The Chechnya–Ingushetia border agreement was a

boundary delimitation Electoral boundary delimitation (or simply boundary delimitation or delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries of electoral precincts and related divisions involved in elections, such as Federated state, states, counties or other municipalities ...

deal concluded on 26 September 2018 between

Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician and current head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the ...

and Yunus-bek Yevkurov, respectively, the heads of

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

and

Ingushetia Ingushetia or Ingushetiya, officially the Republic of Ingushetia, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with the country o ...

, two federal subjects of the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

located in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

region. According to the agreement, Ingushetia transferred 340 square kilometres, that is, about 9% of its territory, to Chechnya. The territory, located in Ingushetia's Sunzhensky District, had been claimed by Chechnya for years, despite the 1993 and 2003 agreements between the two republics not to change the existing boundaries. The deal sparked widespread public opposition and protests in Ingushetia. On 30 October 2018 the Constitutional Court of Ingushetia ruled that the agreement was illegal as changes in the territory of Ingushetia required approval by referendum. Yunus-bek Yevkurov, the head of Ingushetia, took the issue to the

Constitutional Court of Russia The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation () is a high court within the judiciary of Russia which is empowered to rule on whether certain laws or presidential decrees are in fact contrary to the Constitution of Russia. Its objective is o ...

in Moscow, which overrode the local court's ruling in December 2018. A series of outdoor rallies erupted across Ingushetia immediately after the controversial border deal, accompanied by clashes with police and arrests of activists. The protests reinvigorated in March 2019. Amid the unrest, Yevkurov resigned on 24 June 2019.

References

Treaties involving territorial changes September 2018 in Russia History of Chechnya History of Ingushetia Protests in Russia {{Treaty-stub