Who are Ingush Chechens? Traditions and religion

It is known that the Ingush and Chechens are one people, divided due to historical and socio-political reasons. Nevertheless, for a short period of their disengagement, the Chechens and Ingush managed to accumulate a lot of differences.

Chechens and Ingush did not create their own written language, and therefore their history was studied from the annals of neighboring peoples. Often this information was fragmentary and not always objective.

Nevertheless, today scientists can say with full confidence that the Chechens and Ingush are one of the oldest inhabitants of the Caucasus, belonging to the Vainakh language group Nakh-Dagestan family.

Historians find the ancestors of the Ingush (self-name Galgai) among the tribal union of the Alans, who participated in the Great Migration of Peoples. Anthropologist Viktor Bunak is sure that among the Ingush the ancient Caucasian (or Caucasian) type has been preserved "more than among any of the other North Caucasian peoples."

Here is how the Ingush describes encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Efron: “In appearance, the Ingush is lean, slender, of medium height, with sharp features and quick eyes on a pale, swarthy face; the color of the hair is predominantly black, the nose is aquiline, the movements are hurried and impetuous.

Chechens (self-name Nokhchi), according to one hypothesis, on historical stage appeared before the Ingush. Some researchers, including anthropologist Valery Alekseev, consider the Chechens to be the descendants of the Hurrians who lived in the 2nd millennium BC in northern Mesopotamia.

In Russian, the word "Chechen" has become a transliteration of the terms that existed among neighboring peoples - "tsatsans", "shashens", "chachans". Appearance Chechens, according to the Brockhaus and Efron dictionary, are: “tall and well built.

Women are beautiful. Anthropologically, the Chechens represent a mixed type. Eye color varies from black to more or less dark brown and from blue to more or less light green. In the hair color, transitions from black to more or less dark blond are noticed. The nose is often upturned and concave.

The carriers of such a haplotype were, among others, the Carians, Minoans and Pelasgians. But if the Ingush correspond to the J2a4b (M67) group by 87%, then the Chechens only by 58%.

disengagement

Over time, the Chechens mostly settled along the right tributaries of the Sunzha and the Terek. AT equally mountains, foothills and plains became their places of residence. The Ingush concentrated to the west of the Chechen settlements, mainly in the upper reaches of the Sunzha.

The demarcation between the Ingush and the Chechens further intensified during Caucasian war, intermittently lasting from 1817 to 1864. During the war, it was Chechnya that became the main stronghold of resistance and the center of the military-religious movement of Muridism.

According to this teaching, the moral and political revival of Islam was possible only after the overthrow of the infidel Russian yoke. The Muridist propaganda of Kazi-Mulla, Gamzat and Shamil gave rich results on Chechen soil, while the Ingush remained aloof from the "war for faith".

After the end of the Caucasian War, the places inhabited by the Ingush for border peace were settled by the Cossacks, who remained there until they came to the Caucasus. Soviet power.

In 1921, on the territory of the former Terek and part of the former Kuban regions Russian Empire Mountain ASSR arose, and in 1936 appeared on the map Chechen-Ingush ASSR.

After the collapse Soviet Union Chechens and Ingush went again different ways: in Chechnya, radical movements calling for independence became more active, and Ingushetia decided to remain part of Russia. In the new situation, the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia ceased to be conditional and eventually divided the two subjects of the federation - the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic.

During the period of the Caucasian wars, through the Muridist movement, Islam became so firmly established in Chechnya that it gave rise to real religious fanaticism there. In Ingushetia, Islam adapted only by the middle of the 19th century, but did not take deep roots there.

Until recently, many Ingush were still dominated by ancient pre-Muslim beliefs, an integral part of which was the cult of the family and ancestors. This cult obliged to honor their shrines, such as the hearth and the chain above the hearth.

Near the hearth they cooked food, discussed important questions, performed rituals. The supra-heart chain also retained its connection with traditions. When an outsider entered an Ingush house and grabbed the overhead chain, he fell under the protection of the owner, and if a blood lover touched it, he got rid of revenge.

Modern Ingushetia largely lives in line with political and religious freedom, which also has an impact on religion. If in Chechnya only Sufi Islam is officially recognized, then in Ingushetia big number supporters of Salafism, which is perceived by many as a radical branch of Islam.

Unlike the Ingush, the religious consciousness of the Chechens was influenced by the tense socio-political situation. recent decades, which is why Salafism did not take root in public space Republic.

In turn, especially among young people, there is a growing interest and desire for true Islam, in strict observance of all the prescriptions of the Koran and religious rites.

Traditions

According to ethnographers, Chechen culture in more than the Ingush has lost touch with the traditional rituals characteristic of the Vainakhs. So, the Ingush are outraged by the Chechen custom of giving soup to a guest, and not a special meat dish of lamb, chicken or turkey meat, which has been practiced for centuries.

The Ingush are very proud of this fact and believe that their families are much stronger than the Chechen ones. There are also differences in wedding ceremonies. For example, if the Chechens, after showing the guests, the bride is in a separate room all day, then the Ingush have a custom for the young woman to stand in the corner of the main hall until evening and accept gifts.

Ingush people often prefer national dresses to a wedding dress, Chechens are more modern in this regard. The way of life of the Chechens and Ingush is largely determined by the teip (clan) structure. It is also customary to call Ingush teips “surnames”.

If a Chechen teip may have hundreds of surnames, then Ingush is most often limited to a few dozen, while Ingush surnames most often have pre-Islamic roots, while Chechen ones are predominantly Muslim. The Ingush teip is usually exogamous.

