in this war. Lowland Ingushetia occupied by Russia and their Kabardian allies. In Caucasian War and as part of Terek Cossacks Okrug In the 18th century, Ingush were mostly pagan and Christian with some Muslim minority. Beginning 1588 some Chechen societies joined Russia (; ). Russian historians claim that the Ingush volunteered to become a part of Russia. This conclusion is based mostly on the document signed on 13 June 1810, by General-Major Delpotso and representatives of 2 Ingush clans. Other clans resisted the Russian conquest. In 1811 Russian envoy of a German origin Moritz von Engelhardt at czar's request visited mountainous Ingushetia and offered Ingush people to join Russia promising many benefits from czar. The representative of the Ingush people rejected the proposal with the reply: "Above my hat I see only sky". This encounter later will be used by Goethe in his "Freisinn" On June 29, 1832, Russian baron Rozen reported in letter No.42 to count Chernishev that "on the 23rd of this month I exterminated eight Ghalghaj (Ingush) villages. On the 24th I exterminated nine more villages near Targim." By November 12, 1836 (letter no.560, he was claiming that highlanders of Dzheirkah, Kist, and Ghalghaj had been temporarily conquered. In 1829 Imam Shamil starts the rebellion against Russia. He conquers Dagestan, Chechnya and then attacks Ingushetia hoping to convert Ingush people into Islam thus gaining strategic ally. Ingush defeated Imam Shamil forces then and later in 1858 when he tried again two more times to capture Ingushetia. Locked in warfare with two strong opponents and their allies, Ingush forces were decimated. According to Russian officer Fedor Tornau who fought the Ingush with the aid of Ossetian allies, at most Ingush had only six hundred warriors. However, the Russian conquest in Ingushetia was extremely difficult and the Russian forces began to rely on the method of colonization: extermination of the local population and repopulation of the area with Cossack and Ossetian loyalists. Colonization of Ingush land by Russians and Ossetians started in the middle of the 19th century. Russian General Evdokimov and Ossetian colonel Kundukhov in 'Opis no. 436' "gladly reported" that "the result of colonization of Ingush land was successful": Ingush village Ghazhien-Yurt was renamed to Stanitsa Assinovskaya in 1847. Ingush village Ebarg-Yurt was renamed to Stanitsa Troitskaya in 1847. Ingush town Dibir-Ghala was renamed to Stanitsa Sleptsovskaya in 1847. Ingush village Magomet-Khite was renamed to Stanitsa