Only 22.57 Percent of Borders between Republics in North Caucasus have been Registered with Moscow as Required

Paul Goble

            Staunton, January 3 – Despite the existence of a federal requirement, republics in the North Caucasus have delimited only 22.57 percent of their borders; and Daghestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Stavropol Kray have yet to file any such data with the center, thus setting the stage for more disputes in the years ahead.

            The deadline for registration of the borders of federal subjects passed four days ago without most of the republics and regions of the North Caucasus meeting them, officials in Moscow said, creating yet another case when Moscow has given a much-ballyhooed order and the federal subjects have simply not obeyed it (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/358250/).

            As of December 1, 2020, according to the Unified Government Property Registry, Ingushetia and Chechnya had registered 50 percent of their borders, Karachayevo-Cherkessia, 33 percent, and North Ossetia, 25 percent. The other three federal subjects, Daghestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and Stavropol Kray had not registered any data at all.

            The failure to register borders extends beyond those of the republics themselves. The federal subjects in this region have not fully registered with borders of the population points inside each. Chechnya has registered 78 percent, Ingushetia, 62 percewnt, Karachayevo-Cherkessia, 47 percent, North Ossetia, 38 percent, Stavropol Kray, 30 percent, Daghestan, five percent, and Kabardino-Balkaria, four percent.

            The figures for internal territorial divisions are even lower.

            Despite the passing of the deadline, officials are continuing to put off even talking about the borders. The latest such delay came on December 18 when officials from North Ossetia and Ingushetia, who dispute the Prigorodny District, put off talks without scheduling new negotiations.

            Changing borders can lead to explosive outcomes as in the case of the transfer of territory from Ingushetia to Chechnya, but even talking about what the borders should be is dangerous. And apparently officials not only in the region but in Moscow have decided that it is better to let sleeping dogs lie rather than provoke them into action.