At the same time, restive minorities in several republics have challenged Moscow's authority with increasingly daring peaceful protests.

If Iraq fractures along ethnic lines, Turkey, with its restive Kurdish minority, is already primed to intervene.

Turkey and other neighbors fear that an Iraq split up into ethnic or religious enclaves could stir up their own restive minorities.

Macedonia has also struggled to contain a restive ethnic Albanian minority that has been pushing for a wider political role.

Number of Foes Unclear It was never clear, however, whether the objections represented a groundswell or a restive minority.

Macedonia, a republic to the south with a population of 1.8 million, has a restive ethnic Albanian minority of 350,000.

But he proved unable to resolve the country's economic problems or to calm restive ethnic minorities.

Ethnic tensions and violence were mounting between the country's Hutus, who controlled the government, and its restive Tutsi minority.

That is no small consideration given the tensions between Turkey, which has its own restive Kurdish minority, and the Iraqi Kurds.

Fighting spread to the outskirts of its second biggest town, the center for the sizable - and restive - Albanian minority.