Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov and his neighbor, Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, had some fighting words for each other over the weekend.

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While the public spat apparently ended in a truce after Yevkurov forgave Kadyrov, the unprecedented exchange between two autonomous regional heads has revealed an intensifying rivalry for territory and Kremlin favor between the two volatile Caucasus republics, experts say.

At the heart of the laceration was a counter-terrorist operation that has dominated politics in the regions for the past decade. While Kadyrov has largely succeeded in ending a separatist conflict in his republic, guerrilla skirmishes and terror attacks continue to flare up in mostly-Muslim Chechnya and Ingushetia.

Kadyrov announced last week that his special forces raided a terrorist cell in Ingushetia, killing two militant fighters suspected of attacking Kadyrov's home town in August 2010.

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But Yevkurov downplayed Chechnya's involvement, saying that the two militants died when their explosives accidentally went off. "If a special operation means that Chechen law enforcement authorities came in and picked up two dead bodies and one wounded man, then yes, we confirm that," Vedomosti quoted Yevkurov as saying on August 2.

The comment irked Kadyrov, a man notorious for speaking his mind when it comes to politics. He lambasted Yevkurov for "unfriendly expressions against the Chechen people," and warned that "if Yevkurov can't restore order [in his republic], then we will restore it," RIA Novosti reported.

More importantly, however, Kadyrov warned his counterpart that such disagreements could mean it is high time to delineate a clearer border between the two republics. "If Yevkurov doesn't want unity and brotherly relations... we will determine the borders where they should be historically and in accordance with Russian law," RIA Novosti quoted Kadyrov as saying.

Yevkurov, who last year sought dialogue with increasingly critical opposition in his region, said on his Twitter blog that he was "surprised" by Kadyrov's statement. "Ramzan Kadyrov has his methods, and I have mine," he tweeted on Saturday. In another tweet on the same day, he said he was waiting for a telephone call from Kadyrov providing an explanation.

None ensued, but Yevkurov was apparently eager to drop the conversation ­ in his own way. "This is the holy month of Ramadan," he told journalists Sunday, according to an official statement. "The Almighty tells us to forgive each other. That is why I will not comment on Kadyrov's harsh statements."

While Kadyrov and Yevkurov have been at odds over their leadership methods in the past, the latest exchange could raise the specter of another border dispute in the region. Chechnya has long been seeking to unite the two republics, according to Rostislav Turovsky, a regions expert and the vice president of the Center for Political Technologies.

"The Chechen government has long been suspected of ambitions to swallow up Ingushetia, and they have felt the need to demonstrate their leadership in the Caucasus region," Turovsky told The Moscow News.

The region itself is riddled with ethnic and religious conflicts ­ and Ingushetia itself has had tense relations with neighboring North Ossetia, which, unlike Ingushetia and Chechnya, is a predominantly Christian republic. But even those tensions have never spilled out into public spats between its leaders, Turovsky said.

More importantly still, "Kadyrov and Yevkurov are competing for favor from the federal center, and many of their public statements are directed not just towards their own people, but toward Moscow as well," Turovsky said.

Keywords: Russia, Chechnya, North Caucasus - Russian News - Russia - Johnson's Russia List

Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov and his neighbor, Ingush President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, had some fighting words for each other over the weekend.

file photo
While the public spat apparently ended in a truce after Yevkurov forgave Kadyrov, the unprecedented exchange between two autonomous regional heads has revealed an intensifying rivalry for territory and Kremlin favor between the two volatile Caucasus republics, experts say.

At the heart of the laceration was a counter-terrorist operation that has dominated politics in the regions for the past decade. While Kadyrov has largely succeeded in ending a separatist conflict in his republic, guerrilla skirmishes and terror attacks continue to flare up in mostly-Muslim Chechnya and Ingushetia.

Kadyrov announced last week that his special forces raided a terrorist cell in Ingushetia, killing two militant fighters suspected of attacking Kadyrov's home town in August 2010.

file photo
But Yevkurov downplayed Chechnya's involvement, saying that the two militants died when their explosives accidentally went off. "If a special operation means that Chechen law enforcement authorities came in and picked up two dead bodies and one wounded man, then yes, we confirm that," Vedomosti quoted Yevkurov as saying on August 2.

The comment irked Kadyrov, a man notorious for speaking his mind when it comes to politics. He lambasted Yevkurov for "unfriendly expressions against the Chechen people," and warned that "if Yevkurov can't restore order [in his republic], then we will restore it," RIA Novosti reported.

More importantly, however, Kadyrov warned his counterpart that such disagreements could mean it is high time to delineate a clearer border between the two republics. "If Yevkurov doesn't want unity and brotherly relations... we will determine the borders where they should be historically and in accordance with Russian law," RIA Novosti quoted Kadyrov as saying.

Yevkurov, who last year sought dialogue with increasingly critical opposition in his region, said on his Twitter blog that he was "surprised" by Kadyrov's statement. "Ramzan Kadyrov has his methods, and I have mine," he tweeted on Saturday. In another tweet on the same day, he said he was waiting for a telephone call from Kadyrov providing an explanation.

None ensued, but Yevkurov was apparently eager to drop the conversation ­ in his own way. "This is the holy month of Ramadan," he told journalists Sunday, according to an official statement. "The Almighty tells us to forgive each other. That is why I will not comment on Kadyrov's harsh statements."

While Kadyrov and Yevkurov have been at odds over their leadership methods in the past, the latest exchange could raise the specter of another border dispute in the region. Chechnya has long been seeking to unite the two republics, according to Rostislav Turovsky, a regions expert and the vice president of the Center for Political Technologies.

"The Chechen government has long been suspected of ambitions to swallow up Ingushetia, and they have felt the need to demonstrate their leadership in the Caucasus region," Turovsky told The Moscow News.

The region itself is riddled with ethnic and religious conflicts ­ and Ingushetia itself has had tense relations with neighboring North Ossetia, which, unlike Ingushetia and Chechnya, is a predominantly Christian republic. But even those tensions have never spilled out into public spats between its leaders, Turovsky said.

More importantly still, "Kadyrov and Yevkurov are competing for favor from the federal center, and many of their public statements are directed not just towards their own people, but toward Moscow as well," Turovsky said.