«Sleeping» conflict: interpretations of events around the Prigorodny district in North Ossetia and the Republic of Ingushetia

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the courses of symbolic politics in Ingushetia and North Ossetia leading to the formation of various interpretations of the causes and consequences of the events of 1992. It shows how discourses formed by significant socio-political actors and memorial reminders contrary to the recognition of the conflict as resolved, do not eliminate the causes of confrontation. The author of the article believes that the conflict around the Prigorodny district should be considered as «sleeping», which in the presence of certain structural conditions can again go into the «acute» stage of confrontation. Based on theoretical studies in the field of symbolic politics and politics of memory the author comes to the conclusion about their significant role in the formation and strengthening in the mass consciousness of a «collective» memory of this conflict. The article presents the results of the analysis of publications using the method of semantic networks. The main purpose of the analysis was to identify existing interpretations of the events of 1992 and the status of the Prigorodny district in Ingushetia and North Ossetia. Using the case-study method, an analysis of memorials dedicated to the events of the fall of 1992 was carried out. Based on the results it was concluded that the conflict potential remained in the region both in public discourse and in the memorial heritage of both republics.