In late October, the 20th anniversary of the start of hostilities between Ingushetians and Ossetians in the Prigorodny region will take place. 583 people from both sides were killed, 939 were injured.
Ossetians and Ingushetians lived on the banks of the Terek River for centuries and maintained cultural and economic contacts. In the area of today’s Prigorodny region, Ossetian, Ingushetian and Cossack settlements were close to each other. Experts point out that the Ossetian-Ingush territorial conflict developed over time in waves - some calm periods replaced by aggressive phases. The last outbreak came to an end in early November 1992, when President Boris Yeltsin ordered troops to be sent to the conflict zone, and a temporary administration was created in the warring republics. However, experts say that the conflict, despite many peace agreements, cannot be fully resolved. The events of autumn 1992 have left deep scars. As it turns out, 20 years is not enough in order to heal them. But people are tired of hatred and enmity; they are drawn to each other and are building relationships. This is a natural process. Time heals all wounds. The correspondent of VK in Nazran, Pavel Tsoroev, talked about this with his Ossetian counterpart, Oksana Badtieva, during a tea party.
- Oksana, do you agree with me that time heals all wounds?
- I think so. My grandfather died during the Great Patriotic War. My father, according to my grandmother, refused to learn German or read the classics of German literature. In the minds of that generation, Germany was the enemy. Over the years, it all fell away as useless. Germans and Russians collaborate and communicate perfectly.
- So do our peoples need new generations to communicate?
- I do not think so. We do well to communicate with each other in the center of Vladikavkaz. I was born in Chermen. I have many friends, classmates of Ingush origin. We communicate with them on social networks. Previously we lived as one happy family. I graduated from school in 1992. I do not know why these violent events have occurred. Five years later I met with a classmate of Ingush origin and asked him: "Why?". He replied: "I do not know." He now lives in Urengoy. This year, he came to the Eid al-Fitr to his parents, and, knowing that I like halva, gave it to my mom. Unfortunately, I could not see him. In Chermen, Ossetians and Ingushetians communicate with each other, but really, they are strained. The events of 1992 did not happen by accident and were not organized by ordinary people.
- What is the liveliest recollection of these events you have?
- We had neighbors, the Torshkhoyev family. We shared with them a piece of bread in the truest sense of the word. In 1992, they had just finished building a house. When it was destroyed, our neighbor was crying very hard. Hostility was everywhere in this period. Everyone was against everyone. This was terrible.
- If people worked together at some enterprises, the convergence process would go faster.
- In Chermen there was an amazing collective farm. It was renowned throughout the country. There were also a canning factory and a poultry farm. People came from different parts of the USSR to our artificial ponds to fish. Our agricultural vocational college was the best agricultural institute in the North Caucasus. There were real tractors and machines in the departments there. Now there is only a military unit. Everything fell apart, everything fell into decline. The guys are standing on the corners and looking for jobs.
- Is the gulf of mistrust between the two nations narrowing, albeit slowly?
- Now in some universities of North Ossetia there are boys and girls from Ingushetia. For example, they study in the Agricultural Academy. Football players play on their native pitches against each other. Medicine is also advancing in this sense. I know an Ossetian woman who makes up curtains in Nazran. I also know one Ingush who works in Vladikavkaz in a firm. Well, there are many other examples. Mutual understanding and tolerance for each other are necessary.
- I worry about the youth. In Chermen, for example, children of Ingush and Ossetian origin study in different schools. I spoke once with a man and a woman in Vladikavkaz. So they had never met an Ingushetian.
- In Kurtat, Don Garon, for example, the Ingush and Ossetian children learn together. And it's a good experience. We should work with our youth. We should, in my opinion, organize many more joint activities in the sporting and cultural fields. We should also communicate more like you and me.
