Chechnya is... Subject of the Russian Federation Chechen Republic

The rich and very complex history of our country contributed to the emergence of modern separate regions of the Russian Federation. Some peoples, under the protection of Russia in the Middle Ages, escaped from constant raids and robberies, others fell into the sphere of expansion and “voluntarily” became part of the Russian state. Few put up fierce resistance and became Russian only after bloody clashes. But there were also regions that were very difficult to form part of Russia. For example, Chechnya is the most freedom-loving and, perhaps, obstinate part of the Caucasus.

Total information

Chechnya (Chechen Republic) is currently a relatively small North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation with an area, according to various sources, 15-17 square meters. km. The city of Grozny (Chechen Republic) is the administrative center. The official languages ​​in the region are Chechen and Russian.

Chechnya borders on various regions of the Russian Federation:

• on the western side - with Ingushetia;
• in the northwest - with North Ossetia and the Stavropol Territory;
• in the east there is a large border with Dagestan;
• in the south, the border partially coincides with the state border, reaching the line of contact with Georgia, which was hostile at times.

Administratively, Chechnya consists of seventeen municipal associations and two cities. After the 2007 elections, R. A. Kadyrov became the head of the republic.

The official Chechen flag is a rectangular panel of three unequal horizontal stripes: a green top stripe measuring (standardly) sixty-five centimeters, a white middle stripe ten centimeters wide and a red bottom stripe thirty-five centimeters wide; at the flagpole there is a vertical white stripe with a beautiful Chechen national ornament fifteen centimeters in size. The flag of the Chechen Republic is trimmed with gold fringe along the entire edge. The ratio of the width of the national flag to its length is 2:3.

Links

• Government portal of the Chechen Republic
• "Multifunctional center for the provision of state and municipal services (MFC) of the Chechen Republic"
• Chechen Republic
• Made in the Republic of Chechnya
• Article in Cyclopedia
• Myths and reality - article by the Caucasus Center for Strategic Studies on the report “Threat to National Security” by oppositionist Ilya Yashin

Photo reviews of the region

• Around the Caspian Sea. Caucasus Sergey Dolya 2014
• Chechnya Sergey Dolya 2014
• Mosque “Heart of Chechnya”, Grozny. North Caucasus, part 15 Сhistoprudov 2014

Population

The population of Chechnya is around one and a half million people. Almost three hundred thousand people live in the largest city of Grozny. The population density today is more than 90 people. per 1 sq. km.

The age distribution of residents is as follows: more than half of the population is of working age, approximately 35% are children, and only 8% are elderly.

In terms of national composition, at the beginning of the nineties, Chechnya is a multinational republic, dominated by Chechens and Russians. But over the past twenty-five years, Chechens have become predominant in the national composition. During many conflicts, the region's large Russian and Russian-speaking population had to flee to other regions. Many died in ethnic cleansing carried out by militants.

Strategic importance

Military units of the city of Grozny invite young people into their ranks.

Today the situation in Grozny is quite calm. But the tension of many years of war is still felt. The military base located in Khankala provides the residents of this locality with a quiet life. This was formerly the site of an Air Force base and is now home to the Joint Forces Headquarters. It must be said that recently the draft commission of the commissariat has been poorly performing its direct duties. Today the state is resuming the conscription of men from Chechnya into service to protect its borders.

At the same time, contract recruitment was carried out continuously. People are invited to fill a variety of positions. The state promises sufficient financial rewards, starting from the private, providing the soldier with uniforms, food and accommodation in a hostel.

Religion

What is the official religion in Chechnya? Chechnya is historically a Muslim region. The main religion is Sunni Islam. Here he received a form of Sufism, spreading through various religious organizations that consist of Muslim groups - vird brotherhoods. The total number of such organizations today exceeds three dozen. Those who believe in Sufism in the Chechen Republic are Sunnis, relying on the main tenets of Islam, but at the same time guided by Sufi customs, believing in their ustaz.

The history and culture of Chechnya are largely based on Islam. Oral Muslim prayers, holy rites, ritual trips to holy places, religious rituals, and so on play a large role in the traditional faith.

Since the beginning of 1992, a new religious movement for the region (Wahhabism) began to spread in Chechnya, acting as a religious and political counterweight to local Islam. The Wahhabis carried out openly expressed ideological activities, which were aimed against Russian society and the state.

Now the activity of Muslim extremists, as well as religious terrorists, is not allowed. There is a rapid development of traditional Islam, which is visible not only in the creation of mosques and Muslim schools, but also in the religious education of modern youth and even in the appearance of the Chechen flag. Traditionalists, in their regular calls and prayers to Muslims, call for common union, spiritual growth, and oppose drug addiction and other bad deeds.

Status

On October 1, 1991, by decision of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, the Chechen-Ingush Republic was divided into the Chechen and Ingush Republics (without defining borders).

On October 27, 1991, the head of the Executive Committee of the All-National Congress of the Chechen People (OCCHN), Dzhokhar Dudayev, was elected head of Chechnya. On November 1, 1991, with his first decree, Dudayev proclaimed the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) from the Russian Federation.

On March 12, 1992, the Chechen Republic adopted the constitution of an independent state.

Ichkeria was not recognized by any of the UN member states. However, its representative offices existed in a number of post-Soviet states - Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, as well as in Turkey, Qatar, Afghanistan and about a dozen other states.

The decree of the President of the Republic of Georgia recognizing the state independence of the Chechen Republic, while being in Grozny after his expulsion from his homeland, was signed by Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia in March 1992.

Geographical position

The geographical location of Chechnya is determined primarily by its mountainous terrain. The region contains several separate mountainous structures. This is a significant part of the Terek-Sunzha mountainous area, which consists of two ancient folds of small ridges lying in a latitudinal current. The eastern section of the Tersky ridge is made up of another ridge - the Bragunsky, to the east lies the Gudermes ridge. The eastern territory of the Sunzhensky ridge is occupied by the peculiar Grozny ridge. All mountain structures do not have sharp outlines.

