There were many difficult periods in the history of Ingushetia. It experienced associations in various territorial units and their decay, was abolished and revived again until it became a national-state entity with its own constitution and capital as part of the Russian Federation. The path to the recognition of statehood and the formation of the republic was a long one.
Millennium BC
The foundation of the Circumpontian metallurgical province in the 4th millennium BC is connected with the history of Ingushetia. The people who created it began to develop mining and metallurgy, but at the same time they were forced to build stone fortresses that impeded the conquest of the population by nomads.
At the same time, two material cultures took shape - Maykop and Kuro-Arak. The first was the genetic predecessor of the North Caucasus, and then the Koban culture, which is associated with the early period of the history of Ingushetia, dating back to the 1st millennium BC.
Koban culture flourished in the territory of the modern republic. Its name comes from the village of Koban, in which many archaeological monuments were found, by studying which scientists found that the Kobans, who were the ancestors of the modern Ingush people, lived both in the mountains and on the plane. In addition, it was possible to find out that the ancient culture did not succumb to outside influence and retained its originality. The Kobans created a union of tribes, it lasted until the II century BC, until it was defeated by Antiochus III the Great.
The ancestors of the Ingush - Alans
At the beginning of our era, the population of the North Caucasus began to be called the Alans. From the 4th to 7th centuries, these distant ancestors of the Ingush participated in campaigns in Western Europe and the Iranian-Byzantine wars, and then fell into political dependence on the Khazar Khaganate and were forced to become military allies of the Khazars.
The Alans managed to create their own state, the capital of which was determined in the "city of the sun" Magas, only by the 10th century. But already in the first half of the 13th century, the Mongol conquests led to its defeat and its inclusion in the Golden Horde. However, the inhabitants of the former Alanian state continued to fight against the invaders, they preserved their language and culture, defended the mountainous part of modern Ingushetia. In the foothills, the enemy in the form of Tamerlane’s army was able to invade only at the end of the XIV century.
The Ingush began to settle in the plains in the 15th century, however, already in 1562, because of campaigns against them, the Kabardian prince Temryuk were forced to return to the mountains in fear of extermination. There began to take shape administrative territorial societies under the name of the Shahars, which united several villages. Their life was regulated by a pre-state device based on democracy. However, rural governments were often transferred from one village to another; moreover, internal migration processes took place. This led to the fact that the borders, population and names of shahars were constantly changing. There were about 7 of them.
Citizenship of the Russian Empire
In the XVIII century, the population again began to return to the plains from cramped mountains with stony soils. Ingushetia became part of the Russian Empire in March 1770. In 1784, Vladikavkaz fortress was founded to connect the Caucasus and Georgia, and in 1810 the Nazran fortress was founded, where the famous oath of six Ingush names was signed.
The treaty gave influential Ingush clans the right to use vast lands. For this, they had to help the empire by providing equipped fighters and supplying the authorities with information. At the same time, the resettlement of the Ingush was limited. Violation of these obligations amounted to treason.
The consequence of the agreement was the completion of the migration of peoples in the 19th century and the participation of Ingushetia in the wars on the side of Russia. The Ingush took part in the Caucasian War, during which the North Caucasian Imamat was annexed to the Russian Empire.
The formation of the Terek region
However, peaceful existence was disrupted in 1858, when there was an uprising by the military authorities of the Caucasus. Their demand was the creation of large settlements instead of the small farms in which the Ingush people lived. The uprising was crushed, after 2 years the rebels were liquidated, and the eastern part of the North Caucasus turned into the Terek region, which in addition to the Ingush district included the Chechen, Ichkeria and Nagorny.
However, territorial changes did not end there. Already in 1865, part of the Ingush population was forcibly resettled in Turkey. From 3 to 5 thousand Ingush turned out to be divorced from their homeland and could not return. But the rest were not in the best position, since many people died from cold, hunger and disease.
In 1871, the Ingush district was decided to merge with the Ossetian. The new territorial unit was called the Vladikavkaz District. In 1888, the territory of Ingushetia was subordinated to the Sunzhen Cossack department, until the population achieved separation in the Nazran district. In fact, a new independent district in the Terek region appeared in 1905, but it was legalized only by 1909. By 1917, Ingushetia became part of the independent Highland Republic, however, the union quickly ceased to exist when its government announced the dissolution of the occupation of Dagestan.
After the Revolution of 1917
During the Civil War, Ingushetia supported the Bolsheviks, who promised to solve the national question. When in 1919 the territory turned out to be occupied by the Armed Forces of the South of Russia, led by General Denikin, who was opposed to Soviet power, the Ingush died in thousands fighting for Soviet power. A year later, the general’s troops lost control of the territory and were forced to retreat to Novorossiysk.
The newly established Soviet power disbanded the Terek region and granted the Chechen and Ingush districts the status of independent territorial entities. But already in November 1920 they became part of the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, liquidated in 1924.
Ingushetia as part of autonomous territorial units
As part of the USSR, Ingushetia acquired the form of an autonomous region with an administrative center in Vladikavkaz. For 10 years it existed in this form, but then new changes occurred. In 1934, the Ingush Autonomous Region merged with the Chechen. The Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Region created in this way existed until the adoption of the Stalinist constitution in December 1936, after which it was transformed into the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
But the Great Patriotic War again made adjustments. Despite the fact that the territory of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was not occupied by the enemy, in 1944 the population was charged with cooperation with Germany in its interests. This entailed the deportation of Chechens and Ingush to Kazakhstan and Central Asia and the abolition of the territorial unit.
Recovery with the expansion of borders took place in early 1957, but at the same time the republic lost the Prigorodny district, in which the majority of the population were Ingush. This was the reason for the rally in 1973, but it was quickly dispersed and the demands were not satisfied.
