Ingushetia

Ingushetia

The Republic of Ingushetia (Russian: Респу́блика Ингуше́тия, Respublika Ingushetiya; Ingush: ГӀалгӀай Мохк Ğalğaj Moxk) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic), located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg. It was established on June 4, 1992 after the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was split in two. The republic is home to the indigenous Ingush, a people of Vainakh ancestry. Population: 412,529 (2010 Census).

The name "Ingushetia" is derived from an ancient village of Ongusht (renamed in 1859 to Tarskaya and in 1944 transferred to North Ossetia) and the Georgian ending -eti, all together meaning "(land) where the Ingush live".

Ingushetia is one of Russia's poorest and most restive regions. The ongoing military conflict in neighboring Chechnya has occasionally spilled into Ingushetia, and the republic has been destabilized by corruption, a number of high-profile crimes (including kidnapping and murder of civilians by government security forces), anti-government protests, attacks on soldiers and officers, Russian military excesses and a deteriorating human rights situation.