Marriages within the teip certainly occur, but are not welcome. Chechens, on the contrary, prefer to create marriages within their teip in order to more firmly maintain tribal ties. In Chechnya, teips are subordinate to large military-political associations - tukhums. There are nine in total. The Ingush do not have such a division.

In the Vainakh environment, the Ingush are traditionally called the “tenth tukhum”, thereby emphasizing the closeness of the two neighboring peoples. On the this moment there are about 1 million 700 thousand Chechens in the world.

In addition to Chechnya, they live in Ingushetia, Dagestan, Stavropol Territory, Volgograd region, Kalmykia, Astrakhan, Saratov, Tyumen region, North Ossetia, abroad they are most of all in Turkey, Kazakhstan, France, Austria, Belgium.

Total population Ingush about 700 thousand people. In addition to Russia, they also live in Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon.

According to scientists, Chechens and Ingush were originally representatives united people- Vainakh. Historians suggest that the ancestors of the Vainakhs lived in the North Caucasian steppes adjacent to the territory of modern Chechnya. In the first millennium of our era, there ruled Khazar Khaganate. After the ancestors of the Vainakhs settled in the Caucasus, becoming the ancestors of not only the Chechens and Ingush, but also some other small peoples.

Appearance and language

Representatives of these two nationalities are very similar to each other, but still have a number of differences not only in traditions and language, but also in appearance. The Ingush are usually described as black-haired, aquiline-nosed, lean, pale-faced, and so on. Ingush speak quickly and are sharp in their movements. The Chechens represent mixed type. So, representatives of this people can have both black and blond hair, both dark brown and Blue eyes. Chechens speak more slowly and gesticulate less.

Chechens and Ingush are very similar to each other, but still have a number of differences not only in traditions and language, but also in appearance // Photo: cyrillitsa.ru

Chechen and Ingush languages are similar to each other by 80%. Even if the representatives of these two nationalities do not know the language of the other, they will still be able to speak and understand the interlocutor.

Traditions and religion

On the present stage most Chechens, like the Ingush, are followers of Sunni Islam. If in Chechnya various currents of Islam, including radical ones, are gaining popularity in parallel, then among the Ingush you can often meet people who have not forgotten the traditions and religion that prevailed before the arrival of the Muslim faith in the region. So, the Ingush honor their ancestors, the hearth and the hearth chain. The hearth is the center of the home. Near it all responsible decisions are made and important events. If the guest touches the chain on the hearth, then he will be under the protection of the owner of the house. And if the enemy does this, then everything will be forgiven him.

The Ingush have preserved many traditions of their ancestors // Photo: myshared.ru

The Ingush feed the guest with a special meat dish. Chechens are allowed to treat him with soup. Chechens get acquainted with their mother-in-law during the matchmaking, and at the wedding the bride does not stand in the corner, but is in a special room. The Ingush, on the other hand, avoid their mother-in-law and leave the bride in the corner.

Like the Chechens, the way of life of the Ingush is determined by teips - a clan structure. Teips among Chechens are more numerous. But at the same time, representatives of this nationality are trying to marry within their clan, so as not to lose blood ties. The teips of the Ingush have not hundreds, but dozens of families. In addition, marriage within the teip is not at all welcome. Ethnographers note that the Ingush have preserved much more Vainakh traditions than the Chechens.

Separation

Researchers believe that the division of the united Vainakh people took place in the 18th century. At that time, the Ingush, who settled mostly in the upper reaches of the Sunzha River, decided to become subjects of the Russian Empire. During the Caucasian wars, which lasted a total of almost half a century, the demarcation of the Chechens and Ingush only intensified. If the Ingush remained aloof from the war for faith, then in Chechnya the doctrine took root deeply, according to which the country's prosperity is possible only after the expulsion of the conquerors-gentiles, in the role of which the Russians acted. Then, to resolve the situation, the government of the Russian Empire decided to populate the lands that previously belonged to the Ingush with Cossacks. At times civil war the Ingush came out for the Bolsheviks, as they were promised to return the territories.

In the early thirties of the last century, the ASSR was formed on the map of the Soviet Union, which existed until 1944. Among the Chechens and Ingush there were many who wanted to cooperate with the Nazis, for which they paid with deportation and liquidation of the ASSR. The Grozny region appeared, and part of the territories was distributed between the Ossetian, Georgian and Dagestan ASSR. In the 1990s, Chechnya declared independence, while the Ingush decided to remain part of Russia.

origins

In modern ethnology, Chechens and Ingush are usually united by a common term - "Vainakh peoples" (Chech. "Vainakh", Ingush. "Veinakh" - "our people"). This is how representatives of the two Caucasian ethnic groups identify themselves.
Chechens and Ingush did not create their own written language, and therefore their history was studied from the annals of neighboring peoples. Often this information was fragmentary and not always objective. Nevertheless, today scientists can say with full confidence that the Chechens and Ingush are one of the oldest inhabitants of the Caucasus, belonging to the Vainakh language group of the Nakh-Dagestan family.
Historians find the ancestors of the Ingush (self-name Galgai) among the tribal union of the Alans, who participated in the Great Migration of Peoples.

