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The Chechen Republic (; , ''Chechenskaya Respublika''; , ''Noxçiyn Respublika''), or, informally, '''Chechnya''' (; ; , ''Noxçiyçö''), sometimes referred to as ''' Ichkeria ''', '''Chechnia''', '''Chechenia''' or '''Noxçiyn''', is a Federal Subject of Russia . It is located in the Northern Caucasus mountains, in the Southern Federal District . It borders Stavropol Krai to the northwest, the republic of Dagestan to the northeast and east, Georgia to the south, and the Republics of Ingushetia and North Ossetia to the west. During the government recognised it in January 20001. Russian federal control was restored after the Second Chechen War . Since then there was a systematic reconstruction and rebuilding process, though unrest remains an issue. See " Chechen People " for name etymology. In 2006 the former president, Alu Alkhanov , proposed changing the official name of the republic to Noxçiyn (or '''Nokhchiin''') which is a Transcription of the name in the Chechen Language .2 GEOGRAPHY in Chechnya]] Situated in the eastern part of the North Caucasus, Chechnya is surrounded on nearly all sides by Russian Federal territory. In the west, it borders North Ossetia and Ingushetia , in the north, Stavropol Krai , in the east, Dagestan , and to the south, Georgia. Its capital is Grozny.
Rivers: Time zone Chechnya is located in the Moscow Time Zone (MSK/MSD). UTC offset is +0300 (MSK)/+0400 (MSD). HISTORY See Also: History of Chechnya Early history In classical times the northern slopes of the Caucasus mountains were inhabited by the Circassians on the west and the Avars on the east. In between them, the Zygians occupied Zyx , approximately the area covered by north Ossetia , the Balkar , the Ingush and the Chechen republics today. Chechnya is a region in the Northern Caucasus which has constantly fought against foreign rule beginning with the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century. Eventually the Chechens converted to Islam and tensions began to die down with the Turks; however, conflicts with their Christian neighbours such as Georgians and Cossacks , as well as with the Buddhist Kalmyks intensified. The Russian Terek Cossack Host was established in lowland Chechnya in 1577 by free Cossacks resettled from the Volga to the Terek River . Caucasian Wars See Also: Caucasian War In 1783, Russia and the eastern Georgian kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti (which was devastated by Turkish and Persian invasions) signed the Treaty Of Georgievsk , according to which Kartl-Kakheti received protection by Russia. In order to secure communications with Georgia and other regions of the Transcaucasia, the Russian Empire began spreading its influence into the Caucasus mountains. The current resistance to Russian rule has its roots in the late 18th century (1785-1791), a period when Russia expanded into territories formerly under the dominion of Turkey and Persia (see also the Russo-Turkish Wars and Russo-Persian War, 1804-13 ), under Mansur Ushurma —a Chechen Naqshbandi ( Sufi ) Sheikh—with wavering support from other North Caucasian tribes. Mansur hoped to establish a Transcaucasus Islamic state under Shari'a law, but was ultimately unable to do so because of both Russian resistance and opposition from many Chechens (many of whom had not been converted to Islam at the time). Its banner was again picked up by the Avar Imam Shamil , who fought against the Russians from 1834 until 1859. Soviet rule Chechen rebellion would characteristically flame up whenever the Russian state faced a period of internal uncertainty. Rebellion s occurred during the Russo-Turkish War , the Russian Revolution Of 1905 , the Russian Revolution Of 1917 , Russian Civil War (see Mountainous Republic Of The Northern Caucasus ), and Collectivization . Under Soviet rule, Chechnya was combined with Ingushetia to form the Autonomous republic of Chechen-Ingushetia in the late 1930s. The Chechens, though, again rose up against Soviet rule during the 1940s (see '' 1940-1944 Chechnya Insurgency ''), resulting in the Deportation of the entire ethnic Chechen and Ingush populations to the Kazakh SSR (later Kazakhstan ) and Siberia in 1944 near the end of the World War II .3 Stalin and others argued this was punishment to the Chechens for providing assistance to the German forces; although the German front never made it to the border of Chechnya, an active Guerrilla movement threatened to undermine the Soviet defenses of the Caucasus (noted writer Valentin Pikul claims that while the city of Grozny was being prepared for a siege in 1942, all of the air bombers stationed on the Caucasian front had to be re-directed towards quelling the Chechen Insurrection instead of fighting Germans at the Siege Of Stalingrad ). Chechen-Ingushetia was abolished and the Chechens were allowed to return to their homeland after 1956 during De-Stalinization , which occurred under Nikita Khrushchev . The Russification policies towards Chechens continued after 1956, with Russian Language proficiency required in many aspects of life and for advancement in the Soviet system. RECENT EVENTS With the impending collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, an Independence movement, initially known as the ''Chechen National Congress'' was formed. This movement was ultimately opposed by Boris Yeltsin 's Russian Federation , which argued, first, that Chechnya had not been an independent entity within the Soviet Union—as the Baltic, Central Asian, and other Caucasian States had—but was a part of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic and hence did not have a right under the Soviet constitution to secede; second, that other Republics Of Russia , such as Tatarstan , would join the Chechens and secede from the Russian Federation if they were granted that right; and third, that Chechnya was at a major chokepoint in the oil infrastructure of the country and hence would hurt the country's economy and control of oil resources. In the ensuing decade, the territory has been locked in an ongoing struggle between various factions, usually fighting unconventionally and the forgoing position as held by the several successive Russian governments through the current administration. Various demographic factors including religious ones have continued to keep the area in a near constant state of war. First Chechen War See Also: First Chechen War The First Chechen War occurred when Russian forces attempted to stop Chechnya from seceding in a two year period lasting from 1994 to 1996. Despite overwhelming Manpower , weaponry and Air Support , the Russian forces were unable to establish effective control over the mountainous area due to many successful Chechen Guerrilla