The central agency’s actions in resolving the Ossetian-Ingush conflict in 1992, as perceived by the federal press

The article analyzes the position of the federal mass media regarding the use of force by the central authorities in resolving the Ossetian-Ingush conflict in the fall of 1992. It examines the content of typical analytical articles by experts in the most authoritative and influential mass media of the post-Soviet era, as well as interviews with well-known Russian politicians, military officers, and people's deputies. Some of the authors of these publications were directly involved in the fighting in the Prigorodny District during those days. These articles can be divided into two large groups: those that were loyal to the central government's policies in the North Caucasus, and those that were critical of the federal forces' entry into the Prigorodny District and their subsequent military action against the Ingush militant groups. The former group focused on the peacekeeping nature of the federal forces' actions in North Ossetia and Ingushetia, as well as the humanitarian assistance provided to the civilian population from their side. The latter claimed that the Center provided unilateral support to the Ossetian forces, which led to the destruction of a number of settlements in the Prigorodny District and the flight of tens of thousands of Ingush people from there. They believed that such a development of events in the near future could lead to a new Caucasian war and Russia's complete loss of positions in the region, as well as lead to the collapse of democratic reforms and the restoration of the old order in the country. The author concludes that such points of view will be actively presented in the federal mass media during the first Chechen campaign of 1994-1996.

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