Chechnya
Special Political and Decolonization Background Guide

When Americans think of terrorists, they generally imagine suicide bombers and Osama bin Laden.  Russians, however, turn their thoughts to another band of rebels: the Chechens. 

Chechnya was an autonomous nation in the late 19^th century when Tsarist Russia first conquered it and then spent several decades crushing out nationalism in the region.  A part of the former Soviet Union, Chechnya declared its independence after the breakup of the U.S.S.R., but the Russian Federation refused to acknowledge its sovereignty.  Russia invaded the Chechen capital of Groznyy in the mid-1990s, and now it officially controls the volatile region.  Unfortunately, the large and vocal minority of anti-Moscow Chechens has violently protested Russia’s apparent sovereignty.  For as long as modern Russia has run Chechnya, both domestic and international attempts at peace have been foiled by violent guerilla and terrorist attacks.  Rebels even took some 800 theatergoers hostage in late 2002, and about 100 Russian civilians died in the ensuing mêlée.  Russians of other ethnic origins have protested fighting against the Chechen nationalists; some regions have passed legislation exempting locals from participating in the conflict, others have actively protested the use of armed combat in domestic clashes. 

The region also has a reputation as a focal point of organized crime, especially for the Russian mafiya, and business corruption.  According to the Library of Congress, “in its propaganda campaign to justify military action against Chechnya, the Russian government played upon the stereotypes of the criminal and the dishonest businessman.  It also illustrated the brutal practices of the Chechen rebels by broadcasting photos of the severed heads of victims along the roads in the breakaway republic.  Meanwhile, Russians adopted the habit of including all individuals of non-Slavic appearance under the heading ‘Chechen,’ widening the existing strain of racism in Russia's society” ("Russia: The Chechnya Dilemma"). 

Human rights issues, always a side effect of war and armed conflict, abound in the region, and the United Nations Council on Human Rights (UNCHR) has kept a close watch on the region, but hundreds of thousands of Chechens have still been displaced in the discord.  Poverty, unemployment, and poor hygiene run rampant, and aid from various international NGOs has only partially alleviated these concerns.  Additionally, civilians on both sides of the conflict have fallen victim to the ongoing violence. 

In recent years, the Kremlin has granted Chechnya more autonomy in hopes of quelling the violence. A much-anticipated election held in October produced a pro-Russian local leader, but Akhmed Kadyrov ran unopposed,  and a majority of the rebel factions refused to participate in the election at all.  Thus, the dissent and violence of the Chechen war continue to rage. 

So why does Russia insist on retaining the region, aside from wanting to save face?  The reason seems almost American in nature: oil.  Valuable pipelines wind throughout Chechnya, and Putin’s administration, as well as its predecessors, are unwilling to let them go.  

Another complicating factor here is religion.  The Chechen region contains a large number of Muslims, and, explains the Library of Congress, “Chechnya’s declaration that it was waging a jihad (holy war) against Russia also raised the specter that Muslim ‘volunteers’ from other regions and even outside Russia would enter the fray.  However, Russia feared that a move to end the war short of victory would create a cascade of secession attempts by other ethnic minorities and present a new target to extreme nationalist Russian factions.” 

Solutions to this conflict will prove difficult, in large part because the problem is internal, and the United Nations must bear Russia’s national sovereignty in mind.  Also, Chechen rebels seem unwilling to settle or anything less than total independence.  Objectives and considerations for this discussion, as suggested by Jennifer Lyon of Kennesaw State University, include:

Sources