The North Caucasus

Abstract

If asymmetrical federalism remains topical in Russia, then it applies most directly to the complex North Caucasus region. (As Irina Busygina demonstrates in Chap. 5, “federalism” itself is still a work in progress in post-Soviet Russia.) The North Caucasus is distinct from other Russian regions in multiple ways—for some observers, because of its deeply archaic nature, the adherence of most of its population to Islam, its susceptibility to conflict and the prevalence of violent social practices. Of course, others might contend that there is little that is fundamentally unique about the region, as clannism, corruption, limited upward mobility and a predisposition to violent dispute resolution are present in many parts of contemporary Russia.