The southern part of the region, called mountainous Chechnya, is located in the Greater Caucasus. All four leading ridges pass here (except for a large number of local mountain linear formations), which are located parallel to the north of the mountainous expanses of the Greater Caucasus Range. The highest mountain in the Eastern Caucasus is located here. Mountain lines are often cut by large gorges with mountain river flows.

But Chechnya is not only mountains. There are several plains and low-lying areas on the territory of the republic. Particularly notable in this regard is the Chechen Plain with good soils - the area with the highest population density in the region. In the flat part of Chechnya, the lands are mostly improved; in the valleys there are many relatively small rivers. In the valleys of these rivers lie small areas of wooded areas.

So when asked where Chechnya is located, we can say that it is the Caucasus, mountains and somewhat flat terrain.

Climatic features

The climate of Chechnya these days is directly dependent on the mountainous terrain and warm temperatures. The republic, which is relatively small in territory, is distinguished by a significant number of natural areas: from north to south, the terrain changes from deserted semi-desert to steppe, forest-steppes with plant diversity already appear near the mountains; a little to the south there is a zone of mountain forests, which gradually develops into a mountain-meadow territory, and above there are high-altitude mountain ranges lying above the beginning of the strip of permanent snow. The mountain peaks here are occupied by large glaciers and eternal snow. A clear vertical mountain zonation, manifested in the form of changes in mountain landscapes on the slopes from the base to the peaks, is a common feature for such mountain areas.

However, as we have already said, Chechnya is not only mountains. The local semi-desert covers the relatively small Terek-Kuma lowland. The climate, as expected for such places, is quite dry, the summer season is characterized by high temperatures, and dry winds are common. But the winter is short, with little snow, lasting no more than four months.

A significant area of ​​the lowland part of Chechnya adjoins the forest-steppe zone. There is not much precipitation here - approximately 500-600 mm per year.

In the mountains, part of the territory is occupied by wooded and meadow areas, which allow for nomadic cattle breeding. At the very tops of the mountains of the Side Range there is a zone of eternal snow and glaciation; the weather here is frosty, and strong winds and snow often blow through. Precipitation is mainly in the form of snow.

Economy of modern Chechnya

In Soviet times, the economic sphere of Chechnya has come a long way in development. And today, although the military actions of the past years have brought great devastation, the region has good economic opportunities and sufficient potential. Now the economy of Chechnya is growing. The republic's GNP today reaches over one hundred and fifty billion rubles.

The gross domestic product of the Republic is 23% provided by trade, 20% by social insurance, public administration and security, 10% by agriculture, fishing, forestry, and 14% by construction. The leading branch of agriculture in Chechnya is livestock farming; farming accounts for only 30%. Of industry, 32% of production is provided by the mining sector, 60% by the production and distribution of gas, water, and electricity. The fuel and energy complex of Chechnya is dominated by the oil and gas sector.

Unemployment remains an acute problem in Chechnya. In 2010, 235 thousand residents of the region, or 43%, remained without a permanent job. At the same time, there is an annual increase in employment. The average salary in Chechnya is just over twenty-two thousand rubles, the pension is ten and a half thousand rubles.

During the military campaigns, the region's economy suffered significantly. In 2015, Chechnya asked the state to write off the region’s debt of more than 16 billion rubles for electricity and gas for 1999-2009.

The importance of the Chechen Republic in the economy of our country is determined by its complex natural resource conditions: nature, diversity of areas of the agricultural sector, available volumes of raw materials, forest and other resources. The geo-economic situation, the growth of labor potential and the basic traditions of the local population make it possible to talk about the region’s preparedness for serious economic modernization, based on serious financing and innovation. The government of the Chechen Republic strives to further develop the economy of the region.

Content

• 1 Cities of the Chechen Republic
• 2 Economy of the region 2.1 Major projects
• 2.2 News about the development of the region
• 2.3 Enterprises of the region 2.3.1 Enterprises of the mechanical engineering industry
• 2.3.2 Enterprises of the fuel and energy complex
• 2.3.3 Enterprises of the chemical complex
• 2.3.4 Enterprises of the metallurgical complex
• 2.3.5 Light and textile industry enterprises 2.3.5.1 Garment industry

Chechnya in the nineties

The population of Chechnya experienced a particularly difficult time in the nineties. First, against the backdrop of the collapse of the Soviet Union, independent Chechnya was created, and radical sentiments spread here more and more quickly. Then two Chechen wars took place in a row.

In the early nineties, with the formation of independent Russia, Chechnya became a de facto independent republic. However, in practice the new government structure turned out to be very ineffective. The economy was criminalized in almost all areas, criminal structures carried out business by working with hostages, drug trafficking, oil theft, and the slave trade was openly carried out in the republic.

Everything was heading towards war. The conflict began with the unsuccessful assault on the capital of what was then Chechnya in the fall of 1994. A significant part of the Russian military personnel who were in the city were captured. A poorly organized assault became a prologue to the beginning of a major conflict. A bloody war began, killing thousands of people on both sides of the barricades.

Bad start

Particularly difficult military operations in Chechnya took place in the period from 1995 to 1996. Although the city of Grozny (Chechen Republic) was nevertheless taken by Russian troops. But then the terrorists launched several attacks on Russian territory. For example, on June 14, 1995, Sh. Basayev’s gang occupied a local hospital in the nearby city of Budennovsk (in the neighboring Stavropol Territory) with a demand to remove Russian units from Chechnya and end the war. As a result of negotiations, the terrorists returned the captured hostages to the authorities and retreated to Chechnya without any hindrance.

At the beginning of 1996, militants from another odious leader, Salman Raduev, attacked the Russian city of Kizlyar. At first, the terrorists wanted to destroy the helicopter parking lot and the structures adjacent to it, then they demanded that the war be ended in a short time and Russian units removed from Chechnya. Under the protection of a “human cover” of civilians, the militants retreated from Kizlyar to Pervomaiskoye, where they were blocked by approaching Russian structures. Soon the assault on the city of Pervomaisky began, but the terrorists managed to escape to Chechnya under cover of darkness.