Anthropologist Viktor Bunak is sure that among the Ingush the ancient Caucasian (or Caucasian) type has been preserved "more than among any of the other North Caucasian peoples."
Here is how the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron describes the Ingush: “In appearance, the Ingush is lean, slender, of medium height, with sharp features and quick eyes on a pale, swarthy face; the color of the hair is predominantly black, the nose is aquiline, the movements are hurried and impetuous.
Chechens (self-name Nokhchi), according to one hypothesis, appeared on the historical scene before the Ingush. Some researchers, including anthropologist Valery Alekseev, consider the Chechens to be the descendants of the Hurrians who lived in the 2nd millennium BC in northern Mesopotamia.
In Armenian sources of the 7th century, Chechens are referred to as "Nakhcha Matyan" ("speaking the Nokhchi language"). In the documents of the 16th-17th centuries, one can find the tribal names of the Chechens - Ichkerinians, okoks, shubuts. In Russian, the word "Chechen" has become a transliteration of the terms that existed among neighboring peoples - "tsatsans", "shashens", "chachans".
The appearance of the Chechens, according to the dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron, is as follows: “tall and well built. Women are beautiful. Anthropologically, the Chechens represent a mixed type. Eye color varies from black to more or less dark brown and from blue to more or less light green. In the hair color, transitions from black to more or less dark blond are noticed. The nose is often upturned and concave.
Genetic studies have shown that modern Chechens and Ingush, although they belong to the same haplogroup, are ethnically heterogeneous. Geneticist Hussein Chokaev, based on the latest research data, writes that the common ancestor of a significant part of the Chechen-Ingush ethnic group is a representative of the subgroup J2a4b (M67), which originated on the territory of modern Turkey about 11.8 thousand years ago. The carriers of such a haplotype were, among others, the Carians, Minoans and Pelasgians. But if the Ingush correspond to the J2a4b (M67) group by 87%, then the Chechens only by 58%.

disengagement

Over time, the Chechens for the most part settled along the right tributaries of the Sunzha and the Terek. Equally, their places of residence were mountains, foothills and plains. The Ingush concentrated to the west of the Chechen settlements, mainly in the upper reaches of the Sunzha.
The first signs of separation of the single Vainakh ethnic group, according to researchers, emerged after 1770, when the Ingush accepted Russian citizenship. Joining the empire brought its own characteristics to the way of life of this people. The disengagement between the Ingush and the Chechens further intensified during the Caucasian War, which lasted intermittently from 1817 to 1864.
During the war, it was Chechnya that became the main stronghold of resistance and the center of the military-religious movement of Muridism. According to this teaching, the moral and political revival of Islam was possible only after the overthrow of the infidel Russian yoke. The Muridist propaganda of Kazi-Mulla, Gamzat and Shamil gave rich results on Chechen soil, while the Ingush remained aloof from the "war for faith".
After the end of the Caucasian War, the places inhabited by the Ingush for border peace were settled by the Cossacks, who remained there until the arrival of Soviet power in the Caucasus. In 1921, the Gorskaya ASSR appeared on the territory of the former Terek and part of the former Kuban regions of the Russian Empire, and in 1936 the Chechen-Ingush ASSR appeared on the map.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Chechens and Ingush again went their separate ways: radical currents calling for independence became more active in Chechnya, while Ingushetia decided to remain part of Russia. In the new situation, the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia ceased to be conditional and eventually divided the two subjects of the federation - the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic.

Religion

The dominant religion of the Ingush and Chechens is Sunni Islam. However, the degree of its influence on both peoples is different. Despite the fact that Islam began to penetrate into the North Caucasus since the time of the invasion of Genghis Khan, most of the inhabitants of Chechnya accepted it only in the 18th century. During the period of the Caucasian wars, through the Muridist movement, Islam became so firmly established in Chechnya that it gave rise to real religious fanaticism there.
In Ingushetia, Islam adapted only to mid-nineteenth centuries, but did not take deep roots there. Until recently, many Ingush were still dominated by ancient pre-Muslim beliefs, an integral part of which was the cult of the family and ancestors. This cult obliged to honor their shrines, such as the hearth and the chain above the hearth. Food was cooked near the hearth, important issues were discussed, rituals were performed. The supra-heart chain also retained its connection with traditions. When an outsider entered an Ingush house and grabbed the overhead chain, he fell under the protection of the owner, and if a blood lover touched it, he got rid of revenge.
Modern Ingushetia largely lives in line with political and religious freedom, which also has an impact on religion. If only Sufi Islam is officially recognized in Chechnya, then in Ingushetia there are a large number of supporters of Salafism, which is perceived by many as a radical trend of Islam.
Unlike the Ingush, the religious consciousness of the Chechens was influenced by the tense socio-political situation of recent decades, which is why Salafism did not take root in the public space of the Republic. In turn, especially among young people, there is a growing interest and desire for true Islam, in strict observance of all the prescriptions of the Koran and religious rites.

