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activities of other confessions, and as long as there will not prevail the point of view of the clergy, which has a more radical conceptions.
"Etnicheskie traditsii pered vyzovzmi globalizatsii v usloviyh krizisa", M., 2010, p. 71-76.
Aleksandra Takova,
candidate of historic sciences (Kabardino-Balkaria) THE ETHNIC-POLITICAL PROCESSES IN KARACHAEVO-CHERKESSIA IN 2005-2010
For the whole post-Soviet period the Karachaevo-Cherkessian Republic was the zone of permanent ethnic-political tension. In the end of the 1980s - the beginning of the 1990s, the KCR was marked by the unprecedented mobilization of ethnicity. For the further period its capacity did not shrivel up and had a constant impact on the political situation in the republic. The often splashes of ethnic tension in the KCR (1991, 1994-1995, 1999, 2004, 2005-2006) coincided with the most significant political events, primarily with elections of the president and of the deputies of the People's Assembly, with adoption of important legislative acts. The high activity of public and public-political movements, established according to the ethnic principle, demonstrates constant potential of the ethnic-political tension in the KCR.
The questionable successes of the period of consolidation of the power vertical, the unpopularity of the presidents' political activities, the lack of positive economic dynamics and other general reasons created the sources for existence of constant latent public dissatisfaction, which periodically acquired open forms and were accompanied by splashes of activities by ethnic movements.
In this connection, a considerable test for firmness of the whole North Caucasian region and particularly of Karachaevo-Cherkessia
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became the process of putting the local self-government system into conformity with the federal law N 131 on the general principals of organizing the local self-government in the RF. This law was called upon to create a new system of the local self-government consisting of district, city, rural municipal and city structures. The attempts made in Karachaevo-Cherkessia to realize the provisions of this law resulted in a new growth of ethnic-political contradictions; the widely used (in the 1990s) methods of political struggle were again adopted in practice: references to the facts of "historic offences", the attempts to legitimize certain "collective rights of ethnos", new projects of territorial redivision of the republic, restoration of formerly existed national districts etc. Thus, once more the axiom was proved that any land re-allotment or administrative re-distribution in the North Caucasus immediately acquires ethnic-political interpretation.
For instance, the separation of one third of land from Abazin aul Kubina and its inclusion by the official decision into the competence of Ust-Dzhegutin municipality caused intensification of activities displayed by Abazin movement "Adgylara" Its leaders at the extraordinary congress (27 June 2005) protested against the division of the compact settlement of ethnos and demanded to create a separate Abazin district. The leaders of the movement arranged a series of meetings and pickets; as a result, the republican authorities had to take a significant decision. Five settlements were taken out and were separated from three districts (Prikubanski, Ust-Dzhigutinski and Habezhski), and as a result of it the Abazin district appeared on the political map of the republic. The formation of Abazin district in Karachaevo-Cherkessia created a precedent, which promoted activities of the leaders of other etnoses. The leaders of ethic movements in Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria discussed the issue of using this experience.
In 2006, the demand to create the Nogai district was declared at the congress of the Nogai people. Soon afterwards, the Nogai district was established in Karachaevo-Cherkessia.
The representatives of the Russian-speaking population of Karachaevo-Cherkessia also raised the issue of creation of the Russian Cossacks district. However, this process was limited with oral declarations. The leaders of the Cherkessian national movement rapidly reanimated the project of "Great Cherkessia".
The emergence of two new national districts on the territory of Karachaevo-Cherkessia, on the one side, demonstrated a high activity of public-political movements, and, on the other side, the lack of efficient legal mechanisms for solving the problems caused by ethnic-territorial contradictions.
At the same time, for the period of 2005-2006, new organizations emerged and started their activities in Karachaevo-Cherkessia; the first of them was the Congress of the Karachai People, which proclaimed as its primary aim the consolidation of the Karachai nation, its renaissance and development, the preservation of Karachai representation in the republican organs of power and the tenure by a representative of the people of the highest state post. To a large extent, in opposition to this organization there was established the Public Council of Peoples of the North Caucasus, including representatives of the Cherkessian, Abazin, Cossacks and Ossetian public organizations of Karachai-Cherkessia, while members of the Congress refused to take part in the Council. The ethnic absolute difference of these organizations also testified to a new aggravation of ethnic-political contradictions in Karachai-Cherkessia.
The other significant element of destabilization of ethic-political situation in Karachai-Cherkessia was the violation of the principle of national parity in the state bodies, formed for the post-Soviet period.
Thus, the official power in Karachai-Cherkessia was represented by the president - a Karachai, the speaker of the parliament - a Russian, the chairman of the government - a Cherkess.
However, the break deviation from the former cadre policy was declared by B. Ebzeyev, coming to power in Karachai-Cherkessia (since 4 September 2008), who was not connected with the previous period of political development of the republic and, consequently, was free from informal obligations to any regional actors. The cadre revolution in Karachai-Cherkessia did not take place, but the national long-term parity was violated. In October 2008, V. Kaishev, a Greek by nationality was designated as the prime minister of the KCR, although, according to the principle of ethnic quota, this post should have been occupied by a representative of the Cherkessian people. In its turn, Z. Dokshokov, a Cherkess was nominated to the post of the speaker of the parliament.
The mentioned cadre replacements were subject to a wide discussion in Karachai-Cherkessia. In November 2008, Cherkessian organization "Adyge Hase" convened an extraordinary congress, where the discussion took place on the persecution of the Cherkess people in Karachai-Cherkessia and on their wish to create their own political entity. However, it should be noted that the cadre changes in the country resulted mainly in infringement of representation of Russians and not Cherkessians.
Further, the ethnic-political contradictions aggravated. It was shown by various extremist and nationalist critical publications in mass media and Internet, as well as by repeated protest actions, conflicts between groups of the youth, presented as daily quarrels. In this connection, the extraordinary congress of the Cherkessian people, held on 5 June 2010, was a symptomatic event; its delegates took the decision to urge towards creation of an independent subject within the
RF. This decision was supported by the Adyg movements in Kabardin-Balkaria, Adygeya and Krasnodarski krai.
The decisions of the congress were disapproved in Karachai-Cherkessia itself. The leaders of public and public-political organizations of the KCR (movement "Rus", Batalpashinski divisionof the Kuban Cossacks forces, Osssetian organization "Alan", Karachai "Dzhamagat", Nogai "Birlyk" and others) in their declaration interpreted this decision of the congress as a destructive action, ignoring interests of the multi-national people of Karachai-Cherkessia, destabilizing the public-political situation in the KCR and in the North Caucasus as a whole.
Thus, the ethnic-political situation in the KCR keeps a conflict's potential. The KCR needs elaboration and realization of the complex problem of modernization. Only its success is able to liquidate popularity of centrifugal trends in the milieu of ethnic elites and public groups mobilized by them. A special attention should be paid to the support given to the institutions of the civil society aimed at the constructive legal dialogue with the organs of power.
"Fundamentalnye problemy prostranstvennogo razvitiya Yuga Rossii: mezhdistsiplinarny sintez ", R-na-Donu, 2010, p. 305-308.
V. Manatova,
candidate of philosophic sciences (Makhachkala) WILL THE ASERTION ABOUT EXISTENCE OF LOCAL CIVILIZATIONS IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS GO BEYOND THE TALKING STAGE?
The geopolitical unique situation of the Caucasus is quite evident. It is the region, where the religious barrier was displayed and
