the Republic of Ingushetia was founded as part of the Russian Federation, while the then authorities of Chechnya, led by Dzhokhar Dudayev, set off on the road to independence from Russia.

On top of this, as political scientist Aleksey Makarkin told Russian business channel RBK, both Chechnya and Ingushetia are desperate to attract and keep Russia’s attention. Being among the poorest ...