Traditions

According to ethnographers, Chechen culture to a greater extent than the Ingush lost touch with the traditional rituals characteristic of the Vainakhs. So, the Ingush are outraged by the Chechen custom of giving soup to a guest, and not a special meat dish of lamb, chicken or turkey meat, which has been practiced for centuries.
The same can be said about family relationships. An Ingush man usually does not meet his mother-in-law, they do not see each other at matchmaking, they do not meet at family celebrations and other events. The Ingush are very proud of this fact and believe that their families are much stronger than the Chechen ones.
There are also differences in wedding ceremonies. For example, if the Chechens, after showing the guests, the bride is in a separate room all day, then the Ingush have a custom for the young woman to stand in the corner of the main hall until evening and accept gifts. Ingush people often prefer national dresses to a wedding dress, Chechens are more modern in this regard.
The way of life of the Chechens and Ingush is largely determined by the teip (clan) structure. It is also customary to call Ingush teips “surnames”. If the Chechen teip can have hundreds of surnames, then the Ingush teip is most often limited to a few dozen, while the Ingush surnames most often have pre-Islamic roots, while the Chechen ones are predominantly Muslim.
The Ingush teip is usually exogamous. Marriages within the teip certainly occur, but are not welcome. Chechens, on the contrary, prefer to create marriages within their teip in order to more firmly maintain tribal ties.
In Chechnya, teips are subordinate to large military-political associations - tukhums. There are nine in total. The Ingush do not have such a division. In the Vainakh environment, the Ingush are traditionally called the “tenth tukhum”, thereby emphasizing the closeness of the two neighboring peoples.
At the moment there are about 1 million 700 thousand Chechens in the world. In addition to Chechnya, they live in Ingushetia, Dagestan, the Stavropol Territory, the Volgograd Region, Kalmykia, the Astrakhan, Saratov, Tyumen Regions, North Ossetia; abroad, they are most numerous in Turkey, Kazakhstan, France, Austria, and Belgium.
The total number of Ingush is about 700 thousand people. In addition to Russia, they also live in Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon.

origins
In modern ethnology, Chechens and Ingush are usually united by a common term - "Vainakh peoples" (Chech. "Vainakh", Ingush. "Veinakh" - "our people"). This is how representatives of the two Caucasian ethnic groups identify themselves.
Chechens and Ingush did not create their own written language, and therefore their history was studied from the annals of neighboring peoples. Often this information was fragmentary and not always objective. Nevertheless, today scientists can say with full confidence that the Chechens and Ingush are one of the oldest inhabitants of the Caucasus, belonging to the Vainakh language group of the Nakh-Dagestan family.

Historians find the ancestors of the Ingush (self-name Galgai) among the tribal union of the Alans, who participated in the Great Migration of Peoples.

Anthropologist Viktor Bunak is sure that among the Ingush the ancient Caucasian (or Caucasian) type has been preserved "more than among any of the other North Caucasian peoples."

Here is how the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron describes the Ingush: “In appearance, the Ingush is lean, slender, of medium height, with sharp features and quick eyes on a pale, swarthy face; the color of the hair is predominantly black, the nose is aquiline, the movements are hurried and impetuous.

Chechens (self-name Nokhchi), according to one hypothesis, appeared on the historical scene before the Ingush. Some researchers, including anthropologist Valery Alekseev, consider the Chechens to be the descendants of the Hurrians who lived in the 2nd millennium BC in northern Mesopotamia.

In Armenian sources of the 7th century, Chechens are referred to as "Nakhcha Matyan" ("speaking the Nokhchi language"). In the documents of the 16th-17th centuries, one can find the tribal names of the Chechens - Ichkerinians, okoks, shubuts. In Russian, the word "Chechen" has become a transliteration of the terms that existed among neighboring peoples - "tsatsans", "shashens", "chachans".
The appearance of the Chechens, according to the dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron, is as follows: “tall and well built. Women are beautiful. Anthropologically, the Chechens represent a mixed type. Eye color varies from black to more or less dark brown and from blue to more or less light green. In the hair color, transitions from black to more or less dark blond are noticed. The nose is often upturned and concave.

Genetic studies have shown that modern Chechens and Ingush, although they belong to the same haplogroup, are ethnically heterogeneous. Geneticist Hussein Chokaev, based on the latest research data, writes that the common ancestor of a significant part of the Chechen-Ingush ethnic group is a representative of the subgroup J2a4b (M67), which originated on the territory of modern Turkey about 11.8 thousand years ago. The carriers of such a haplotype were, among others, the Carians, Minoans and Pelasgians. But if the Ingush correspond to the J2a4b (M67) group by 87%, then the Chechens only by 58%.

disengagement
Over time, the Chechens mostly settled along the right tributaries of the Sunzha and the Terek. Equally, their places of residence were mountains, foothills and plains. The Ingush concentrated to the west of the Chechen settlements, mainly in the upper reaches of the Sunzha.

The first signs of separation of the single Vainakh ethnic group, according to researchers, emerged after 1770, when the Ingush accepted Russian citizenship. Joining the empire brought its own characteristics to the way of life of this people. The disengagement between the Ingush and the Chechens further intensified during the Caucasian War, which lasted intermittently from 1817 to 1864.

During the war, it was Chechnya that became the main stronghold of resistance and the center of the military-religious movement of Muridism. According to this teaching, the moral and political revival of Islam was possible only after the overthrow of the infidel Russian yoke. The Muridist propaganda of Kazi-Mulla, Gamzat and Shamil gave rich results on Chechen soil, while the Ingush remained aloof from the "war for faith".

After the end of the Caucasian War, the places inhabited by the Ingush for border peace were settled by the Cossacks, who remained there until the arrival of Soviet power in the Caucasus. In 1921, the Gorskaya ASSR appeared on the territory of the former Terek and part of the former Kuban regions of the Russian Empire, and in 1936 the Chechen-Ingush ASSR appeared on the map.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Chechens and Ingush again went their separate ways: radical currents calling for independence became more active in Chechnya, while Ingushetia decided to remain part of Russia. In the new situation, the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia ceased to be conditional and eventually divided the two subjects of the federation - the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic.