As a result of these actions, the Chechens drove Russian units out of Chechnya. All this was completed by the Khasavyurt agreements, according to which Chechnya became independent. President Maskhadov sought to improve the situation by establishing a purely Muslim rule in the country, but this only turned into new open protests against the authorities.

Story

Already at the beginning of 1992, Dzhokhar Dudayev demanded the withdrawal, without weapons and military equipment, of Russian troops stationed in Chechnya on a permanent basis. Despite the refusal, the Chechen formations forcibly seized a significant part of the weapons belonging to the group of Russian troops. Subsequently, the transfer of weapons and military equipment to the Chechen side was carried out on the instructions of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Pavel Grachev. The Chechens bought some of the weapons for money. As a result, the leadership of Chechnya had quite a lot of weapons at its disposal, which allowed Dudayev, expecting a clash with Russia, to begin building a regular Chechen army. By July 7, 1992, Russian troops left the Chechen Republic.

Russia could not come to terms with the de facto independence of Ichkeria. Apparently, from the very beginning, two approaches competed in the military-political leadership of Russia: to follow the path of a political settlement or to follow the path of a forceful solution to the problem. At that time, the second opinion prevailed among Yeltsin’s entourage.

Chechnya found itself in a financial, economic, political and information blockade. Russian troops were concentrated along the perimeter of its borders with other subjects of the federation (Ingushetia, North Ossetia, Stavropol Territory, Dagestan).

An agreement was concluded between the presidents of Chechnya and Ingushetia, Dzhokhar Dudayev and Ruslan Aushev, that the borders between the two Vainakh republics would not be demarcated.

At the end of July 1993, Moscow offered the Chechen Republic membership in the Federation with a special status, with greater autonomy than Tatarstan, but this option did not find support from the authorities of Ichkeria.

On December 12, 1993, elections for a new Russian parliament took place in the Russian Federation. Chechnya did not participate in these elections and did not delegate its representatives to the highest authorities of the Russian Federation. On February 25, 1994, the Russian State Duma adopted a resolution on a political settlement of relations with Chechnya, but the negotiations did not bring results. Yeltsin’s meeting with Dudayev, the possibility of which was seriously discussed during this period, also did not take place. It is possible that the fact that this important meeting was disrupted was the work of hardliners.

Dudayev against the Provisional Council of Opposition

In August 1994, Moscow set a course for a forceful solution to the Chechen problem. Initially, it was planned to do this by organizing an inter-Chechen conflict, the result of which would be the overthrow of Dudayev and the coming to power in the Chechen Republic of a puppet government submissive to the federal center.

In Chechnya, with the help of some influential persons who were personally dissatisfied with Dudayev, an opposition began to form, whose armed units were equipped with Russian money and from the warehouses of the Russian army and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The overall command of the anti-Dudaev forces was assumed by former police officer Umar Avturkhanov. He was also the chairman of the so-called. "Provisional Council" of the opposition. Avturkhanov’s headquarters was in the village of Znamenskoye, in the north-west of Chechnya, not far from the North Ossetian city of Mozdok, one of Russia’s main military bases in the North Caucasus.

Opposition leaders made belligerent statements, promising to seize Grozny and overthrow Dudayev by the end of 1994, but, in fact, they relied mainly on Russian military assistance. The feds allocated dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers, anti-aircraft guns, mortars, vehicles, small arms, tons of ammunition, and fuel for Avturkhanov’s group. Only 12 opposition tanks were manned by Chechen crews, the rest by Russian military personnel. Russian generals and officers participated in the development of plans to capture Grozny. From the air, the operation was to be supported by the Russian Air Force.

On the morning of November 26, 1994, armored vehicles and infantry under the opposition flag attacked Grozny from three sides, but came under heavy fire from the defenders of the Chechen capital. During the six-hour battle, the attackers were completely defeated and scattered, suffering heavy losses. Avturkhanov himself fled. Many Russian officers were captured.

However, the “war party” in the Russian leadership decided to finish what they started and throw in the regular army, whose victory over the Chechen “militants”, few among high-ranking Moscow politicians and military men doubted.

First Chechen War (1994-1996)

On November 29, Yeltsin, addressing the participants in the armed conflict in Chechnya, ordered a ceasefire within 48 hours, lay down arms and disband all armed formations.

On December 1, 1994, the President of the Russian Federation issued a decree on the North Caucasus, according to which all persons illegally possessing weapons must hand them over to law enforcement agencies within 15 days. The decree is not being implemented.

On December 7, a meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation took place. It was decided to openly use force to return Chechnya to Russian jurisdiction. This action was officially called the “restoration of constitutional order” in the Chechen Republic (although the new Russian constitution of 1993 had never been in force there before).

On December 11, 1994, the Russian army launched a large-scale military operation against the Chechen Republic. Thus began the war, which today is called the “First Chechen” (except for the Russian-Chechen wars and armed conflicts of the 18th - first half of the 20th centuries).

What forces and means did the warring sides deploy at the beginning of the First Chechen Campaign?

According to Russian military sources, as of December 11, 1994, Chechen formations numbered about 13 thousand personnel. They had 40 tanks, 50 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, up to 100 field artillery pieces and mortars and other weapons. It was a small but well-organized and combat-ready army.

The Russian group, consisting of troops from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, numbered 23.8 thousand people before the invasion. It was armed with 80 tanks, 182 guns and mortars, and 208 armored combat vehicles. By the end of December, the group's forces had increased to 38 thousand people, 230 tanks, 454 armored vehicles, 388 guns and mortars. In addition, air support for the ground forces was provided by a powerful aviation armada, which had at its disposal front-line bombers, fighters, attack aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, as well as attack and military transport helicopters. The Chechens also had a number of Czechoslovak-made combat training aircraft, but almost all of them were destroyed by Russian aviation at airfields in the first days of the war.