Territorial conflict
A repeated claim for the return of the Prigorodny district resulted in the armed Ossetian-Ingush conflict of 1992. It began with a series of murders of the Ingush in the disputed Prigorodny district and escalated after the 13-year-old girl was crushed by the Ossetian armored personnel carrier. The Russian commission was about to revise the borders and give Ingushetia what it wanted, but Ossetia strongly opposed it, and the bloody incidents continued. Now two Ingush were shot dead, and the Ossetian police who arrived at the scene were blocked. As a result of this, a firefight began, 4 more Ingush and 2 policemen were killed.
In response to this, traffic was blocked in some areas and pickets were established. Detachments of volunteers were created, the purpose of which was to protect their own lives and the safety of relatives. Self-defense units launched weapons, including firearms. The authorities ’demands to lift the blockade were ignored. Between the Ossetian and Ingush armed groups, hostilities began, followed by killings, hostage-taking, rape, robbery and arson. As a result of the conflict, more than 600 people died and 13 of the 15 Ingush settlements were destroyed.
The clashes were stopped thanks to federal troops. The created Emergency Committee was engaged in the evacuation of civilians. The borders remained the same, but most of the Ingush lost their homes and were forced to leave North Ossetia as refugees. The Ossetian-Ingush conflict of 1992 still has consequences in the form of political confrontation between both sides. The return of refugees is opposed by Ossetians.
Restoration of statehood
The territorial conflict came at the time of the separation of the Chechen-Ingush Republic. This event received legal force in January 1993, but in practice it started earlier, after the declaration of independence of Chechnya. The citizens of Ingushetia voted for reunification with the Russian Federation, and the congress of people's deputies approved the formation of the Ingush Republic. Thus, both Ingushetia and Chechnya restored their statehood.
First President - Aushev
The Republic of Ingushetia was led by an officer of the Soviet Army Ruslan Aushev. During the duties of the head of the Provisional Administration, he set himself the goal of securing the return of refugees to the Prigorodny district, but he did not succeed. He resigned, but was nominated for president, and then elected head of Ingushetia.
At his post, he concluded an agreement with the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Dzhokhar Dudayev, according to which part of the Sunzhensky region was transferred to Ingushetia. But after 3 years, Dudaev died, and there is still a dispute between Ingushetia and Chechnya over the ownership of the Sunzhensky district.
Under Aushev, the unfavorable economic situation in the republic changed. Prior to his arrival, the foundation of higher education institutions and the stable operation of large industrial enterprises were not noted in the history of Ingushetia. In 1994, the development of enterprises was facilitated by the abolition of taxes and the provision of large benefits.
However, after Aushev’s re-election as president in 1998, his government became less favorable. His proposal to reassign law enforcement agencies and internal territorial entities to the authorities of Ingushetia did not receive support. The law on the formal authorization of polygamy was quickly repealed due to its contradiction to the Family Code. In 2001, he had to oppose the new unification of Chechnya and Ingushetia.
Ingushetia under the presidency of Zyazikov
Aushev resigned as president in 2002, after which Murat Zyazikov was elected head of state. He used sources of financing for the construction and reconstruction of residential buildings, as well as industrial and communal infrastructure. Under him, the average per capita cash income was increased due to the growth of wages and pension payments, the gross regional product of the republics and the state budget increased.
However, at the same time, the number of crimes in Ingushetia increased, the situation worsened more and more due to numerous abductions, killings and terrorism. In 2008, the owner of the opposition website, Magomed Yevloyev, was murdered , which predetermined the resignation of the President. Relatives and friends of the deceased directly accused Zyazikov of the incident and demanded his removal from government. Some protesters wanted Aushev's return. On the whole, an opposition ultimatum was put forward by supporters of the opposition demanding removal. Otherwise, they promised to appeal to the world community with a request for the withdrawal of Ingushetia from Russia. In 2008, Zyazikov was dismissed.
Under the leadership of Evkurov
The next president was Yunus-bek Evkurov. He refused the budget-expensive solemn ceremony of assuming office, and instead met with citizens for a conversation, during which he tried to persuade them to cooperate and normalize the situation with common forces. The opposition, under the pressure of which Zyazikov was removed, supported the new president. However, even after the new head of Ingushetia came to power, the situation continued to escalate.
In 2009, the former vice-president of the republic was killed, and then an assassination attempt was made on the president himself. After that, the bailiff's car was fired upon, as a result of which two adults died and the child was injured. In the same year, a terrorist act was carried out in Nazran, which brought new victims: 20 killed and 140 wounded.
Yunus-beck Yevkurov resigned early in 2013, but continued to serve as president, and then was elected again. He leads the republic so far. In general, his work is evaluated positively, stabilization of the situation, development of the economy, culture and sport are noted.
Current situation
Today, Ingushetia is a subject of the Russian Federation and is part of the North Caucasus Federal District and the economic region. The capital of the republic is based in Magas.
On the borders of Ingushetia are North Ossetia, Chechnya, Georgia. The official website of the republic also notes the border with Kabardino-Balkaria, but legally this is wrong. The claims of Ingushetia are explained by the fact that between it and the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic there is a narrow strip of land occupied by a village in which the Ingush mainly live. Nevertheless, this isthmus belongs to North Ossetia, with which Ingushetia has another dispute over the issue of belonging to the Prigorodny district.
And there are also disagreements with the Chechen Republic. They concern the Sunzhensky and Malgobeksky areas. In some media, Chechnya ranks the Dzheyrakhsky district, bordering Georgia. In fact, it belongs to Ingushetia.