Religion
The dominant religion of the Ingush and Chechens is Sunni Islam. However, the degree of its influence on both peoples is different. Despite the fact that Islam began to penetrate into the North Caucasus since the time of the invasion of Genghis Khan, most of the inhabitants of Chechnya accepted it only in the 18th century. During the period of the Caucasian wars, through the Muridist movement, Islam became so firmly established in Chechnya that it gave rise to real religious fanaticism there.

In Ingushetia, Islam adapted only by the middle of the 19th century, but did not take deep roots there. Until recently, many Ingush were still dominated by ancient pre-Muslim beliefs, an integral part of which was the cult of the family and ancestors. This cult obliged to honor their shrines, such as the hearth and the chain above the hearth.

Food was cooked near the hearth, important issues were discussed, rituals were performed. The supra-heart chain also retained its connection with traditions. When an outsider entered an Ingush house and grabbed the overhead chain, he fell under the protection of the owner, and if a blood lover touched it, he got rid of revenge.

Modern Ingushetia largely lives in line with political and religious freedom, which also has an impact on religion. If only Sufi Islam is officially recognized in Chechnya, then in Ingushetia there are a large number of supporters of Salafism, which is perceived by many as a radical trend of Islam.

Unlike the Ingush, the religious consciousness of the Chechens was influenced by the tense socio-political situation of recent decades, which is why Salafism did not take root in the public space of the Republic. In turn, especially among young people, there is a growing interest and desire for true Islam, in strict observance of all the prescriptions of the Koran and religious rites.

Traditions
According to ethnographers, the Chechen culture, to a greater extent than the Ingush, has lost touch with the traditional rituals characteristic of the Vainakhs. So, the Ingush are outraged by the Chechen custom of giving soup to a guest, and not a special meat dish of lamb, chicken or turkey meat, which has been practiced for centuries.

The same can be said about family relationships. An Ingush man usually does not meet his mother-in-law, they do not see each other at matchmaking, they do not meet at family celebrations and other events. The Ingush are very proud of this fact and believe that their families are much stronger than the Chechen ones.

There are also differences in wedding ceremonies. For example, if the Chechens, after showing the guests, the bride is in a separate room all day, then the Ingush have a custom for the young woman to stand in the corner of the main hall until evening and accept gifts. Ingush people often prefer national dresses to a wedding dress, Chechens are more modern in this regard.

The way of life of the Chechens and Ingush is largely determined by the teip (clan) structure. It is also customary to call Ingush teips “surnames”. If the Chechen teip can have hundreds of surnames, then the Ingush teip is most often limited to a few dozen, while the Ingush surnames most often have pre-Islamic roots, while the Chechen ones are predominantly Muslim.

The Ingush teip is usually exogamous. Marriages within the teip certainly occur, but are not welcome. Chechens, on the contrary, prefer to create marriages within their teip in order to more firmly maintain tribal ties.
In Chechnya, teips are subordinate to large military-political associations - tukhums. There are nine in total. The Ingush do not have such a division. In the Vainakh environment, the Ingush are traditionally called the “tenth tukhum”, thereby emphasizing the closeness of the two neighboring peoples.

At the moment there are about 1 million 700 thousand Chechens in the world. In addition to Chechnya, they live in Ingushetia, Dagestan, the Stavropol Territory, the Volgograd Region, Kalmykia, the Astrakhan, Saratov, Tyumen Regions, North Ossetia; abroad, they are most numerous in Turkey, Kazakhstan, France, Austria, and Belgium.
The total number of Ingush is about 700 thousand people. In addition to Russia, they also live in Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon.

CHINGIS KHAN:
Here is how representatives of other peoples spoke about G1alg1ai - (Ingush) - different centuries and years ... In the 13th century, attacking the state of G1alg1aev - (Ingush) - Alania and destroying the capital of G1alg1aev - (Ingush) - the city of the sun Magas - Genghis Khan left a note in his diary - "I WON THE FLOOR OF EUROPE AND THE CITY OF MAGAS" - that is, he compared the battle for the city of Magas with the battle for the whole continent ... § ...
Leave the Caucasus alone, withdraw the troops from the mountains. You can't break them alive, and the dead don't pay tribute." Genghis Khan so about the ancestors of the Vainakhs, the Ingush and Chechens, wrote Genghis Khan himself, who conquered half the world but could not conquer and conquer the Alans of the ancestors of the Vainakhs!

In the 17th century, after conquering almost the entire Caucasus, Imam Shamil attacked the G1alg1aev (Ingush) three times in order to seize this people by force - and having been defeated three times, he realized that this people cannot be conquered by force.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Denikin, freely roaming the Caucasus with his army, without having time to enter the land of G1alg1aev - (Ingush) - received a decisive rebuff and was defeated. - After his defeat, Denikin writes about his enemy like this - INGUSHIS ARE THE SMALLEST PEOPLE IN THE CAUCASUS AND AT THE SAME TIME THE MOST STRONG AND MILITARY PEOPLE NOT ONLY IN THE CAUCASUS BUT ALL OVER THE WORLD ... § ... "The Ingush are not subject to re-education"

General Ermolov ... § ... "By the importance of the place occupied by the Ingush ... how backfire could happen if this most militant and courageous people were driven to indignation, decided to retire to the mountains. "General Ermolov ... § ... "Ingush - the smallest in number and the most soldered and strong military organization people, turned out to be essentially the arbiter of fate North Caucasus." General A.I. Denikin ...

