Ethnic Politics in Russia and its Impact on Extremism in the North Caucasus

Introduction: The North Caucasus region has always been restless and subject to tensions and crises that have continued since the time of Stalin and there is no clear vision for this region in the near future. Exploring the political and security activities of Russia in this region can be helpful and effective in understanding the root causes and dimensions of these crises. The north Caucasus is a special region in the Russian federation where many ethnic groups such as Kabardians, Balkars, Circassians, Chechens, Ingush and other peoples live. Russia plays a big role in this region. The problem of the current research is to investigate the ethnic and territorial policies of Russia and its effect on the spread of ethnic conflicts and extremism in the North Caucasus.  The findings of the present research show that the ethnic policies and Russification of the Caucasus region by the Russians are in line with the historical, geographical and cultural de-identification of the people of this region, making these ethnic groups dependent on the Russian government, curbing the influence of NATO and the United States in this region and energy security. Also, the events of the Islamic world, including the rise of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the ISIS and its security implications for Russia and its regional allies have prompted it to adopt a combination of containment, confrontation and engagement measures in the region. The question that arises here is the effect of Russia's ethnic policies on extremism and political stability in the North Caucasus.
Research hypothesis: The political space creation strategy was in line with the historical, geographical and cultural identity of the people of this region, making these tribes dependent on the Russian government and creating permanent divisions and duality between the tribes, so, it led to extremism in north Caucasus.
The research method is qualitative and content analysis type. In this research, with an analytical approach, an attempt is made to explain why the competition, tension and continuous conflicts that have cast a shadow on this region in the North Caucasus region for several decades.
 The method of collecting information is using library resources, including domestic and foreign books and articles.
Theoretical framework is based on Martin Marjer’s ethnic politics. The ethnic stratification system of a society is formed by the nature of the internal relationship between groups, the scarce resources for which they compete for and most importantly, the ability of one group to impose its dominance on others. According to Martin Marjer, three important patterns of behavior reinforce ethnic ideology, escalating ethnic strife, extremism and inter-ethnic division. These three patterns are: the first pattern: adaptation. The second pattern: Egalitarian pluralism. Third pattern: contradictory, conflicting and unequal pluralism
The first pattern: adaptation or assimilation: groups may be culturally similar or assimilated and interact freely with each other. This process means assimilation, or they may remain culturally distinct and socially distinct. This process is called pluralism. Adaptation means a process of distinct reduction. This process occurs when members of two smaller societies or cultural groups assimilate.
The Second Pattern: Egalitarian pluralism: Equal pluralism implies the creation of equality between different groups with independent cultural and structural independence that is roughly balanced in political and economic power. The third pattern: antagonistic, conflicting and unequal pluralism. Unequal pluralism is mainly pursued in colonial societies and racist regimes; but some of its features can be seen precisely in societies that pursue egalitarian assimilation and pluralism. In such a society, the ruling state is in the hands of the dominant ethnic group and the majority of people are not citizens but subjects. In this ethnic policy, the goal is to maintain or expand inequality between groups, and to allocate all political power and a major share of material wealth to the dominant group. The presence of many ethnic groups in the Caucasus region has created problems and has exposed the region to conflict and tension because there is a serious division between these ethnic groups based on the policy of land division. Since its entry into the Caucasus, Russia has emerged as a hegemonic power and has taken effective measures towards its Russian system and model.
Results and Discussion: The findings of the present research show that the ethnic policies and Russification of the Caucasus region by the Russians are in line with the historical, geographical and cultural de-identification of the people of this region, making these ethnic groups dependent on the Russian government, curbing the influence of NATO and the United States in this region and energy security.
Conclusion: In this study, an attempt was made to study and analyze ethnic policies in Russia and its impact on the spread and development of extremism in the North Caucasus. Today's political map of the Caucasus and central Asia includes countries that are unstable due to real and potential disputes over land and water, ethnic and non-ethnic conflicts as well as Russian and non-Russian differences. The roots of these differences and unrest in the North Caucasus and Central Asia must be sought in the expansionist policies of Tsarist Russia and its successor, the Soviet Union, especially under Stalin, whose ideology was used with the same methods even more violently. The nationalist movement, revenge for the devastation and devastation caused by the aggressive and warlike policies of the Russians, has brought violence and extremism to the region.