This paper examines from a comparative viewpoint the nationalist developments that marked the Chechen-Ingush Republic during the Perestroika period (1987–“1991). In particular, it analyzes the importance of generational effects on mobilization. In a context of widespread exuberance, the representatives of the exiled generation took the leading role in the protests. They took part in the creation of organizations and political parties and acted as bearers of hope for change as part of rhetorical strategies that were heard beyond generational boundaries. However, an analysis of internal relations between Chechen and Ingush groups reveals the force of events and the impact of a changing political configuration that accentuated differences within the generational whole such that it compromised its existence. In this sense, political generations were destroyed under the effect of ideological division.