The military superiority of the Russian army gave many in Moscow the confidence that the organized resistance of the Chechens would be broken by the end of 1994. However, supporters of a military solution to the Chechen problem did not take into account the historical experience of Russian-Chechen relations, which shows that “pacifying” Chechnya by force of arms is a long and bloody process. Periodically repeated genocide taught us to fight back even in the most seemingly unfavorable conditions. Therefore, when Russian armored columns moved towards Grozny to restore “constitutional order”, and military aircraft began to destroy peaceful settlements, even people very far from politics took up arms.

The very first weeks of hostilities showed that the military qualities of the Chechens had not changed during the half-century period of peaceful life. Chechen detachments skillfully combined the methods of action of regular troops and partisan formations. The further course of the war showed that the Russian army was unable to fully adapt to such combined forms of action.

By December 20, Russian troops approached Grozny by 10 kilometers, and on December 31, the first assault on the capital of Chechnya began, repulsed by its defenders. The attackers lost many tanks, which, as one would expect, were very vulnerable on the city streets. On January 18, a meeting between Russian Prime Minister Chernomyrdin and representatives of Dudayev took place, but the agreement reached on a ceasefire was not implemented in practice. Meanwhile, fierce street fighting continued in Grozny, and on January 19 the presidential palace fell. Only by March 11, 1995, the “federals” managed, at the cost of heavy losses, to take control of almost the entire city, which had already been largely turned into ruins.

Until June, other important settlements and centers of the Chechen Republic were also occupied. Chechen formations retreated to the mountains and switched mainly to guerrilla methods of war. A mine war broke out in the rear of the federal troops; reconnaissance and sabotage groups of partisans operated in Grozny and other cities. The Russian military, for its part, landed several helicopter landings in the mountains, behind the lines of the Chechen formations. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about more or less clear lines of armed confrontation, or fronts, in the Russian-Chechen war.

Observers noted the exceptionally cruel nature of the actions of the “federals” against local residents. Aviation and artillery carried out devastating strikes on populated areas, regardless of the presence of civilians, as a result of which the proportion of civilian casualties in this war was exceptionally high. It accounted for up to 95% of all deaths. No one has counted how many people have become victims of endless police checks (“cleansing operations”), “filtration points,” etc. .

Until the summer of 1995, military operations took place almost exclusively on the territory of Chechnya, but on June 14, 1995, the world media reported a daring raid by a Chechen detachment under the command of the famous field commander Shamil Basayev, who broke into the city of Budennovsk (Stavropol Territory) and seized the hospital from its residents and other civilians (more than 500 people). Basayev explained this action with a desire to draw the attention of the world community to what was happening in Chechnya. During these tense days, Prime Minister Chernomyrdin took on great responsibility, entering into negotiations with Basayev and opening his way back to Chechnya. With this, Chernomyrdin saved the lives of hundreds of people who probably would have died if the federal troops surrounding the hospital had not stopped shelling and launched a general assault. However, in Budennovsk, 28 people were still killed and 65 were injured.

Basayev's raid, which showed that the war could easily spread to the internal regions of Russia, undoubtedly contributed to the start of a new round of Russian-Chechen negotiations to end the war (from June 29, 1995). The negotiations were attended by the chief of the general staff of the armed forces of Chechnya, Aslan Maskhadov, and the commander of the contingent of Russian troops, General Anatoly Romanov. On September 10, 1995, as a result of an agreement reached during negotiations, the partial withdrawal of Russian troops from the Chechen Republic began.

However, the peacekeeping initiative, apparently, had serious opponents. On October 6, 1995, in Grozny, as a result of a terrorist attack, General Romanov was seriously wounded. After this, further negotiations and the withdrawal of troops are suspended. The war resumed with renewed vigor.

The determined resistance of the Chechens forced the Russian command to increase its forces in the combat zone. By the end of 1995, according to Doku Zavgaev, the head of the pro-Russian administration in the republic, there were 462 thousand federal troops on the territory of Chechnya. The degree of saturation of the Russian group with long-range fire weapons was also very high. Thus, at the end of 1995, in the federal troops in Chechnya there was one weapon of fire destruction for every 63 people, which is considered an excellent indicator of the technological equipment of the troops. For example, during the Gulf War in the UN Multinational Force, this figure was 1:110.

On April 22, 1996, Dzhokhar Dudayev was killed as a result of a targeted missile attack. Dudayev's death, however, did not disorganize the Chechen resistance. Vice President Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, a writer by profession, became the President of the Chechen Republic. The military direction was headed by Aslan Maskhadov, a former colonel of the Soviet Army. It was he who developed the plan to capture Grozny in the summer of 1996. In early August, when Russian troops were advancing on the mountain positions of the partisans in the south of the republic, part of the Chechen formations, having infiltrated the blockade zone established by the “federals,” entered the city and took control of it (August 5-6, 1996). Separate parts of the Russian Grozny garrison were strictly blocked by the Chechens.

Apparently, this turn of events came as a complete surprise to the Russian command. Troops began to be urgently transferred to Grozny, and fighting began. However, despite the messages of the generals reporting to Moscow that they had achieved a turning point in favor of the federal forces, the situation in the city did not change. Subjecting half-destroyed Grozny to massive artillery and air strikes meant dooming the Russian units blocked in it to death.

On August 12, 1996, peace negotiations began in the city of Khasavyurt (Dagestan). The Russian side was represented by the Special Commissioner of the Russian Federation - General Alexander Lebed, the Chechen side was represented by Aslan Maskhadov. The negotiations ended on August 31 with a joint (Lebed and Maskhadov) statement on the foundations of relations between Russia and Chechnya. This agreement was subsequently formalized during the meeting between Chernomyrdin and Maskhadov, who signed on November 23, 1996, the “Temporary Agreement on the Fundamentals of Relations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic.” The agreement was of a compromise nature: Russia de jure did not recognize the independence of Chechnya, but in fact agreed with its independent existence. The final status of the Chechen Republic was to be determined in five years, i.e. in 2001. Before the signing of the treaty, Russian troops left the territory of Chechnya.

