Russia and Ethnic Issues in the Caucasus

You've no doubt heard of Chechnya -- politically part of Russia, but ethnically separate. And, depending on which side you want to come down on, there are "Chechnyan terrorists" or "fighters for Chechen independence;" for a somewhat more balanced view, see "Russia struggles to keep grip in Caucasus." Me, I figure there's enough blame for all of the parties to have their share, and then some (where's my 10-foot pole when I need it...)

In any case, the Chechens are just one of many disaffected ethnic minorities in the Caucasus region, none of whom appear to have much use for their Russian rulers. There's the Republic of Ingushetia, as well.

Why does this matter? We'll talk about this next week in class. 10 free homework points to anyone who finds and prints and brings to class the CIA's map of the ethnic and religious groups in this region.