Johnson's Russia List
#6541
8 November 2002
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A CDI Project
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#12
Rosbalt
November 6, 2002
Who Are the Chechens?
The Chechens call themselves 'vainakhs' which translates as 'our people'.
Their faith is Sunni Islam.
Zinaida Sikevich (professor, doctor of sociology, head of the ethnic
sociology and psychology department at Saint Petersburg State University),
exclusively for Rosbalt.
In 1989, before the conflict began, there were approximately 899,000 Chechens
in the Russian Federation. There were about 734,500 people in Chechnya as
well as comparatively large groups of Chechens in Daghestan (about 58,000),
in the Stavropol territory (about 15,000) and in the Volgograd region (about
11,000). There were about 49,500 Chechens living in Kazakhstan. At the
present time there are no more than 300,000 Chechens living in Chechnya while
the number of Chechens living in large Russian cities, especially Moscow, has
considerably risen.
Their History
The first mention of the Chechen people appears in Armenian and Georgian
sources of the 7th century AD. By this time, however, they had already
settled on the northern slopes of the Caucasus and the steppe, where they
came into conflict with Scythians and then later with nomadic Sarmatian and
Alan tribes. In the 13th century the Chechen plains were attacked and became
part of the Golden Horde.
During the 16th and 17th centuries the Caucasian Isthmus, including Chechnya,
became an area of dispute between the Ottoman empire, the Persian empire and
the Moscow realm. The first Russian fortresses and Cossack settlements
appeared on Chechen lands as a result of the military and diplomatic struggle
between these rival States and borders were established which have remained
valid until now.
From the time of Peter the Great, Russia regarded Chechnya as a colony.
During the last years of Catherine the Second's reign Russian forces captured
the left bank of the river Terek, where they then based a part of the Russian
army for the Caucasus. They also built fortresses between Mosdok and
Vladikavkaz along the Chechnya-Kabardinsk border. This led to a liberation
movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. By 1840 a theocratic
State had been formed on the territory of modern-day Chechnya and Daghestan
under the imam of Shamil. Chechnya officially became part of Russia in 1859.
The Chechen war had lasted for 150 years and it had been the longest military
campaign in the history of Russia.
Until 1917 Chechnya was a part of the Tver region. In 1922 an autonomous
Chechen region was included in the Russian Soviet Republic, in 1934 this
region became part of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Region which in 1936
became the Chechen-Ingush Soviet Republic. In February 1944, in the space of
a few hours, about 500,000 Chechens and Ingush were exiled by the Red Army
and the NKVD to Kazakhstan, most of whom died in the first year of exile from
hunger or disease. The Chechen-Ingush republic ceased to exist and the land
was divided between neighbouring republics. The autonomous republic was
reformed in 1957.
In November 1990 the ruling body of the republic made a declaration of
independence and on November 1, 1991 an independent Chechen republic was
proclaimed.
Traditions
The Chechens have managed to preserve their unique ethnic structure (in the
form of 'taips') more than other peoples of the North Caucasus. This is due
to the fact that they settled in the mountains and always maintained an
insular way of life. Occasional pressure from stronger neighbours also
contributed to this. The 'taip' ( a kind of clan system based on extended
families) is the core of Chechen society. Most specialists agree that the
Chechens' united, national self-consciousness only appeared as a result of
the Chechen conflict. Director of the Institute of Islamic Civilisations
S.Nasridinov believes that 'a Chechen is still bound first and foremost to
his 'taip' and only then to society in general and government.'
The life of every 'taip' is co-ordinated by its male members. Women never
participate in the decision-making process. However, the status of Chechen
women has always been in proportion with their responsibility in the family
household. Therefore they have traditionally enjoyed a lot of social freedom.
Girls and even wives do not hide or cover their faces and they do not feel
shy in the presence of men. Vengeance, punishment and murder has never been
allowed in the presence of women and, what is more, a woman has the right to
stop a fight and prevent bloodshed by removing her shawl. Mothers and
grandmothers have a great deal of authority.
