Dagestan profile - Overview

5 December 2012 Last updated at 15:25 GMT The Russian Republic of Dagestan, which translates as "land of the mountains", is situated in Russia's turbulent North Caucasus with Chechnya and Georgia to the west, Azerbaijan to the south and the Caspian Sea to the east.

So high are its peaks in some places that certain areas are accessible only by helicopter. The republic is also famed for its ethnic and linguistic diversity, being home to more than 30 languages.

Several dozen Muslim peoples have settled among the high valleys over the centuries.

Villages cling to steep hillsides in Dagestan's spectacular mountainous interior

The Avars form the largest ethnic group and account for about a fifth of the population. A further substantial proportion is made up of Dargins, Kumyks and Lezgins. About 10 per cent are ethnic Russians. There are also Laks, Tabasarans and Nogai, to name but a few of the other significant groups.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Dagestan's politics is dominated by the need to balance its many ethnic groups. A long-running militant Islamist insurgency is a thorn in the authorities' sideEconomics: Dagestan has oil reserves and a strong manufacturing sector, but rampant corruption and organised crime hold back growth

Profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

The republic's constitution declares the protection of the interests of all of Dagestan's peoples to be a fundamental principle. It is a delicate balance to maintain, in what is Russia's most ethnically diverse province.

The republic has oil and gas reserves and also the fisheries potential offered by a share in the resources of the Caspian sea. However, it is prey to organized crime and regional instability. The crime barons may prosper but the people are amongst the poorest in Russia.

History

Dagestan was the birth place of Imam Shamil, the legendary fighter who in the 19th century spearheaded fierce resistance by tribesmen of Chechnya and Dagestan to the spread of the Russian empire. His name is still revered by many in both republics.

Federal troops were deployed to repel incursions by Chechen militants in the 1990s

When the Bolsheviks sought to enforce control in the Caucasus in the early 1920s, Dagestan became an autonomous Soviet republic within the Russian Federation. During the Stalinist period, its peoples escaped the mass deportation inflicted on their Chechen neighbours and many others.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the republic's authorities stayed loyal to Russia, but the region became infamous for its lawlessness and corruption. Organised crime is reported to flourish and kidnappings and violence are commonplace. Firearms are ubiquitous and assassinations are a regular event.

Moscow blames much of this on Chechen-based separatism, but others say lust for profit, combined with a gun culture, is the root cause.

Budennovsk and beyond

In the 1990s, separatist warlords from neighbouring Chechen openly led armed operations in Dagestan on several occasions. In 1995 and 1996, they seized hundreds of hostages in hospitals in the Dagestani towns of Budennovsk and Kizlyar. Scores died in the attacks.

Dagestan sees frequent attacks on security forces and assassinations

Dagestan's Muslims, who tend to follow Sufism combined with local tradition, generally steered clear of Chechen-style separatism, but after the late 1990s, radical and militant elements said to be linked with Wahhabism began to gain in influence.

In August 1999, an Islamic body declared an independent state in parts of Dagestan and Chechnya, and called on Muslims to take up arms against Russia in a holy war. Chechen fighters crossed into Dagestan in support, but within a few weeks, Russian forces had suppressed the insurrection.

The republic has seen numerous bombings targeted at the Russian military which has forces stationed at Kaspiysk, Buynaksk and Budennovsk. Russian forces have since been the target of numerous smaller scale attacks.

Russia accused a Dagestan militant, Magomedali Vagabov, of being behind an attack on the Moscow metro by two female suicide bombers from Dagestan in March 2010, in which 39 people died. In August 2010, Russian forces killed Vagabov in Dagestan.

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Catalonia profile - Overview

27 November 2012 Last updated at 11:51 GMT Proud of its own identity and language, Catalonia is Spain's richest and most highly industrialised region, and also one of the most independent-minded.

With a distinct history stretching back to the early middle ages, many Catalans think of themselves as a separate nation from the rest of Spain.

This feeling is fed by memories of the Franco dictatorship, which attempted to suppress Catalan identity, and is nowhere more clearly expressed than in the fierce rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, Spain's top football clubs.

A roughly triangular region in Spain's far north-east corner, Catalonia is separated by the Pyrenean mountains from southern France, with which it has close historical ties.

Building human towers - "castells" - is a Catalan tradition originating in the 18th century

Most of the region's population lives in Barcelona, its vibrant political and economic hub and a popular European travel destination.

Holiday-makers also flock to the Mediterranean beaches of the Costa Brava and Costa Daurada/Dorada, and the Pyrenees are popular with hikers, making tourism an important part of Catalonia's economy.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Catalonia's leader is pushing for a referendum on self-determination after elections in 2012 backed pro-independence parties. Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities, with separatist desires strongest in Catalonia and the Basque country Culture: Catalonia's laws require teachers, doctors and public sector workers to use Catalan, an official language along with SpanishEconomy: Catalonia is Spain's wealthiest but most indebted region. Harsh austerity measures have boosted separatist sentiment

Profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

But it is manufacturing - traditionally textiles, but more recently overtaken in importance by the chemical industry, food-processing, metalworking - that make the region Spain's economic powerhouse, along with a growing service sector.