raids. Widespread Demoralization of the Russian forces in the area prompted Russian President Boris Yeltsin to declare a Ceasefire in 1996 and sign a Peace Treaty a year later. The war was disastrous for both sides. Conservative casualty estimates give figures of 7,500 Russian Military dead, 4,000 Chechen Combatants dead, and no fewer than 35,000 Civilian deaths—a minimum total of 46,500 dead. Others have cited figures in the range 80,000 to 100,000.4 Second Chechen War See Also: Second Chechen War In August 1999 , Shamil Basayev began an unsuccessful incursion into the neighbouring Russian republic of Dagestan (see Dagestan War ). In September the following year a series of Apartment Bombings took place in several Russian cities, including Moscow. In response, after a prolonged air campaign of retaliatory strikes against the Ichkeria n regime (who was officially seen as the Culprit of both the bombings and the incursion) a ground offensive began in October 1999. Much better organised and planned than the first Chechen War, the Russian Federal forces were able to quickly re-establish control over most regions and after the re-capture of Grozny in February 2000 , the Ichkerian regime fell apart, although a prolonged guerrilla activity in the southern mountainous regions despite becoming increasingly sporadic, continues. Nonetheless Russia was successful in installing a pro- Moscow Chechen regime, and eliminating the most prominent separatist leaders including former President Aslan Maskhadov and terrorist leader Shamil Basayev . POLITICS Since 1990 , the Chechen Republic has had legal, military, and civil conflicts involving separatist movements and pro-Russian authorities. Today, Chechnya is a relatively stable Federal Republic , although there is still some separatist movement there. Its regional constitution entered into effect on April 2 , 2003 after an all-Chechen referendum was held on March 23 , 2003 . The independent observers alleged that the officially reported voter turnout seemed to be much higher than the reality.5 Some Chechens are or were controlled by regional Teip s, or clans, despite the existence of pro- and anti-Russian political structures. The motivations of the Russian and Chechens in these conflicts are complicated. Principally, Russia's stake in Chechnya relates to the fear that if Chechnya becomes independent, even more territories will break away from Russia, leading to its disintegration. Economic interests are another factor, as is a long standing conflict between Russia and Chechnya. There are different groups within Chechnya fighting the Russians who have different political, economic and/or ideological motivations for doing so. Some of these derive from hatred and a desire for the revenge of past Russian military and political action in the region. Most notably the forced relocation in the 1940s of the entire population to Siberia, resulting in the estimated death of a quarter of the population. The combination of motives demonstrates the cycle of violence and hatred that often fuels regional conflicts of this nature, as well as a military culture that makes much of the population willing to engage in military struggle under the command of one leader. Unemployment and poverty are also factors in the prolonged conflict. Regional Russian government See Also: Federal government in Chechnya The former separatist religious leader (mufti) Akhmad Kadyrov , looked upon as a traitor by many separatists, was elected president with 83% of the vote in an internationally monitored election on October 5 , 2003 . Incidents of ballot stuffing and voter intimidation by Russian soldiers and the exclusion of separatist parties from the polls were subsequently reported by the OSCE monitors. On May 9 , 2004 , Kadyrov was assassinated in Grozny football stadium by a Landmine explosion that was planted beneath a VIP stage and detonated during a parade, and Sergey Abramov was appointed to the position of acting prime minister after the incident. However, since 2005 Ramzan Kadyrov (son of Akhmad Kadyrov) has been caretaker prime minister, and in 2007 was appointed a new president. Many allege he is the wealthiest and most powerful man in the republic, with control over a large private militia referred to as the '' Kadyrovtsy ''. The militia – which began as his father's security force – has been accused of killings and kidnappings by human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch . Separatist government In addition to the Russian regional government, there is a separatist Ichkeria government that is not currently recognized by any state (although members have been given political asylum in European and Arab countries, as well as the United States). The separatist government was recognised by Georgia (when Georgian President was Zviad Gamsakhurdia and Chechen President was Dzhokhar Dudaev ). In 1999 the Taliban government of Afghanistan recognized independent Chechnya and opened an embassy in Kabul on 16 January 2000 ; recognition ceased with the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The president of this government was Aslan Maskhadov , the Foreign Minister was Ilyas Akhmadov , who was the spokesman for Maskhadov. Aslan Maskhadov had been elected in an internationally monitored election in 1997 for 4 years, which took place after signing a peace agreement with Russia. In 2001 he issued a decree prolonging his office for one additional year; he was unable to participate in the 2003 presidential election, since separatist parties were barred by the Russian government, and Maskhadov faced accusations of terrorist offences in Russia. Maskhadov left Grozny and moved to the separatist-controlled areas of the south at the onset of the Second Chechen War . Maskhadov was unable to influence a number of warlords who retain effective control over Chechen territory, and his power was diminished as a result. Russian forces killed Maskhadov on March 8 2005 , and the assassination of Maskhadov was widely criticized since it left no legitimate Chechen separatist leader to conduct peace talks with. Akhmed Zakayev , Deputy Prime Minister and a Foreign Minister under Maskhadov, was appointed shortly after the 1997 election and is currently living under asylum in England . He and others chose Abdul Khalim Saidullayev , a relatively unknown Islamic judge who was previously the host of an Islamic program on Chechen television, to replace Maskhadov following his death. On June 17 2006 , it was reported that Russian special forces killed Abdul Khalim Saidullayev in a raid in a Chechen town Argun. The successor of Saidullayev became Doku Umarov . HUMAN RIGHTS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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