Between the wars

In January 1997, presidential elections were held in the Chechen Republic. Aslan Maskhadov won them. A significant event in the subsequent period was his meeting in Moscow with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, at which an agreement on peace and the principles of relations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was concluded (May 12, 1997). The parties officially declared their renunciation of the use of force in resolving controversial issues and the desire to build their relations in accordance with generally recognized principles and norms of international law. The adopted document emphasized that the agreement is the basis for the conclusion of further contracts and agreements across the entire range of relationships.

The Chechen people celebrated the end of the war. It seemed to people that the long-awaited peace had finally arrived. However, it soon became clear that it was too early to calm down. Less than three years had passed before the torn country faced an even greater test.

Having managed to defend actual independence, but not receiving legal recognition, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria found itself in a difficult situation after the 1994-1996 war. The country's economy was destroyed, and the population's standard of living fell sharply. In the small republic, the number of unemployed reached 400 thousand people, a significant part of which were young people. In addition, there were tens of thousands of sick and disabled people in need of long-term medical rehabilitation. This difficult socio-economic picture was aggravated by the intensification of criminal groups involved in robberies, kidnappings, and drug trafficking. Illegal oil fishing flourished. There were constant provocations aimed at discrediting the Chechen government in the eyes of the world community. In this regard, special mention should be made of the murder of representatives of the organization Doctors Without Borders, which subsequently ceased its work in Chechnya, as well as four Englishmen who were installing satellite communications. Russian media widely covered these events, commenting on them as evidence of the criminal anarchy reigning in the rebellious republic. It was indeed difficult for the law enforcement structures of Chechnya to combat the rampant crime, the breeding ground for which was the post-war situation; There were not enough funds and experienced personnel. The head of the Department for Combating Kidnapping, Shahid Bargishev, was killed in an assassination attempt on October 25, 1998. It was on that day that the authorities planned to carry out a large-scale operation against criminals involved in kidnapping for ransom.

The forces opposing Maskhadov posed a serious danger to the internal stability of Chechnya. Thus, immediately after his election as president of the country, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, who lost power, and his supporters accused Maskhadov of yielding to Moscow. Another component of the political opposition was the so-called. Wahhabis, representing a variety of Islam that penetrated into Chechnya in the first half of the 90s of the twentieth century and is different from the traditional Sufism here. Adherents of Wahhabism call themselves “monotheists,” or Salafis, followers of “pure” Islam that existed during the time of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions. They call their organizations jamaat (community).

The “Wahhabis” fought bravely in 1994-1996 and thereby gained respect among the Chechens, but, on the other hand, people were repelled from them by the political and religious radicalism of this movement, as well as the methods by which the Wahhabis tried to impose their ideology on Chechen society. Supporters of Sufi Islam, traditional in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan, accuse the Wahhabis of sectarianism. Those, in turn, consider Sufism to be a delusion, a deviation from the true faith. The moderate spiritual and political leaders of the North Caucasus, the “Wahhabis,” are accused of collaborating with the Russian authorities and betraying the national and religious interests of the North Caucasian peoples. The peak of the confrontation between supporters and opponents of Wahhabism in Chechnya occurred on July 14, 1998, when the conflict in the city of Gudermes, which began on domestic grounds, escalated into a real battle, in which more than 50 people, mostly young people, died on both sides. This was one of the few major battles ever fought between the Chechens. The Wahhabis suffered heavy losses.

After the bloody events in Gudermes, Maskhadov outlawed Wahhabism and called on imams of mosques and heads of local administrations to expel its supporters from their territories. However, the Vice President of Chechnya Vakha Arsanov and Shamil Basayev stood up for the “Wahhabis” and persuaded Maskhadov not to deepen the internecine conflict. The Wahhabis, who escaped defeat, soon recovered and continued to increase their strength.

It is interesting that in such a situation Moscow acted as the defender of Wahhabism. On July 22, 1998, the Commission under the President of Russia on countering political extremism, with the participation of Minister of Justice Pavel Krashennikov, Director of the FSB Nikolai Kovalev, Minister of Internal Affairs Sergei Stepashin, Minister of Nationalities Evgeniy Sapiro, came to the conclusion that Wahhabism is not extremist.

According to political scientist Vakhit Akayev, “the fact that Wahhabism, officially banned in Chechnya, Ingushetia and assessed as Islamic fundamentalism in Dagestan, is recognized by Russian security ministers as a peaceful, non-extremist movement, suggests that this movement has support in certain political circles in Moscow, often pursuing selfish goals.”

It must be assumed that in this case the federal center supported Wahhabism as a force capable of playing the role of a counterweight to the legally elected government in the Chechen Republic.

In 1997-1998, repeated attempts were made to organize the organizational and structural consolidation of the Chechen and Dagestan “Wahhabis” and the political forces sympathizing with them. Thus, in April 1998, the “Congress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan” was created in Grozny (the organization is recognized as terrorist in Russia, its activities are prohibited by the court - note of the “Caucasian Knot”), under the chairmanship of Shamil Basayev. Dagestan Islamists who moved to Chechnya also played an active role in it. Two of Basayev's three deputies were Dagestanis. On behalf of the peoples of Dagestan and Chechnya, the “Congress” (the organization is recognized as terrorist in Russia, its activities are prohibited by the court - note of the “Caucasian Knot”) has endowed itself with the rights to any actions, including political ones.

Special literature notes that on the path to creating a North Caucasian confederation, the next task of the “Islamists” and, one might add, national radicals, since these two directions differ little from each other (like a century and a half ago, Islam is a unifying factor in the political struggle for a multilingual population region), there was a separation of Dagestan from Russia and its reunification with Chechnya with the aim of creating a single state “Degistan”.