Their nature is remarkable for their irascibility. The Ingush considers every swear word to be the highest insult and often takes revenge on the offender with death. Not valuing the life of another person to such an extent, he does not appreciate his own, and as a result he is distinguished by amazing heroism. This character trait belongs not only to men, but also to women, each of whom will decide to sacrifice her life, but will not allow anyone to offend herself ...
Lyadov V. CAUCASUS IN PHYSICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHIC RELATIONS.
In journal: "Dawn", vol. IV. - St. Petersburg, 1859 ! … § …

I sent 18 thousand Cossacks to the Ingush, believing that there would be enough of them in terms of the number of Ingush, having arrived in the morning from the conquered Chechnya, to look at the conquered lands of the Ingush, I saw only the corpses of the Cossacks and realized that this people really is the Warlike and conquered people of the Ingush, unfolded carriage and went to his Chechnya to rest! After this defeat, I ordered the Redoubt to be established on the approaches to Nazran to protect the Ossetians and other populations of the Caucasus from the attacks of the Dagestanis and Chechens and hire the Ingush to serve there, who were also hired to pacify the uprisings in Chechnya in Dagestan as well as throughout the Caucasus. After that, the second Fortress was built for the Ingush in the city of Vladikavkaz! "A.P. Ermolov

Chronicles-Chronicles about Gargareev-Alan-Dzurdzuk-Tsanar-Kists (Gligvi- G1alg1ai)_ According to ancient, Georgian, Armenian written sources in the 1st millennium BC - I millennium AD the ethnonyms Malkhi, Makhalon, Caucasians, Hamekites, Durdzuks, Gligvs, Dvals, Digors, Kolkhs, Khalibs, Sanars, Mahals, Ganaks, Khalis, Sierbs, Troglodytes, Kists, etc. are known, under which tribes of distant ancestors of the Ingush. Often, ancient authors called the North Caucasian tribes (including the Pro-Ingush ones) Scythians and Sarmatians.

While some are blowing up and destroying monuments to Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich in the Caucasus, others are erecting a monument to him in their historical homeland. Bust of the Great Russian poet Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov in front of the building of the Central Administrative District of Nazran, Republic of Ingushetia
Someone puts busts to the Great Son of Russia, someone in school curriculum it is forbidden to study his works ...

Watchdog giants from the work of Lermontov

And towers of castles on the rocks
Looked menacingly through the mists -
At the gates of the Caucasus on the clock
Guard Giants!
And wild and wonderful was around
Whole God's world; but a proud spirit
looked contemptuously
Creation of your God
And on his high forehead
Nothing was reflected.
Mikhail Lermontov, 1839

It is believed that the text on the Zelenchuk Stella is in Ossetian, on the grounds that the word "furt" (son in Ossetian) is present there, but it is not taken into account that this word itself is in Ossetian came from the language of the aboriginal population of these places before its transition to the Iranian language. For example, in Ingush"fu" is an egg, furt "offspring". And in the Hurrian language "furtaki" means "son".

Denikin writes in his memoirs that in the Caucasus Chechens are 17% Ossetians 14% Kabardians 8% Ingush 4%, and that it is the Ingush who run the place. Kabardians are robbed out of habit, Cossacks in payment for cooperation, Dagestanis for fertile lands, and the Ossetians simply because they are cowards and strangers.

Beria's statement:
"Alan Spawn""
“Beria looked up from the paper, corrected
pince-nez:
- Here, comrades, is an example of the people,
who stubbornly refuses to join
to the masses. Ingush in Civil
distinguished themselves. Red Ingushetia! Yes to them
I just had a chance to show my
wolf teeth. Just to break
"foreigners", and they, in fact,
spit red meat tear their teeth
or white. Alanian offspring! One
scientist-historian in the North Caucasus
enlightened me. It turns out they are
ancient times are known for their
invincibility. That's why they
exterminated. This scholar explained
me that Alanian offspring
are Karachays, Ingush,
Chechens, Balkars and Digors. Well,
we will leave the Digorians for now, but
rest…
Now there is a war. Red Army
stands for freedom and independence
only all Soviet people, but also
of all mankind.
"He who is not with us is against us" -
Vladimir Ilyich spoke. So here's for
one and a half to two years documented
treacherous nature of these
peoples on the basis of irrefutable
facts. We have collected full safes
documents, worked tirelessly
hands And the world fighting fascist
hydra, he will not condemn us - we will
documents under your nose.
With the Volga Germans we are already
dealt with. They didn't suffer
because they are Germans and could
sympathize german army. Not!
This is what we say: so it is necessary for
politicians. They, the Folke Deutsche, are guilty
in the fact that, having lived three hundred years in the mass
Russian people, do not mix, do not
dissolved, but retained their
characteristic German identity:
language, character, habits. Well,
Let's see how they come out of this
mills. Comrades, you are the most
responsible for the implementation
secret orders of the Central Committee and
Governments.
The Germans will be followed by the Ingush,
Chechens, Balkars, Karachays,
Kurds, Turks from Georgia, Greeks, Tatars
from the Crimea and some others. We have
you one and a half to two years, so that
legally justify the need
deportation of these peoples (it would be better if
certainly…). Documents, comrades,
documents! Make them, create
create!
Whole wagons of compromising
documents! Don't feel sorry for the paper
and ink! Encourage scribblers! That's what
our main task is...
I hope you understand that I'm not from
I say this to myself"
Greeks and Romans describe Alans as fair-haired and light-skinned (well, relative to themselves, of course), but Ossetians stand out among their neighbors with darker skin and darker hair. Researchers (except of course Koch, Gan and other first German Nazis, who tried to prove to their compatriots that remnants of the Goths live in the Caucasus), also emphasize this feature of them.

