Controversy about Stones Taken from Ancient Ingush Towers Continues to Swirl

Paul Goble

            Staunton, January 7 – Because many offices are closed because of the winter holidays, officials have neither confirmed nor denied the claims by the Union of Teips that Chechens have carried off stones from several ancient Ingush towers in Beini, and some bloggers have suggested that until more is known, no one should draw any final conclusions.

            Several historians have said they see no reason why the Chechens would do this and suggest that any charges are clearly intended to destabilize the situation, but others say that some stones have been taken away and that there is no other good explanation than a Chechen effort (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/344394/ and gazetaingush.ru/obshchestvo/ingushskiy-zapovednik-ne-raspolagaet-informaciey-o-zaderzhanii-rashititeley-arochnyh).

            Meanwhile, Moscow journalist Elizaveta Aleksandrova-Zorina, who has conducted single-person protests against the detention of Ingush protesters, has announced that she will hold another such demonstration at the entrance of the office of the Russian president on January 10 (doshdu.com/u-zdanija-administracii-prezidenta-rf-projdut-pikety-v-zashhitu-ingushskih-aktivistov/).