In many regions of Dagestan, the influence of “Wahhabism” was noticeable. The difficult socio-economic and ethno-political situation, high unemployment, government corruption and the lack of a clear life perspective for many make the idea of ​​an Islamic “jamaat” attractive. In Central Dagestan, in the so-called. In the Kadar zone (the villages of Kadar, Karamakhi, Chabanmakhi), by May 1998, a kind of “Wahhabi republic” even emerged: local peasants declared the independence of their villages and completely escaped the control of the Russian and Dagestan authorities. However, according to some sources, this revolt was not so much of a religious and political nature as of a social one: armed peasants expelled corrupt officials and police who were involved in extorting bribes. The tension that arose in connection with this fact was temporarily defused by Russian Prime Minister Stepashin, who made a trip to the Kadar zone and, after meeting with its population, declared: “normal people live in these villages, and they should not be touched.”

However, in general, the population of Dagestan met the activity of the “Wahhabis” with ambiguity. In some cases, it came to clashes with followers of traditional Islam. All this, against the backdrop of a clan struggle for power in the republic, frequent terrorist attacks, as well as attacks on Russian troops stationed here, created an explosive situation in Dagestan.

Invasion of Dagestan and the beginning of the Second Chechen Campaign (1999-2009)

In such a situation, on August 2, 1999, armed Chechen-Dagestan detachments penetrated from the territory of Chechnya into mountainous Dagestan, occupying several border villages in the west of the republic, in the Botlikh and Tsumadinsky regions. These forces were commanded by Shamil Basayev, Bagautdin Magomed, Magomed Tagaev and Khattab, operating under the flag of the Congress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan (the organization is recognized as terrorist in Russia, its activities are prohibited by the court - note of the "Caucasian Knot"). Russian media focused attention on the participation of Chechen commanders Basayev and Khattab in this action, presenting the case as an exclusively Chechen invasion of the territory of one of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. At the same time, it was overlooked that the Chechen side of the operation involved mainly forces opposed to President Maskhadov.

The military invasion of Nagorno-Dagestan gave the Russian authorities a reason to accuse Ichkeria of violating agreements and aggression. True, nothing indicated the involvement of the official authorities of the republic and Aslan Maskhadov personally in this action, but on the other hand, the President of Chechnya did not publicly condemn the armed invasion of the neighboring republic, nor did he give his assessment of the events taking place. Maskhadov's restraint can be explained by his reluctance to deepen the rift with the opposition, led by the popular military leader Shamil Basayev; Apparently, the president feared a split in Chechen society in the context of confrontation with Russia.

Thus, the fragile peace that had been preserved for three years was disrupted in the North Caucasus. The Russian government, which these days was headed by Vladimir Putin, hastily transferred a powerful army group to Dagestan and stubborn fighting began in the area of ​​​​the village of Botlikh. Regular troops, with the participation of the Dagestan police, managed to push the “Islamist” formations back into the territory of Chechnya.

The federal authorities, having restored control over the border regions of Western Dagestan, presented the jamaat of the Kadar zone with an ultimatum: to disarm and submit. Having received a refusal, government troops, using armored vehicles, artillery and combat aircraft, began a military siege of the rebellious villages of Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi. For many days, troops shelled, bombed and stormed villages until they completely suppressed the resistance of the Dagestani rebels. Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi were turned into ruins.

During this siege, military formations controlled by Basayev made another attempt to break into Dagestan, this time to the aid of the Kadars. The strike was carried out in the north-west of the republic, in the Novolaksky district, which was heavily damaged by the ongoing hostilities. Federal forces, which received reinforcements from the central regions of Russia, stopped the enemy’s advance in heavy battles and then threw them back to their starting line. These incursions from Chechnya provoked protest from a large part of the population of Dagestan.

Then terrible terrorist attacks occurred in the cities of Moscow and Volgodonsk: residential buildings with their inhabitants were blown up, killing hundreds of innocent people. The Russian side declared the same Basayev and Khattab to be the organizers of these crimes (although to this day documents confirming this accusation have not been made public), after which a massive air and ground offensive against Chechnya began. The Russian-Chechen treaties of 1996-1997 were denounced. On October 1, 1999, the federal army invaded the territory of Chechnya. The Second Chechen War began, which official Moscow called an “anti-terrorist operation.”

Liquidation of Ichkeria

As a result of the actions of federal forces, Ichkeria was de facto liquidated in 2000. On June 12, 2000, Vladimir Putin appointed the former Supreme Mufti of Ichkeria Akhmad Kadyrov as head of the pro-Russian provisional administration of the Chechen Republic. In 2003, a new Constitution of Chechnya was adopted, according to which the republic was a subject of the Russian Federation. In the same year, Akhmad Kadyrov was elected president of the Chechen Republic.

Formally, Aslan Maskhadov, who still remained the president of Ichkeria, was killed on March 8, 2005 as a result of a military special operation by the Russian FSB in the village of Tolstoy-Yurt, Grozny district of Chechnya. As head of the self-proclaimed state, Maskhadov was replaced by the Chairman of the Supreme Shariah Court of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Abdul-Halim Sadulayev, who was also liquidated by Russian security forces in 2006.

On October 6, 2007, the fifth president of Ichkeria, Doku Umarov, announced the abolition of Ichkeria and proclaimed the formation of the Caucasus Emirate (a terrorist organization banned in Russia by the court). At the same time, Umarov resigned as president of Ichkeria and proclaimed himself “the emir of the mujahideen of the Caucasus,” “the leader of jihad,” as well as “the only legitimate authority in all territories where there are mujahideen.” Ichkeria (Nokhchiycho) was declared one of the vilayats of the self-proclaimed emirate, along with Dagestan, Galgayche (Ingushetia), Iriston (North Ossetia), Nogai steppe (Stavropol Territory) and the united vilayat of Kabarda, Balkaria and Karachay.

Second Chechen War

In the fall of 1999, when it was already difficult to understand where Chechnya was and where Russian territory was, the Second Chechen War came, during which it was necessary not only to solve the problems of the first, but also to sort out the accumulated difficulties of recent years. Before the New Year, another assault on Grozny took place. It was very different in nature from the previous operation. Tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, which are sensitive to losses in street battles, did not enter the capital of Chechnya; instead, large artillery and air attacks were used. Much better trained Russian units quickly and effectively defeated the bandits.

