Dagestanis and Chechens are the peoples of the North Caucasus, whose territories border each other. Relations between peoples are considered by many to be tense due to the incomplete process of land division. In fact, many Dagestanis regard the Chechens as brothers and maintain friendly relations with them.
The origins of the conflict between Chechens and Dagestanis
In 1944, several hundred thousand Chechens (along with the Ingush) were deported from the villages of the border region of Dagestan to Central Asia and Kazakhstan during the operation "Lentil". The reason was the accusation of Chechens and Ingush in mass evasion from confrontation with Nazi Germany. The operation was led by the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR Lavrenty Pavlovich Beria.
As a result of the deportation, the Dagestanis were forcibly resettled to a new border residence that had previously belonged to the Chechens. After the collapse of the USSR, the deported Chechens wanted to return to their homeland, but their housing was already occupied by the Dagestanis, who did not decide to cede their territory to the Chechens, since they had already formed their own way of life. A conflict occurred between the peoples, which served as an echo of further disputes between the two peoples.
So, in June 2019, the Dagestanis demolished the road sign of the Chechen Republic at the exit from Kizlyar, where the border between the republics passes. This event caused the outrage of both peoples and received publicity at the political level. Local residents marked the situation as a continuation of the territorial division. Ramzan Kadyrov officially announced that Dagestan does not lay claim to foreign territory, and also that the sign was installed in the right place - from the side of the Chechen Republic.
For almost three decades, Chechens have been raising the issue of restoring the Aukhovsky district of Dagestan, from which their ancestors were deported. Upon their return from exile, the deported Chechens were resettled in other regions of Dagestan; it was not possible to return to their "native land" where their relatives were buried. Now the Chechens are actively raising the issue of establishing historical justice and recreating the Aukhov District within its former borders. This circumstance causes indignation of the Dagestanis. The idea of relocating a part of the citizens of Dagestan to other territories causes understandable discontent among them.
Brothers in faith
Dagestanis, communicating with Chechens, can hardly understand each other, since their languages are very different. Only a few words of these languages are consonant with each other. Nevertheless, Dagestanis and Chechens profess the same faith - Sunni Islam, which speaks of their inextricable connection not only in terms of mentality, but also in terms of worldview foundations. Many Dagestanis consider the Chechens to be their brothers, claiming that the spiritual connection, which is based on religion, is stronger than national interests. Dagestanis ask the Chechens not to succumb to possible provocations and not to put politics above the common faith that unites them.
