Experts treat petition on renaming Ingushetia into Alania as provocation

The escalation of tension in the society, caused by the petition on renaming Ingushetia into Alania is of no need for federal or local authorities; but the situation may aggravate, believe the political analysts, a rights defender and a journalists, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

On March 5, the youth of Vladikavkaz went out to a rally against the initiative to rename Ingushetia, after the “Change.org” platform posted a petition of Alikhan Tsoroev, a resident of Saint Petersburg, with an appeal "Rename Republic of Ingushetia into Republic of Alania", which as on March 13 collected 2192 signatures.

In the opinion of Akhmed Yarlykapov, a senior researcher at the Centre for Caucasian Problems and Regional Security of the Institute for International Studies of the MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations), to solve the problem, an interference of a neutral party is needed.

Alexei Malashenko, a member of the scientific council of the Moscow Carnegie Centre, doubts that this "provocation, and not very smart" is able to shake the situation.

The renaming offer is a provocation, but the escalation of tension is caused by the unsettled land problems in the Prigorodny District, the territory claimed as their own by both republics, said Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the “Civil Assistance” Committee.

Aslan Bzarov, an Ossetian journalist, has added that "the tension among Ossetians and Ingushes has been growing for many years; therefore, any historical claims are perceived by Ossetians even more painfully than claims to the territorial integrity of North Ossetia."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.