Chechen-Ingush - Settlements

A typical lowland village consists of single-story wood or brick houses on rectangular fenced lots in a compact and generally rectangular arrangement. Modern brick now replaces adobe—which traditionally was tempered with straw and manure, sun-dried, and, once in place, covered with stucco—although the adobe (said to be of Ukrainian origin, brought to the Caucasus by the Cossacks) is probably superior to all other materials in preserving an even, comfortable temperature. A fence or wall encloses the house, outbuildings, work space, and the household's garden and fruit trees. In high mountain villages the layout is less regular. Mountain houses were traditionally multistory structures of hewn and fitted stone interspersed with similar stone defense towers up to five stories in height; they were owned and maintained by clans. Both houses and defense towers were inhabited. The stone buildings are no longer inhabited, and many were destroyed during the period of deportation. Village populations range from a few hundred in the mountains to a few thousand or (in a few cases) a few tens of thousands in the lowlands. There are two true cities, both with sizable Russian populations and both originally Russian military forts: Groznyï in the Chechen lowlands and Vladikavkaz in the Ingush and Ossetic highlands. In villages, but not in cities, settlement is kin-based, with members of the same clan occupying the same street or neighborhood.