Respect for one's elders and in particular one's parents is also very
important in Chechen tradition and disobedience is severely punished. It is
traditional to give up one's seat for elderly people, to let them past and to
listen to their point of view.
Hospitality has always been very important in Chechen society. Traditionally
people were welcomed into Chechen households regardless of nationality or
creed. If a host ever refused to receive someone he would be shunned by other
members of the 'taip'. The tradition of hospitality could even protect a
murderer in his enemy's house and having received his guest the host
guaranteed him not only shelter but also safety, which, if necessary, could
mean saving the guest's life. It also became common to have closely-knit
groups of blood brothers.
The law of vengeance, which basically amounts to 'an eye for an eye, a tooth
for a tooth' is one of the basic laws of Chechen society. Moreover, the
guilty party rarely suffered alone but along with his entire family or even
his village. The murder of guests, already forgiven for the sins of their
ancestors, treachery and rape were considered to be the worst crimes. All
decisions concerning the vengeance of blood-relatives were decided by the
elders of the 'taip'.
These Chechen customs disappeared to some extent during Soviet times but they
still remain the basis of the Chechen mentality in times of conflict,
especially the law of vengeance. Common law 'adat' and Islamic law 'sharia'
often contradict each other and for this reason wahhabism, one of the most
conservative forms of Islam, has struggled to take root in Chechnya.
The 'Chechen Conflict'
There are various interpretations of the Chechen conflict but there are 3
main interpretations:
1) The Chechen conflict is a result of the vainakhs' centuries-old struggle
with Russian colonialism and neo-colonialism.
2) This conflict is one of a series of events intended to bring the collapse
of the Russian Federation after the Soviet Union
3) The conflict in the Caucasus is being caused by a group of international
terrorists whose goal is the upheaval of Western civilisation and
Christianity.
The first interpretation shows freedom in the form of national independence
as the highest goal, in the second it is the State and its territorial
entirety whereas in the third it is the protection of Jewish and Christian
civilisation from the machinations of Islamic radicals. This final
interpretation has become the most widely held over the last year.
The main causes of the conflict were the Caucasus war of the 19th century,
Stalinist repressions, the deportation of Chechens in 1944 and the ethnic
awareness which appeared after the collapse of the USSR, not only of Chechens
but of many different races. We can also divide the development of the
conflict into five different stages.
THE FIRST STAGE
The real start of the conflict was at the end of 1990, when democratic forces
in Russia and nationalist movements in various republics led to the creation
of slogans decrying the 'empire' and 'imperial attitudes'. On the initiative
of leading Russian politicians General-Major of the Air Force Dzhokhar
Dudayev was invited to head the United Congress of the Chechen People, which
was intended to replace the Soviet leadership of Doku Zavgayev. Dudayev
clearly sought Chechnya's independence and he was supported both by radicals
of the confederation of mountain peoples of the Caucasus as well as other
Caucasus leaders (in particular Zviad Gamsakhurdi). Many Chechens soon came
to regard him as their charismatic leader.
This situation of dual power in Chechnya lasted until August 1991, when
Zavgayev's support for the State Emergencies Committee played into the hands
of his rivals and brought the United Congress of the Chechen People to power
under Dudayev, who was now the legitimate leader of the republic, the
president, and who announced Chechen's aim of independence.
THE SECOND STAGE
This is the period from the end of 1991 to December 1994 which precedes the
military conflict. During this time Chechnya's armed forces were formed under
the direct leadership of Dudayev. Some of the arms were taken from Russia on
the basis of legal agreements. On the other hand, some were obtained
illegally by Dudayev's officials.
At this time the Chechen parliament recalled its national deputies from the
Supreme Russian Soviet and refused to sign a federal agreement giving
Chechnya equal status with other subjects of the Russian Federation.
