A court in the Russian province of Ingushetia has overturned a land swap deal with Chechnya after the disputed Chechen-Ingush administrative boundary agreement caused large-scale protests.

The Constitutional Court of Ingushetia ruled yesterday to invalidate the deal that was signed last month by the leaders of that region and Chechnya. It also said that the deal cannot be implemented unless it is put up to vote at a referendum.

Protests against the deal, which many in Ingushetia viewed as a betrayal of their interests, attracted thousands of people, with law enforcement officers often joining the rallies. Ingushetia's leader, however, argued that the border deal would strengthen stability in the often-volatile North Caucasus. Furious at Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, thousands have rallied in Magas, the capital of the majority-Muslim Northern Caucasus region of Ingushetia, since Oct. 4.

The area around Dattykh has become a symbol of pride and national identity for the small, impoverished North Caucasus region of Ingushetia, after its leader signed an agreement with Chechnya's Ramzan Kadyrov to redraw the borders. The agreement, overseen by President Vladimir Putin's emissary to the Caucasus on Sept. 26, draws the boundary close to Dattykh, giving Chechnya a chunk of territory that many Ingush consider theirs.