Social Violence and Political Transformation in the North Caucasus, by Charles King
Charles King
Georgetown University
IREX Short-Term Travel Grant (STG)
Research Report
STG 2006-2007
Russia
Social Violence and Political Transformation in the North Caucasus
Topic of Research
The aim of this research project was to interact with leading scholars, journalists, and social activists in the north Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, in the wake of the escalation of social violence in the region nearly a year ago. The central purpose was to uncover the origins of social violence in a north Caucasus republic which, until recently, has been largely immune from the serious interethnic discord and irregular warfare of Chechnya and Dagestan. Despite the republic’s multiethnic nature—with Adyga-speaking Circassians (also known as Kabardians) living alongside Turkic-speaking Balkars, in addition to Russians and other groups—the northwest Caucasus has so far remained more peaceful than the northeast. But with the attack on regional administrative buildings in Nalchik, the republican capital in October 2005, the possibility of large-scale violence spreading from the northeast to the northwest Caucasus began to look like a real possibility.
More broadly, the purpose of the trip was to familiarize myself with the northwest Caucasus and to learn as much as possible about Circassian culture and history in the limited time I was on the ground. The northwest is a region that is very infrequently visited by Westerners (or, indeed, by Russians who do not have family there). This trip represented a unique opportunity to learn about a part of the Caucasus which is becoming increasingly important.
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