One of the 22 republics of the Russian Federation. It is located in the North Caucasus, on the northern slopes of the foothills of the Greater Caucasus Range, in its central part.
In 1921-1924, Ingushetiya was a part of the Mountain ASSR. In 1924, in connection with the collapse of the Mountain ASSR, the Ingush Autonomous Oblast was formed. In early 1934, Ingushetia and Chechnya were united, and the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Oblast was formed (since 1936 it became the Republic). During the Great Patriotic War, some of the Ingush people were deported. In 1944, autonomy was abolished, and most of the territory of Ingushetia entered the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as the Nazran region. In 1957, a decision was made to rehabilitate the deported peoples, and the Chechen-Ingush ASSR was restored. In autumn 1991, Chechnya and Ingushetia were divided, and in 1992 the Law "On the Formation of the Ingush Republic within the Russian Federation" was adopted.
The titular ethnic group is the Ingush people. The self-name is Galgai. The defining markers of their differences from the titular nation of the country are language and religion. The Ingush speak the Ingush language, which is liked to the family of the Nakh-Daghestanian, or North Caucasian languages. The dominant religion is Sunni Islam.
It is actually a mono-ethnic republic. As a result of the armed conflicts of the 1990s, the majority of Russians left Ingushetia. According to the results of the All-Russia Population Census of 2010, the Ingush people make up 94.1% of the republic's population, Chechens 4.6%, Russians only 0.8%.
The situation in interethnic relations in the republic is estimated as unstable, due to the presence of the radical Islamist groups in the republic. The question of the status of North Ossetia, which once belonged to Ingushetia, also remains unresolved.
