Vainakhia (Chechen/Ingush: Вайнеханчоь, Vaynexanҫö; Russian: Вайнахия, Vaynakhiya), formally known as the Vainakh Republic, is a republic of the Soviet Union located in the Caucasus. Vainakhia is culturally dominated by the Chechens and the Ingush, with Sunni Islam being the primary religion within the republic. The region was originally known as the Chechen-Ingush ASSR when it was established in 1934. The Chechens and Ingush were among the many peoples who Joseph Stalin forcibly relocated during his reign, but were allowed to return by the 1960s.