The article analyzes risk factors in the North Caucasus in the conditions of relative de-escalation of ethnopolitical tension. The research is based on Luhmann’s concepts of risk and risk society. It is argued that the protracted regional ethnopolitical crisis has ended, but positive trends shouldn’t be overestimated. Despite the general improvement of the climate of interethnic relations, this sphere continues to be a significant source of risks for regional stability. Many ethnosocial and ethnopolitical conflicts are in a “frozen” or latent state. Positive results were achieved mainly due to the administrative resource and the success of the security
forces. The roots and specific sources of ethnopolitical tension that are situated within society, in its socio-economic and institutional spheres, continue to exist. Most conflict generating factors that determined the dynamics of regional ethnopolitical tensions are still active, but should be assessed as risk factors. The problems of land tenure, language, historical memory, territorial claims, migration, “the Russian question” are chosen for detailed analysis. The conclusion is made that those problems are not immediate conflict generating factors, but can lead to ethnopolitical conflicts through several connecting links. There are no grounds to predict the weakening of these factors, that’s why it is crucial to monitor them and take into account in practical policy.