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Dmitry Zhuravlev, director of the Institute of Regional Problems
The problem of territorial claims is a very dangerous problem for the Caucasus.
The Caucasus is an ancient region and the peoples there have moved repeatedly from one region to another,
borders were changed.
The approach based on the principle "that was ours" - on the one hand,
it is true, it really was so, this region existed, that region existed.
On the other hand, one can say that "this piece of land was ours."
The main thing is to find the time framework, it depends on the time framework you are looking at.
If you take the eighteenth century - you have one set of borders, if you take the twentieth century - another.
Especially taking into consideration that these republics - Chechnya, Ingushetia -
were subject to repressions, and boundaries disappeared completely.
It is very difficult.
But once these border disputes move from policy into practice, as soon as the matter affects people...
Now one president said, the other president said - this is already a problem, but this is just the beginning.
As soon as, like once in the Prigorodny region, people get involved, that is,
someone starts to put pressure on someone, it will be irreversible.
Even if the problem is then resolved, and it will be resolved in one way or another, the memory will remain.
The Chechen and Ingush peoples have generally lived peacefully together for many years.
Remember that at the time of conflict, the Ingush entirely supported the Chechens.
Now this friendship is undergoing a terrible ordeal, because in the future people might not remember
how it was 200 years ago.
They will remember who tried to take what from whom yesterday and will remember it for more than a hundred years.
Now you can ask the elderly in the Caucasus, where the Russian troops in the XIX century were,
and they will show you the position - they do not remember it, but they were told by their grandfathers.
This case will be similar.
It is like a cancer.
It is a disease that will last for a long time, and that will be very difficult to treat.
From my point of view, in the Caucasus, in the first place, as elsewhere,
it is necessary to introduce a moratorium on territorial redistribution.
Armenia and Azerbaijan still cannot solve a problem, which in general is not a problem.
And in this case, there is a common war against everyone, because tomorrow it will appear that
the Karachai have their own understanding about their borders,
the next day - the Balkars, especially since there are a lot of objective questions about what should belong to whom.
The Caucasus will catch fire without any politics, without any external force.
So I think that conflict should be reduced to zero, and with a certain reconciliation procedure,
as soon as possible, before the people get involved.