Kadyrov's initiative on Dagestani border threatens Kremlin with problems

The demarcation of interregional borders is of little interest for the federal centre, but the actions of the Chechen authorities at the borders with the neighbouring republics create problems for the Kremlin, the political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 16, 2019, Chechnya unilaterally registered a disputed piece of land on the border with the Kizlyar District of Dagestan as its own territory.

The Chechen authorities put the Kremlin in an awkward position by hurrying to register the disputed area on the border with Dagestan as their territory, Alexander Skakov, the coordinator of the working group of the Centre for Studying of Central Asia and the Caucasus of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), believes.

Mr Skakov has recalled the tension that had arisen in the fall of 2018 between the Chechen authorities and the Ingush civil society against the background of protests in Magas. "Now, a similar problem arises again; moreover that all is done in a hurry; and this puts the Kremlin in an uncomfortable position," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The border demarcation has dramatically complicated the political situation in Northern Caucasus, Alikber Alikberov, Deputy Director of the RAS' Institute of Oriental Studies and the head of the Centre for Studying Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Ural-Volga Region, has confirmed.

"The situation is really complicated; in Ingushetia, it was extremely tense; and the problem has not been solved yet. The haste in the border demarcation issue can play a bad joke with related nations and sow seeds of mutual discord," Mr Alikberov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 12, 2019 at 08:11 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.