A cow (or an entire herd) is the last thing you'd expect to see on a federal highway. But here it's a common occurrence :)

By the way, all three republics (Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya) surprisingly have really good roads. There are exceptions, but they're either way up in the mountains or they've already brought in equipment to fix them.

Driving culture in Ossetia is excellent. In Ingushetia it's a bit worse, but totally acceptable. But driving in Chechnya isn't too comfortable. Well, to be more precise, on the highways it's still somewhat okay, but in the city it's pretty sketchy. U-turns across double solid lines, double overtaking (when someone overtakes someone who's already overtaking) are completely normal occurrences. Before a red light, many drivers for some reason accelerate almost to 100 km/h just to slam on the brakes right after. If you don't move the moment the light turns green, cheerful honks from other drivers will let you know it's time, buddy.