I should have mentioned the following: Dagestan. Dagestan is a fucking miracle. Dagestan has 34 distinct ethno-cultural groups living in an area somewhat larger than Maryland, and it is the poorest region in Russia except for Chechnys, which it borders and has a similar cultural background to. You mould think that Dagestan would be Ground Zero for ethnic conflict in the former Soviet Union, but instead it is very peaceful.
Dagestan manages to do this, it seems, because of its governmental system, in which seats in parliament and governmental positions are distributed according to ethnic group, so Avars come in first, then Russians, then Chechens, then Laks, Cherkesh, Kalumks and so forth. Dagestan is also the only Russian region without a president, because it is believed that if, say, a Lak was president, that would give too much power to the Laks.
Appropriately, Dagestan is the only region in the Caucasus or Central Asia not named after an ethnic group. Dagestan means "country of the mountains."
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