History

The area first emerged as a distinct entity with the rise of the County of Barcelona to pre-eminence in the 11th century. In the 12th century, the county was incorporated into the Crown of Aragon, helping it to become a major medieval sea power.

Catalonia has been part of Spain since its genesis in the 15th century, when King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile married and united their realms.

Initially retaining its own institutions, the region was ever more tightly integrated into the Spanish state, until the 19th century ushered in a renewed sense of Catalan identity, which flowed into a campaign for political autonomy and even separatism. The period also saw an effort to revive Catalan, long in decline by then, as a language of literature.

Catalonia's beaches attract tourists from across Europe

When Spain became a republic in 1931, Catalonia was soon given broad autonomy. During the Spanish Civil War, Catalonia was a key Republican stronghold, and the fall of Barcelona to Gen Francisco Franco's right-wing forces in 1939 marked the beginning of the end of Spanish resistance to him.

Under Franco's ultra-conservative rule, autonomy was revoked, Catalan nationalism repressed and use of the Catalan language restricted.

Politics and language

The pendulum swung back with the emergence of a democratic Spain after Franco's death. Catalonia now has is its own parliament and executive - together known as the "Generalitat" in Catalan - with extensive autonomy.

Until recently, few Catalans wanted full independence, but Spain's painful economic crisis has seen a surge in support for separation. Many Catalans believe the affluent region pays more to Madrid than it gets back, and blame much of Spain's debt crisis on the central government.

The regional government promised to start preparations for a referendum on independence after calling snap elections in November 2012, which gave separatist parties of left and right a majority. Madrid says it will not accept a pro-independence vote.

The use of Catalan - a language as close to the regional languages of southern France like Occitan as it is to Castilian (Spanish) - has equal status with Castilian and is now actively encouraged in education, official use and the media. However, Castilian predominates in Barcelona, and is still the first language of a narrow majority of Catalans, who are nearly all bilingual.

Variants are also spoken in the region of Valencia to the south, and on the Balearic islands, leading many Catalan nationalists to regard all three regions- as well as the traditionally Catalan-speaking Roussillon region of France - as forming the "Catalan Countries".

Barcelona: Bustling port, regional capital, economic centre, popular tourist destination...

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Ingushetia profile - Overview

10 December 2012 Last updated at 15:57 GMT The Republic of Ingushetia in the Russian North Caucasus borders on Georgia to the south.

Its neighbours within Russia are Chechnya and North Ossetia. The overwhelming majority of the population is Muslim and clan links are an integral part of society.

The Ingush and Chechen peoples have close historical, cultural and linguistic ties, although the Ingush have not shared in the fierceness of the resistance to Moscow put up by the Chechens over the past 200 years.

Part of the Russian empire since the early 19th century, Ingushetia was formally joined to Chechnya under Soviet rule in 1936 when it formed around one-fifth of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Republic within Russia.

Ingushetia has suffered from spill-over from the conflict in neighbouring Chechnya, including a 2009 bomb attack that killed 20 people

Like the Chechens, the Ingush, despite their history of relative loyalty to Moscow, were deported to Central Asia towards the end of World War II by Stalin who accused them of collaborating with the Nazis. They were allowed to return only in 1957 when Khrushchev was Soviet leader.

When Dzhokhar Dudayev came to power as Chechen leader in 1991 and declared Chechen sovereignty, the Ingush resisted. A brief conflict ensured, and the Ingush subsequently voted in a referendum to form a separate republic within the Russia Federation.

Post-Soviet period

The Ingush and North Ossetians have a history of rivalry. Ingushetia lays claim to the neighbouring Prigorodny district which was included in the Russian Republic of North Ossetia when Stalin deported the Ingush in 1944. For many years after their return, the district had a substantial Ingush population.

In late 1992 violence erupted. The North Ossetians say it was sparked by Ingush radicals seeking to include Prigorodny in the newly formed Republic of Ingushetia. The Ingush assert that the North Ossetians attacked first and that they acted in self defence.

The threat of attacks often leads to tight security on the streets

After hundreds were killed in the clashes, Moscow sent troops to establish order. The Ingush population was expelled from the district, causing a refugee crisis in Ingushetia.

Another refugee crisis presented itself when thousands of Chechens fled into Ingushetia when Russian troops returned to Chechnya in 1999.

In the years since, a radical Muslim insurgency has spread from Chechnya across the entire North Caucasus region, and militant attacks have become a frequent occurrence in Ingushetia.

In June 2004, several dozen people, including the acting Ingush interior minister, were killed in attacks reported to have involved hundreds of gunmen. The incident, and subsequent clashes, prompted the Kremlin to order a change of leadership in a bid to reduce the level of violence.

However, there was a renewed spate of attacks in 2009, including a suicide bombing at a police station that killed at least 25 people - the deadliest attack in the republic since 2005 - and an attempt on the life of President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.

Moscow reacted by announcing another overhaul of security in the republic, and in June the following year, security forces announced the arrest of a leading militant linked to the assassination attempt, and several other attacks.

In October 2010, Mr Yevkurov said militants had killed more than 400 members of the security forces and wounded more than 3,000 civilians in the past five years.

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