Analysts have assessed the consequences of removing provisions on territorial integrity from the Constitution of Kabardino-Balkaria.

The exclusion of provisions guaranteeing territorial integrity and inviolability from the Constitution of Kabardino-Balkaria could allow the federal center to unilaterally change the republic's borders, without taking into account the opinions of its authorities or established historical circumstances, analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" explained.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, human rights activists previously spoke out against the amendments to the Constitution of Kabardino-Balkaria. They stated that the exclusion from the republic's Constitution of provisions guaranteeing territorial integrity and inviolability, as well as the powers of the head of Kabardino-Balkaria to preserve the republic's territorial integrity, jeopardizes the republic's future.

There has not yet been an official reaction from the authorities to the appeal of human rights activists who spoke out against the amendments to the Constitution of Kabardino-Balkaria, said Zaur Shokuev, a member of the movement "For Human Rights in Kabardino-Balkaria."

"But first, a working group must be created in response to the protest of the regional prosecutor, who demanded that local The Constitution will be brought into line with federal law. It will include representatives of the head of Kabardino-Balkaria, the prosecutor's office, and the Kabardino-Balkaria branch of the Russian Ministry of Justice. As Khabarov, the republic's prosecutor, stated, "The Prosecutor General's Office has instructed the Kabardino-Balkaria prosecutor's office to submit measures to bring unconstitutional provisions in Kabardino-Balkaria into line with the Russian Constitution," Shokuev told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. He noted that he was surprised that Kabardino-Balkaria specifically addressed the provisions guaranteeing territorial integrity and inviolability. "Similar amendments were introduced several years ago in Tatarstan and Dagestan, as far as I know. In Chechnya, these provisions have indeed remained in the Constitution, for now," Shokuev noted. The issue is not that there are territorial disputes with neighboring republics. The signatories express concern that with the adoption of these amendments, the federal center will have the power to unilaterally change the republics' borders at its own discretion, without regard for their opinions or established historical circumstances, the analyst explained.

"The North Caucasus region is one of the most densely populated, where the land issue is particularly acute. In general, the republic, as a state entity within the federation, is deprived of its constitutional right to preserve the integrity of its territory," Shokuev explained.

He also noted that separatist tendencies in the republic are currently irrelevant.

Historian Zaur Kozhev also expressed surprise that it was in Kabardino-Balkaria that the provisions on the territorial integrity of the region's borders provoked a protest from the prosecutor's office. "I can't say why they started with Kabardino-Balkaria. But why can't the Constitution have such provisions? According to the Constitution of Kabardino-Balkaria, this is a form of state self-determination for Kabardians and Balkars within the framework of the federation," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He also emphasized that there are no separatist sentiments in the republic. "And there were no territorial disputes with our neighbors, even in the 1990s," Kozhev emphasized.

The borders of administrative and political entities established during the Soviet era are always potentially conflict-prone, noted one Russian Caucasus scholar, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"Because in Soviet times, borders were drawn, and you can see how. These are constant and eternal conflicts, not only between autonomous republics, but in general between countries that have become independent," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

For now, there are only hypothetical concerns that Kabardino-Balkaria could face claims from its neighbors. "But if we let our imagination run wild, there could be complaints from others too. There are concepts of a unified Karachay-Balkarian people. However, it should be said that such serious complaints haven't been voiced yet. It's all being discussed somewhere. And there are no complaints against Kabardino-Balkaria itself," he explained.

The Caucasus expert also noted the absence of separatist sentiments in the republic.

"The time for ethnic movements has passed. Just look at how ethnic movements boomed in the 1990s. Now there's nothing. Besides that, there are still the consequences of re-Islamization, which began simultaneously in the 1990s and 2000s. And now people still have more Islamic than ethnic affiliations. People think less about ethnicity," the analyst said.

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