ABSTRACT
This chapter presents all basic political, economic, and demographic data on a territorial unit of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Ingushetia, which is located on the northern slope of the Caucasus Mountains and the adjoining Tersko-Kumsk lowland. Its neighbors are North Ossetia, Chechnya, and Georgia, though most of its actual borders are not clearly defined. Ingushetia voluntarily joined the Russian Empire in the beginning of the nineteenth century. Ingushetia could potentially extract oil and gas, but its lack of capital and its outdated equipment prevent the republic from developing these resources. Ruslan Aushev has been the only leader to rule over the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia’s youngest administrative region. The territory of the republic had been part of the Republic of Checheno-Ingushetia since 1934. Aushev had hoped that Moscow would reciprocate his mediation efforts in Chechnya by playing a similar role in resolving the conflict between Ingushetia and North Ossetia.