On January 13, 2000, bloodless militants left Grozny straight through the minefields, losing a lot of manpower. In early February, the city was completely liberated by Russian troops. At the end of the month there was a fierce battle for the last large terrorist base. The terrorist positions were partially destroyed, and the militants themselves were driven out of the territory of Chechnya into the Georgian Republic.

In March of the same year, open fighting ended.

Activities of A. Kadyrov

With the intensification of hostilities in Chechnya in the late nineties, a pro-Russian leadership of Chechnya began to be created. The government of the republic was headed by the then Mufti A. Kadyrov, who went over to the side of the Russian Federation. He managed to somewhat normalize the station in the region. In 2003, a new Constitution of the region appeared, according to which Chechnya became a subject of the Russian Federation. In the same year, presidential elections were held, during which Akhmat Kadyrov won. Chechnya was seething. The first officially elected leader of the republic managed to prove to the population that normal life in Russia is the only possible solution to the conflict. A. Kadyrov took responsibility for the development of his own people. Terrorism dominated the region at that time. Akhmat was at the center of events. He managed to be a true leader of his republic and gain popular love. Kadyrov worked not for the sake of valor, powers or religion, but exclusively for his own people. All his activities were aimed at the successful development of the Chechen Republic as part of the Russian Federation. On May 9, 2004, Akhmat Kadyrov was killed in the city of Grozny, he died as a result of a terrorist attack.

Chechen Republic

The territory of the modern Republic of Chechnya was inhabited during the Upper Paleolithic era. The flint tools found near the villages of Vedeno, Balansu and Tsa-Vedeno date back to that period. In the same places, individual objects from the Mesolithic and Neolithic era were found. But in general, little archaeological research has been carried out in the region. What is known is that the Chechen lands were inhabited already in the Old Stone Age.

Bronze Age finds discovered in Chechnya indicate the development of the Maikop and Kura-Araxes cultures on the territory of the republic. They were replaced by the North Caucasian culture. In the mountains there are crypts and tombs of speakers of Nakh languages ​​- these include the ancestors of the Chechens. In ancient and Georgian sources, the ancestors of the Chechens were called Durdzuk.

Middle Ages

The first state formations on the territory of the modern Chechen Republic date back to the early Middle Ages. In the 9th century, the flat part of Chechnya became part of the then large Alanian kingdom, which occupied the foothills of the North Caucasus. The indigenous population of the Chechen lands was called Nokhcho (or Nokhchi). The economic and political development of Chechen society was hindered by the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols. The ancestors of modern Chechens had to go to the mountains, leaving lowland settlements.

Medieval towers of Chechnya

© Maxim Ershov

From the 10th to the 16th centuries, the state of Simsir existed on the territory of the North Caucasus, which included the lands of the modern republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya. The capital of Simsir was the city of Simsimerk in the historical region of Ichkeria - now the Nozhai-Yurt district of Chechnya. Now in the Nozhai-Yurt district there is a village called Simsir. The kingdom of Simsir weakened and lost control over individual principalities after the invasion of Tamerlane.

Until the 16th century, Chechens mainly lived in mountainous areas. They were divided into groups on a territorial basis - the groups were named after the names of rivers and mountains. It was during those times that the type structure of society in the Chechen region began to take shape, which is still of great importance for many representatives of the Chechen ethnic group. A type is characterized by the presence of a common mythological ancestor and a specific place of residence.

Terek Cossacks

Items of the Terek Cossacks

© Maxim Ershov

Also, the beginning of Russian expansion in the North Caucasus dates back to the 16th century. The first settlers of the Russian state along the Terek riverbed were the Cossacks. Kaza towns were located on the eastern and northern slopes of the Terek ridge - “on the ridges”. Therefore, the local Cossacks were called “Grebensky”. The first written evidence of contacts between Russians and the Chechen authorities dates back to the second half of the 16th century. In the 1570s, the first Chechen embassy arrived in Moscow. The Chechen prince Shikh-Murza Okotsky petitioned for the acceptance of the Chechen people under the Russian government. Since the end of the 16th century, the banks of the Terek River were actively populated by Cossacks. 1577 is considered the date of the founding of the Terek Cossack army. The Terek Cossacks borrowed elements of costume and weapons from the Chechens and other mountain peoples, and they adopted the peculiarities of their economic way of life. Chechens, as part of the Terek Cossack army, took part in campaigns against Persia, the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire.

Penetration of Islam

The ancestors of the Chechens, the Vainakhs, worshiped local deities until the 11th century. Among them, the veneration of sacred mountains and groves, witchcraft and magical rituals were widespread. In the 11th–12th centuries, Georgian and Byzantine missionaries were engaged in the spread of Orthodoxy in the North Caucasus. By the 13th century, Christianity became the main religion of the Vainakhs.

But with the fall of Byzantium and the weakening of the influence of Georgia, the people began to return to more ancient polytheistic beliefs. Until the 17th century, the Vainakhs had a mixed religion - Christianity and pagan rituals. Sunni Islam penetrated the lowland territories of Chechnya and Ingushetia in the 13th–15th centuries, when Tamerlane’s troops invaded the North Caucasus. Already by the 16th century, the inhabitants of foothill and eastern Chechnya were Muslims. But the majority of mountain Chechens converted to Islam only in the 17th–18th centuries. In many mountain settlements, pagan beliefs continued to exist, worshiping sacred groves and mountain spirits. Until the end of the 18th century, Islamic law, Sharia, had little influence on the social life of the Chechens. The basis was customary law (adat), the custodians of which were clan elders.

Mosque "Heart of Chechnya"

© Irina Porunova

The establishment of Islam as the dominant religion occurred in 1785. Under Muslim slogans, the struggle was waged against the colonization of the Russian Empire in the North Caucasus. The movement was led by Sheikh Mansur - first in Chechnya, and then throughout the North Caucasus. A detachment led by Sheikh Mansur traveled around the mountain villages of Chechnya and called on the local population to accept the Muslim faith.

