he neutralising effect of several ethnic groups, none
of which has a demographic majority or economicdominance, is one reason why Dagestan has devel-
oped differently from Chechnya. Unlike those Chechens who see Russia’s presence as colonial, many
Dagestanis pledged allegiance to the empire and
formed alliances among ethnic groups.
2
Inter-ethnic
competition most frequently arises over state jobs and
land. When the republic was led from 1990 to 2006
by a Dargin, Magomedali Magomedov,
3
the Avars, the
largest group in the republic, made increasingly spirited demands. Since 2006, the president has been an
Avar, Mukhu Aliyev, which has gone some way to
appeasing the demand for Avar equality; however, the
October 2006 change in the
electoral law has again
shifted the balance.