Chechnya is the largest republic in the North Caucasus, with a population of roughly one million, and aspires to a leading role. The 14 largest ethnic groups are held in unstable equilibrium by power-sharing mechanisms enshrined in the constitution. Dagestan kept out of the Chechen war, but was used by the Chechens as a supply corridor. Radical Islam has put down some roots. Civil war and regional conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia marred its early years of independence.
Central government struggles to control areas in the south and west of the republic.
The Ingush are closely related to the Chechens, and were deported with them to Central Asia in 1944. In a redrawing of boundaries at this time Soviet authorities awarded some Ingush land to North Ossetia - an act which sowed the seeds for a bitter conflict in 1992. The Balkars, like the Karachai, are a Turkic-speaking people. The Kabardins, like the Cherkess, and most other North Caucasians, speak languages classified by linguists as members of a unique and distinct language group. A disputed presidential election in May 1999 gave rise to new tensions between the two communities, and prompted calls for separation.