STALIN:
From the CGA archive. Stalin's conversation with the Ingush deputy Buzurkiev: Stalin: - Comrade Buzurkiev, how do you look at putting Ingush and Ossetians wall to wall? Buzurkiev: - "Let's even today, Comrade Stalin!" - "Yes, comrade Buzurkiev, I know that the Ingush will crush the Ossetians. But I will not allow you to do this. And not because one of my grandmothers is Ossetian, and my father's grandfather had the surname Dzugaev, but because Ossetians are closer to my soul ...

"Chechens, magnificent riders, can overcome 120, 130 or even 150 versts in one night. Their horses, without slowing down, always gallop, storm such slopes where it would seem that even a footman cannot pass .... If there is a crevice ahead, to -yu does not dare to overcome his horse at once, the Chechen wraps the head of the horse with a cloak and, trusting himself to the Almighty, makes the pacer jump over an abyss up to 20 feet deep ""
A. Dumas Caucasus (Paris, 1859)

The Chechens have always been a formidable adversary. They fought with us not for life, but to death.
V.A. Potto. Historical outline Caucasian Wars.. (Tiflis, 1899)
The ability of this tribe is beyond doubt. Of the Caucasian intellectuals, there are already many Chechens in schools and gymnasiums. Where they study - they will not be praised. Those who arrogantly humiliate an incomprehensible highlander must agree that when talking with a simple Chechen, you feel that you are dealing with a person who is sensitive to such phenomena. public life, which are almost inaccessible to our peasant in the middle provinces ""
Nemirovich-Danchenko. Along Chechnya.

But there was one nation that did not succumb to the psychology of humility at all - not loners, not rebels, but the whole nation as a whole. These are Chechens.
We have already seen how they treated the camp fugitives. As one, they tried to support the Kengir uprising from the entire Dzhezkazgan exile.
I would say that of all the special settlers, the only Chechens proved to be convicts in spirit. After they were once treacherously pulled from their place, they no longer believed in anything. They built sakli for themselves - low, dark, miserable, such that even with a kick of their feet, it seems, fall apart.
And the same was their entire exile economy - for this one day, this month, this year, without any osprey, reserve, distant intent. They ate, drank, the young also dressed.
Years passed - and just as they had nothing, as in the beginning. No Chechens anywhere tried to please or please the authorities - but they are always proud of him and even openly hostile. Despising the laws of universal education and those school state sciences, they did not let their girls go to school, so as not to spoil it there, and not all boys. They did not send their women to the collective farm. And they themselves did not hunchback on the collective farm fields. Most of all, they tried to get a job as drivers: taking care of the motor is not humiliating, in in constant motion car, they found the saturation of their dzhigit passion, in the possibilities of a driver - their passion for thieves. However, they also satisfied this last passion directly. They brought to peaceful, honest dormant Kazakhstan the notion of "stolen", "cleansed". They could steal cattle, rob a house, and sometimes simply take it away by force. local residents and those exiles who so easily submitted to the authorities, they regarded almost as the same breed. They respected only rebels.
And what a miracle - everyone was afraid of them. No one could stop them from living like this. And the government, which had owned this country for thirty years, could not force them to
respect your laws.
A.I. Solzhenitsyn "Archepilag Gulag"

Chechens are the most courageous and recalcitrant tribes in the Caucasus. They are even more warlike than the Lezgins; our troops could never subdue this people, despite the numerous expeditions undertaken against them, and the devastation to which their lands were repeatedly subjected. "Gen. Yermolov.

"Such a man has not yet been born,
To line the mountains with coffins,
To move Kazbek with a bold hand,
To make CHECHENS slaves!" M.Yu. Lermontov

"... If there were no reasons for strife among them, the Chechens would become very dangerous neighbors, and it is not without reason to apply to them what Thucydides said about the ancient Scythians: "There is no people in Europe or in Asia who could resist them if the latter joined forces"
Johann Blaramberg, "Caucasian Manuscript".

But there is education: respect for the elder, respect for a friend, respect for a woman, obedience to the law. Respect for religion, and not feigned, not far-fetched, but real. I love and respect the Vainakhs very much. And they show me the kindest attitude, if only for the simple reason that I have for all my long life never by word or deed betrayed this people. Chechens are a courageous, invincible, morally pure people. And the bandits? So they are among Russians, bandits and Jews have enough ...
... And when my son or daughter starts arguing with me, I say: “You should have been sent to Chechnya for education, you would have learned to respect your parents ... I like this culture.
Joseph Kobzon

“I have seen many peoples, but such recalcitrant and unyielding people as the Chechens do not exist on earth, and the path to the conquest of the Caucasus lies through the conquest of the Chechens, or rather, through their complete destruction.”

“Sovereign! .. The mountain peoples are an example of their independence in your most subjects imperial majesty give rise to a rebellious spirit and a love of independence.
From the report of A. Yermolov to Emperor Alexander I on February 12, 1819

“It is just as impossible to subdue the Chechens as it is to smooth out the Caucasus. Who, besides us, can boast that he saw the Eternal War?
General Mikhail Orlov, 1826.