Negotiations were held to try to solve the political conflict. However,
anti-Russian hysteria spread within Chechnya and slogans such as 'Chechnya
belongs to Allah' appeared, although at this time Islam was not the
dominating factor in separatist propaganda. Public opinion in Chechnya was
divided and some supporters of the Russian Federation made attempts to take
over the capital of the republic, hoping for Moscow's support. The atmosphere
in Chechnya became very tense and eventually, on November 30 1994 the Russian
President gave a decree 'to re-establish constitutional law and order on the
territory of the Chechen Republic.'
THE THIRD STAGE
The 'reestablishment of law and order' involved military action on a large
scale and many lives were lost on both sides of the conflict. From the end of
1994 a resolution to the conflict became ever more unlikely. What had started
as a search for independence had turned into a mass of dead bodies and
destroyed towns and villages.
In Russia and in Chechnya the war was perceived in completely different ways
from the beginning. Whereas the Chechen opposition enjoyed wide national
support with Dudayev seen as a national hero, a kind of reincarnation of the
imam Shamil, in Russia President Yeltsin's popularity waned and there was a
general mood of pacifism.
By the middle of 1995 Russian forces gained control over the most populated
and important areas of Chechnya, Dudayev was killed and the much less popular
Yandarbiev took over. However, terrorist acts in Buddenovsk and later in
Kislyar clearly showed that the Chechen opposition was far from over and that
a long partisan war was ahead.
In 1996, as a result of these new developments and in view of the upcoming
presidential elections, Moscow decided to call a halt to the military action
and this was made official in the Hasavyurt agreements. A year later, in May
1997, Boris Yeltsin and Aslan Maskhadov signed an agreement not to use force
to resolve further conflicts.
THE FOURTH STAGE
This is the period from the middle of 1997 to August 1999, when Shamil
Basayev's troops invaded Daghestan and the conflict entered a new stage.
During this period the Chechen Republic effectively became an independent
state. However, unlike his predecessor, Dudayev, Maskhadov was unable to keep
the situation in Chechnya under control. New conflicts flared up between
different taips, mainly over access to Chechnya's financial reserves and in
particular to oil, Chechnya's greatest source of wealth. Many bands of rebels
made money by capturing Russian soldiers and demanding ransoms. There was a
decrease in the population of Chechnya. Many Chechens, mainly those with
qualifications and able to work, moved to Russia.
An attempt was made at this time to establish order of an Islamic kind:
sharia courts were formed, women lost many of their rights, a religious form
of education was introduced. Islam gradually became more important than
national independence.
As a result of these changes, the wahhabist wing of the Chechen resistance
tried to gain support in neighbouring Daghestan.
THE FIFTH STAGE
This stage of the conflict is still going on. For the second time federal
powers managed to gain control of the republic by overcoming various
separatist groups (a united Chechen army with a united leadership no longer
exists). Temporary forms of authority were established and slowly, but
surely, law and order was re-established in Chechnya.
From leading partisan raids on Russian units and killing Chechens loyal to
the Russian federation, the separatists, who are now a part of the
international terrorist network, have begun leading large-scale offensives.
The tragic hostage crisis in Moscow on October 23 this year was evidence of
this.
However, Russia still seems to underestimate the role that ethnicity is
playing in the conflict, not only in Chechnya but in the whole of the
northern Caucasus. Russia's failure to grasp the nature of national
self-consciousness in Chechnya and among other peoples of the northern
Caucasus causes it to overestimate the economic possibilities for ending the
conflict. In addition, we should not forget that Chechen society is still
very traditional in its norms and values. For this reason many of the
prescriptions which are effective in Northern Ireland and in the Basque
Country would not work in this region due to the Chechen people being
psychologically unready to accept them.
Resolving the Chechen conflict will be a long process which will involve
painstaking and professional work to re-establish relations between Chechens
and Russians and to recreate a positive form of government which is able to
protect any person regardless of his nationality and religion. Ethnology
experts, psychologists and sociologists must take part in this process.
Translated by Nick Chesters
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