Chechnya, Tatarstan, the Swedish minority in Finland and German-speakers in Italy have been touted as models.
One explanation for the differences between Tatarstan and Dagestan lies in their contrasting histories.
In the Caucasus, Azerbaijan has succeeded where Tatarstan failed, in dropping the cyrillic alphabet.
All of them are not far from the capital of Tatarstan Republic - city Kazan (see map).
Bashkortostan and its sister republic, Tatarstan, are two of the more important and independent-minded autonomous republics in Russia.
Tatarstan police said that the house, built on 700 square meters, was built illegally and is subject to demolition.
CNN: Russian authorities find sect members living underground
President Mintimer Shaimiev, for instance, has turned Tatarstan into a kind of mini-state, complete with its own economic policy.
Tatarstan's current President, Rustam Minnikhanov, decided to launch the e-government drive a few years ago, when he was still prime minister.
In many ways Tatarstan does not resemble the north Caucasus at all.
After being conquered by Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, was successfully integrated into the Russian empire.
Oil deposits and a successful manufacturing industry mean that Tatarstan sends more money to Moscow than it receives from the federal budget, unlike heavily-subsidised north Caucasus.
The sect was literally unearthed August 1 in a suburb of the city of Kazan in Russia's mainly Muslim Tatarstan region during an investigation into militant groups.
CNN: Russian authorities find sect members living underground
It was the 83rd minute of Sunday evening's game between Terek Grozny and Tatarstan's Rubin Kazan at the Akhmat-Arena when Fifa referee Mikhail Vilkov sent off Utsyev for a second yellow card.
And rather than the financial might of a Zenit side bankrolled by energy giant Gazprom, this time the winners were an unfashionable Rubin Kazan side from the predominantly Muslim region of Tatarstan.
At home Kazan lead the Russian league, but it was their shock 2-1 Champions League win over Barcelona in the Nou Camp - the defending champions first European defeat in 10 matches - that had neutrals scrambling for their atlases to locate Tatarstan.
That did not seem to fit very well with Mr Primakov's comments, or with the line taken by a third OVR leader, President Shaimiev of Tatarstan, who initially told the federal authorities he did not want any young Tatars to be conscripted to fight in the south.
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