“Chechens, apart from Russians and Jews, are the most educated people in the Russian Federation. By virtue of national characteristics, due to their closeness and conservatism, the Chechens were able to turn the Kazakh exile into an opportunity for an innovative breakthrough. While many peoples of the Caucasus and the Caucasus, having fallen into exile, practically died, the minimally Russified Chechens managed to intensify their lives and dramatically, abruptly, many times increase the level of education. The Chechens came to the situation of the 90s organically belonging to the high-tech part of the Soviet elite. Let me remind you that many ministers in the raw materials, oil and gas, and gas industries were Chechens and Ingush."
Maxim Shevchenko.

Someone rightly remarked that in the type of Chechen, in his moral character there is something reminiscent of the Wolf. The Lion and the Eagle depict strength, they go to the weak, and the Wolf goes to a stronger one than himself, replacing in last case everything - with boundless audacity, courage and dexterity. And once he gets into hopeless trouble, he dies in silence, without expressing either fear, or pain, or a groan.
(V. Potto, XIX century).

As for the Chechens, in my opinion, for the most part they have an increased potential for courage, energy and love of freedom. At the end of the first Chechen war I wrote in the then Nezavisimaya Gazeta that the Chechens, in terms of their qualities, including intellectual data, are a kind of fluctuation positive properties. I know many Chechens different position and age, and I am always amazed at their intelligence, wisdom, composure, perseverance. One of the components of the fluctuation mentioned above seems to me to be the fact that the Chechens, the only peoples among the peoples of the Russian Empire, did not have an aristocracy, never knew serfdom, and have been living without feudal princes for about three hundred years.
(Vadim Belotserkovsky, 22.02.08)

Chechens, both men and women, are extremely beautiful in appearance. They are tall, very slender, their physiognomies, especially their eyes, are expressive; Chechens are agile and dexterous in their movements; by nature they are all very impressionable, cheerful and witty, for which they are called the "French of the Caucasus", but at the same time suspicious, quick-tempered, treacherous, insidious, vengeful. When they strive for their goal, all means are good for them. At the same time, the Chechens are indomitable, unusually hardy, brave in attack, defense and pursuit. These are predators, of which there are few among the proud knights of the Caucasus; and they themselves do not hide this, choosing among the animal kingdom their ideal of the wolf.
“Conquered Caucasus. Essays on the Historical Past and Modern Caucasus St. Petersburg. 1904 Caspari.)

“Chechens are very poor, but they never go for alms, they don’t like to ask, and this is their moral superiority over the highlanders. Chechens in relation to their own never give orders, but say "I would need this, I would like to eat, I will do it, I will go, I will find out if God wills it." abusive words almost non-existent in the local language…”
S. Belyaev, diary of a Russian soldier who was a prisoner of the Chechens for ten months.

“... Chechens did not burn houses, did not deliberately trample fields, did not break vineyards. “Why destroy the gift of God and the work of man,” they said ... And this rule of the mountain “robber” is a valor that the most educated peoples could be proud of if they had it ... "
A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky in "Letter to Dr. Erman".

"Chechens! You are flint! You are steel, you are diamond! They tried to erase you into powder more than once. You are a stable tribe of good seed, and the Caucasus has been proud of you for centuries!”
M.Yu.Lermontov.

And in the Russian-Chechen war of 1994-96, the fighters of the Chechen Resistance themselves contacted the parents of the Russian soldiers captured by them, who came to kill the Chechens, and gave them their sons alive.

The parents of Russian soldiers, who came in search of captured and missing sons, were received by the Chechens at their homes, they were given lodging for the night, food, and no one ever had the thought of taking any payment for this.

The right to own a house, according to the custom of the Chechens, is considered sacred and inviolable. For an insult to the owner in his own house, the offender bears more responsibility than for a similar insult inflicted elsewhere.

Entering someone else's house is supposed to ask the permission of the owner. Permission follows immediately.
Chechens are subtly polite hosts and guests. ... Chechens are distinguished by the most cordial hospitality. Everyone tries to surround the guest with that material allowance, which he himself does not have either on annual holidays or in solemn minutes for your family."

(Dubrovin. "History of the war and domination of the Russians in the Caucasus." 1871. vol. 1. book 1. p. 415.)
There are numerous materials that can be found, in particular in the Acts collected by the Caucasian Archaeographic Commission, proving, for example, how Russian soldiers fled to Chechnya during the long period of the Caucasian War.

Fugitive soldiers, despite the fact that they came to their land with the war, the Chechens received with respect, according to Chechen custom hospitality, and the fact that they were so received is clearly seen as royal authorities it was very difficult to force the Chechens to extradite the fugitives, for reprisal.

They offered a lot of money for them, and otherwise they threatened to destroy the whole Chechen village, which was sometimes carried out.
Details about the Kunaic connections during the Caucasian War can also be found in the reports of contemporaries.

So, for example, N. Semenov cites bright examples how Russian serfs, soldiers, Cossacks fled to the mountains. They always "found shelter and hospitality" among the Chechens and lived "quite well" in the villages of Chechnya.
(N. Semenov. "Natives of the North-Eastern Caucasus." St. Petersburg, 1895, p. 120.)
The famous Caucasian scholar A.P. Berger, published in 1859 in his book "Chechnya and Chechens" writes:

“There is almost no difference in the way of life between prosperous and poor Chechens: the advantage of one over the other is expressed partly in clothing, but most of all in weapons and horses .... Chechens in their vicious circle form one class with them - free people, and we do not find any feudal privileges between them "
(A.P. Berge. "Chechnya and Chechens". Tiflis. 1859. pp. 98-99.).