Vainakh or Nakh towers are a distinctive feature of the defensive architecture in Chechnya and Ingushetia (two republics in Russia). Their construction increased in the 12th and the 13th centuries while the 15th and the 17th centuries were the peak point of this style. The oldest remains of the Vainakh towers date from the 1s century AD, and there are two types of it as residential and military. They were typically built on a square base and range from 6- 12 m wide and 10 to 15 m high depending on their function.
Traditionally, songs and folk tales accompanied the construction of a tower as a ritual regardless of the its function. Some of them also had some decorative elements such as religious petrographs (rock art) including solar signs and animal depictions.
As the military towers mostly served as watchtowers, ther are taller and narrower than the residential ones. As for the classic residential towers, they were generally two or four stories high. The family lived on the upper floors while the first floor served as a live stock, and the ground floor as a shelter for the cattle and horses.