XVIII-early XIX centuries

In the 17th–18th centuries, the North Caucasus was the site of rivalry between the Russian Empire on one side and Iran and the Ottoman Empire on the opposite side. In the 17th century, the Chechens successfully defeated an army of Crimean Tatars numbering more than 80 thousand, sent by the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Terek Cossacks lost their freedom - they turned into a military service class defending the southern borders of the Russian state in the Caucasus. Their center was the city of Terki (another name for the Terek city), in which the royal governors lived and there was a large military garrison.

The name of the Chechen people was established at the beginning of the 18th century - by the name of the village of Chechen-aul (now part of the Argun urban district). Initially, the Russian campaigns were not intended to annex Chechnya to the Russian Empire - only to maintain calm in the Terek region. Chechens often raided Cossack towns on the Terek. For this, the Chechens gained fame as dangerous robbers. As punishment for the raids, the Russians began to carry out punitive expeditions to Chechnya. The expeditions were accompanied by the burning of rebel villages and forcing the local population to accept Russian citizenship. Hostages were taken from influential families and kept in Caucasian fortresses. In response to the brutal measures, the local population responded even more brutally. The performances lasted throughout the 18th century.

In the second half of the 18th century, the Russian Empire began more active military colonization. Cossacks from the Don and Volga were forcibly resettled to the Terek region. Cossack villages and military fortresses were built. In the 80s of the 18th century, the “Sharia movement” arose - a war for faith against Russian colonization. The leader of the godly war was the shepherd Ushurma from the village of Aldy, who in 1785 proclaimed himself an imam under the name Mansur. He achieved widespread recognition among the people, some considered him a prophet. During this period, a large number of mosques appeared on the territory of Chechnya, and the number of mullahs and judges of Sharia law increased. The first campaign against Imam Mansur turned out to be a failure. Türkiye officially awarded Mansur the status of imam. In June 1791, Mansur was taken from the Anapa fortress and exiled to the Solovetsky Monastery, where he died.

As part of the Russian Empire

Leo Tolstoy Museum

© Maxim Ershov

At the end of the 18th century, the Russian Empire and the lowland Chechens established treaty-subject relations. The rest of the Chechens were called “non-peaceful.” In 1801, Georgia was annexed to the possessions of the Russian Empire. After this, a course was set towards establishing direct rule in the Caucasus - without intermediaries in the form of local princes. In the first decade of the 18th century, the Chechens rebelled several times. It was possible to persuade the local villages to negotiate with the help of monetary gifts and some concessions to the Chechen elders.

In 1817–1822, the Sunzhenskaya line of fortifications was built - this is how the first large Russian community arose on the territory of Chechnya. In the 40s, the Imamate of Shamil arose on the territory of Dagestan and Chechnya, which for almost two decades waged a successful war against Russia. In 1859, Shamil was defeated, Chechnya was annexed to the Russian Empire and renamed the Terek region. Many Chechens fled to the Ottoman Empire, some died during the uprisings - the population of Chechnya decreased significantly.

Chechen uprisings also broke out in the second half of the 19th century, but were suppressed. The first secular schools were opened for local children, in 1896 the Grozny City School. In 1893, a railway connection connected Grozny with central Russia. At the end of the 19th century, industrial oil production began in Chechnya.

USSR

During the Civil War, when detachments of the regular Russian army were withdrawn from Grozny, Chechen gangs began to attack Russian settlements and Cossack villages. As a result, Grozny turned into a besieged fortress - oil production ceased on the territory of the republic. The Red Army regained control of Grozny only in 1920. In November 1920, the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed with its capital in Vladikavkaz. It consisted of six administrative districts, including the Chechen district, as well as the Sunzhensky Cossack district. For assistance in the fight against the white Cossacks, the mountain peoples were given the lands of the Terek-Sunzha interfluve.

Modern Grozny

© Irina Porunova

In 1922, the Chechen Autonomous Region was formed, which existed until 1936. This year the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was founded. Armed anti-Soviet uprisings continued until the Great Patriotic War. The Germans planned to capture Grozny in order to take over the local oil, but the plan was unsuccessful. In the rear, in Grozny, they were manufacturing mortars and combustible anti-tank mixture.

In our time

After the collapse of the USSR, the history of Chechnya developed according to a dramatic scenario. In the 90s, a bloody civil war took place on the territory of the republic, as well as the First and Second Chechen Wars between federal forces and Chechen militants. In recent years, the political situation has normalized. Chechnya is open to visitors and is actively developing tourism programs. Travelers are attracted to the Republic of Chechnya by the pristine nature of the North Caucasus and the modern city of Grozny.

Chechnya at the beginning of the twenty-first century

In 2007, after the short reign of A. Alkhanov, Ramzan Kadyrov became the president of the region. Chechnya became calm. Largely thanks to this, in 2009, in connection with the cessation of hostilities, the Russian authorities terminated the anti-terrorist operation regime in the region.

Even then, almost all settlements of the republic were revived. In practically destroyed Grozny, construction of new residential buildings and religious buildings was underway; sports stadiums, national museums, and monuments were recreated. In 2010, a number of high-rise multifunctional buildings (up to forty-five floors) “Grozny City” were built. Gudermes, the second largest city in Chechnya, underwent extensive reconstruction, and a large number of high-rise buildings were rebuilt. The government of the Chechen Republic, headed by R. Kadyrov, was able to achieve the almost impossible, namely, to calm the region and restore the economy of Chechnya.

Notes

1. Trends in the development of the industrial sector of the economy of the Chechen Republic - Economic sciences - Fundamental research
2. Industry – Investment portal of the Chechen Republic
3. Kadyrov: Chechnya's economy is recognized as the most effective among Russian regions
4. Chechen phenomenon
5. Population and labor resources
6. Caucasian Knot | Russian Population Census 2010: Chechen Republic
7. The population of the Chechen Republic is growing