Concerning the history of the settlement of the Chechnya's plains (XV-XVIII centuries)

The article is devoted to the unexplored issues of migration from the mountains to the plain, which became the determining factor in the life of the Chechen society in the 15th - 18th centuries. The migration processes of the period under review had a huge impact on the formation of the modern Chechen nation and the features of national identity. Considerable attention is paid to the issue of the plains population on the eve of the Chechen migration. The article provides the additional arguments to confirm that although the Kabardins and Kumyks were considered to be the owners of the Chechnya’s plains, at the same time, they almost did not inhabit them. For the first time, it is suggested by the author that the Chechen folk legends about the Russian first settlers on the plains of Chechnya may hide the fact that the first Chechen migrants from the mountains adhered to Christianity. For this reason, they have become associated with the Russians in the national memory through the centuries.