Mamison pass (located at 2900 meters altitude) stretches from North Ossetia to South Ossetia and to Georgia.
Due to the political tensions between Russia and Georgia, the pass is closed to tourists.
Several old villages spread along the Mamison gorge (supposedly built between the 15-17 centuries), though not much has been studied about their history and at present they lie abandoned. The architecture is typical of the Caucasus region with residential structures and several watch towers.
Christian church built in late 19 century, after the Ossetians converted to Christianity
Lisri village was the biggest settlement in the gorge with 14 watchtowers; today only 7 dilapidated towers are left. Though siding with the Russian Empire during the Caucasian wars, the Ossetian settlements were not spared from destruction.
1882 – Lisri village. Still inhabited, however the towers were already destroyed most probbaly during the Caucasian war.
Desolate ruins from the Soviet era – a common sight across ex-soviet republics
Dargavs “Dead City” is a pagan necropolis situated in Prigorodnydistrict of North Ossetia republic, in the historic Kurtat gorge.
Dargavs contains 97 crypts, making it the biggest necropolis in North Caucasus. Next to the crypts lies a watchtower, meant to protect and watch over the dead.
The architecture has a visible resemblance to that of Vainkah crypts (found in neighboring Ingushetia and Chechnya). The crypts were built during the pagan era in the Caucasus, before the introduction of Semitic religions (Christianity and Islam).
During the XIX century, the Ossetians were Russia’s key regional allies in its battle to conquer the surrounding highlanders, including the Ingush, Chechens and Circassians. Ossetians offered little resistance to Russian invasion and were quick to convert from their native pagan religion to Orthodox Christianity – though pagan elements remain or were intertwined with Christian elements, and a significant segment of population remains pagan.
In exchange for certain privileges, the Ossetians sided with Russian troops and together they colonized and renamed several western Ingush villages and built Vladikavkaz fortress, which today is North Ossetia’s capital city.
Map showcasing in red the territories handed over to neighboring republics after the 1944 Chechen-Ingush deportation and dissolution of their republic.
At the end of World War II, Stalin deported several North Caucasus nations to central Asia. The entire Ingush and Chechens nations were deported and their history archives destroyed. Villages (many of them historic settlements) were blown up, and other ethnicities were forcefully settled in abandoned villages. In Ingushetia, the western part of its territory – East Prigorodny district – was incorporated into North Ossetia.
Upon rehabilitation in 1957, the (surviving) returnees found that a big chunk of their territory had been handed over to North Ossetia. The Ingush consistently maintained their claim to the territory and their right of return. Several thousands Ingush bought back their homes from Ossetians and waited for a political decision, however their request remained ignored even after the collapse of USSR.
In 1992, a conflict erupted between the two sides. Russia sided with North Ossetians. Faced with an overwhelmingly bigger army, the Ingush swere quickly crushed. Boris Yeltsin issued a decree stating that East Prigorodny district will remain part of North Ossetia.
Click on photo to see the consequences of the 1992 conflict
(certain photos are extremely graphic with signs of severe torture)
Click on photo to view outcome of 1992 conflict
During the conflict, 600 Ingush were killed and 60.000 others were expelled from east Prigorodny. In violation of orders to separate Ingush and Ossetian armed groups and stop the fighting, Russian troops did little to prevent the human rights violations, the expulsion of Ingush civilians and the looting and destruction of Ingush homes that followed.
Houses of the expelled Ingush civilians (source ghalghay.com)
Despite being a traditional ally of Russia, North Ossetia’s privileges remain strictly ideological, as economically it is one of the poorest republics in Russia. In 2003, a new government ruling redirected all local alcohol revenues to the federal budget instead of the regional one, which caused a permanent 60% loss in North Ossetia’s budget revenue (source).
In 2004, Russian President Vladimir Putin abolished direct elections in Ingushetia and the federation heads have since been selected from a shortlist of candidates proposed by the local chapter of the ruling United Russia party. In these circumstances, no pressures or requests can be expected regarding the Prigorodny issue.
Documentary on the East Prigorodny conflict (Russian language). Contains rare footage of the aftermath; the conflict remained largely ignored by the international media, therefore foreign reporting is poor or non-existent.
At North Ossetia – Ingushetia border lies Table Mountain – considered a holy sacred mountain by the Ingush people since ancient times. The Vainakh people (Ingush and Chechens) practiced pagan beliefs before their conversion to Islam in the 19th century.
Table mountain was place of special ceremonies, and Myatceli temple, located on Myat Loam peak at 3000 meters altitude, served this special purpose.
More details on Ingush pagan beliefs and practices in the following documentary (minute 6:35)
The border between Ingushetia and North Ossetia was created in 1944 by the Soviets (after Chechen/ Ingush deportation), who ceased a part of Ingush territory to North Ossetia – and so the Ossetian capital of Vladikavkaz was created.
Table mountain and ancient Vainakh settlement
Table mountain seen from North Ossetian side
Table mountain seen from Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia
Vladikavkaz mosque and Table mountain
Table mountain seen from near Vladikavkaz
Russian special forces on North Ossetia/ Ingushetia border
North Caucasus Land 