkurov was seriously wounded in a suicide bomb attack on 22 June, and Construction Minister Ruslan Amerkhanov
Ruslan Amerkhanov
Ruslan Amerkhanov was a Russian official and politician. He served as the Construction Minister for the southern Republic of Ingushetia, located in Russia's troubled North Caucasus region....
was shot dead in his office in August. In October 2010, the Islamist group Ingush Jamaat
Ingush Jamaat
Ingush Jamaat, also known as the Ingush sector of the Caucasian Front, is an Islamist militant organization connected to numerous attacks against the local and federal security forces in the Russian region of Ingushetia and Chechnya in the North Caucasus. In 2005 it became a part of the Caucasian...
announced a moratorium on killing police officers; according to President Yevkurov, 400 police officers had been killed in Ingushetia in the five years to 2 October 2010.
See also
- 2004 Nazran raid2004 Nazran raidThe Nazran raid was a large-scale raid carried out in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia, on the night of June 21-22, 2004, by a large number of mostly Chechen and Ingush militants led by the Chechen commander Shamil Basayev...
- 2009 Nazran bombing2009 Nazran bombingThe 2009 Nazran bombing occurred on 17 August 2009, when a suicide car bomber attacked police headquarters in Nazran, the largest city of the Republic of Ingushetia. At least 25 people were killed and 164 injured...
- East Prigorodny conflictEast Prigorodny conflictThe East Prigorodny conflict was an inter-ethnic conflict in the eastern part of the Prigorodny district in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, which started in 1989 and developed, in 1992, into a brief ethnic war between local Ingush and Ossetian paramilitary forces.According to Helsinki Human...
- North Caucasus Insurgency 2009
External links
- Lokshina, Tanya. How Chechnya came to Ingushetia, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 8 July 2008 - Leahy, Kevin Daniel. Ingushetia Insurgency Adds to Russia's North Caucasus Instability, World Politics Review, 18 Nov 2008
- Lokshina, Tanya. Ingushetia Under Siege, Human Rights WatchHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, July 1, 2009 - Pakhomenko, Varvara. Ingushetia abandoned, OpenDemocracyOpenDemocracyopenDemocracy is a website for debate about international politics and culture, offering news and opinion articles from established academics, journalists and policymakers covering current issues in world affairs. openDemocracy was founded in 2000 by Anthony Barnett, David Hayes, Susan Richards and...
, 16 August 2009 - Ingushetia insurgency worsening, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 12 Nov 2009 (video)