A Short History of Chechnya
Note: This is the first piece in a series on Chechnya that I'm writing for my parallel writing endeavour. A remote and poorly understood component of the Russian Federation, Chechen history is dominated by secessionism and influenced in part by Islamism. In order to understand the global connections of international terrorism, one must understand Chechnya.
As the conflict between the West and militant Islam continues, international focus has fallen primarily on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. While Afghanistan and Iraq remain the primary fronts in this conflict, and Iran remains the primary state sponsor of terrorism, terrorism remains a globally linked phenomenon. Terrorism and Islamist militancy have played a pivotal role in the recent history of the Russian Federation. Both phenomena have played an important role in Russian domestic and foreign policies, and terrorism within Russia is believed to have influenced terrorism globally. The region of Russia most closely tied to Islamist militancy, separatism, and terrorism is one that many of heard of, but few are truly familiar with: Chechnya.
The area now known as Chechnya has found itself at odds with foreign powers for much of its history. Inhabiting the mountainous Caucasus region with a number of related ethnic groups, the Chechens resisted annexation by the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century. The Ottoman Turks eventually took control, and the Chechens eventually converted to Islam. This tension led to conflicts between the Chechens and their Christian neighbors, the Georgians and Cossacks. Chechnya came under Russian influence in the late eighteenth century, and Chechen resistance was almost immediate, due in part to the Russian decision to settle Cossacks within Chechen territory. Less than a century later, rebels under the leadership of Imam Mansur Ushurma attempted to establish an independent Chechnya governed by sharia law. This attempt was unsuccessful, as were later attempts by Imam Shamil in the mid-eighteenth century.
During the twentieth century, the Chechens attempted to fight their way to independence whenever an opportunity presented itself, such as during the Russian Revolutions of 1905 and 1917, World War II, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. This rebellion was successful during the 1917 October Revolution, but Chechnya was brought back under the thumb of the newly-communist Soviet Union in 1922. Following the Chechen resistance during World War II (which diverted resources from the defense of Stalingrad), Joseph Stalin charged the Chechens with undermining the defense of the Caucasus and collaborating with Nazi Germany; this resulted in the deportation of the entire Chechen population to Kazakhstan and Siberia until 1956.
Following the collapse of Soviet Russia in the early 1990's, Chechnya once again gained a de facto independence under Dzhokar Dudayev, a former Soviet air force officer. As the Chechens grew more defiant, Russian President Boris Yeltsin responded by sending several hundred personnel from the Foreign Ministry to Chechnya. These personnel were met at the airport by Chechen rebels and deported by bus back to Russia proper. Chechnya started to become a household name in 1994, when Russia launched what was billed as a full-scale invasion of Chechnya, focused on the Chechen capital of Grozny.
The Chechens had prepared for a siege in Grozny for some time, and the Russians had seen Chechnya slipping from their control since the collapse of communism. As the Chechens prepared, the Russians covertly financed several opposition factions. Unfortunately for Russia, each group had a separate agenda, preventing them from uniting in opposition to Dudayev. As a result, Dudayev was able to use the Russian support for these groups to stir the Chechen people to anger over Russian meddling in Chechen affairs. Because of this, the Chechens were prepared when the Russians finally arrived. What the Russian Defense Ministry expected was a quick victory and consolidation (the Hero of Russia medal was offered to the first infantry squad to reach the presidential palace in Grozny); and an entire reset of the Chechen economy, political system, and society was expected to take roughly three years. Instead, the Chechens pulled Russia into a long, bloody urban war for control of Grozny and the rest of Chechnya.
Given the collapse of the Soviet Union only a few years prior, and the loss of multiple Soviet republics, why did Russia invest so much force and so many resources into the recapture of Chechnya? One major factor was political: whereas now-independent nations such as Ukraine, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan were considered to be "allied" nations, Chechnya has been considered a component of Russia itself since the 1700's. The precedent of independent nations leaving the now-defunct Soviet Union had been one matter; the potential precedent of a piece of Russia itself seceding was completely different. For the sake of illustrations, the collapse of the European Union would receive a much different response at Versailles than would a declaration of independence by Normandy. Were Chechnya able to successfully secede, this precedent would also contribute to nationalist sentiments in neighboring Ingushetia and Dagestan. Russian leaders had no desire to see a separatist domino effect in the Caucasus region.
Another factor, possibly more important than the issue of political cohesion, was and is Chechnya's natural resources in general, and oil in particular. Just as the Russian Federation continues to exert its influence over the energy resources of the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, Russia was and is unwilling to sacrifice the Chechen component of its energy infrastructure. These oil fields, among others, combine with Chechen and Central Asian gas reserves to become a piece of Russia's last credible trump card in its relationship with the outside world. Russia's disputes during the last several years with Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania over energy supplies demonstrate how crucial Chechen oil is to an otherwise unstable Russian economy.
The next piece in this series will detail the two Chechen Wars and the history of Chechen terrorism.
As the conflict between the West and militant Islam continues, international focus has fallen primarily on Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. While Afghanistan and Iraq remain the primary fronts in this conflict, and Iran remains the primary state sponsor of terrorism, terrorism remains a globally linked phenomenon. Terrorism and Islamist militancy have played a pivotal role in the recent history of the Russian Federation. Both phenomena have played an important role in Russian domestic and foreign policies, and terrorism within Russia is believed to have influenced terrorism globally. The region of Russia most closely tied to Islamist militancy, separatism, and terrorism is one that many of heard of, but few are truly familiar with: Chechnya.
The area now known as Chechnya has found itself at odds with foreign powers for much of its history. Inhabiting the mountainous Caucasus region with a number of related ethnic groups, the Chechens resisted annexation by the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century. The Ottoman Turks eventually took control, and the Chechens eventually converted to Islam. This tension led to conflicts between the Chechens and their Christian neighbors, the Georgians and Cossacks. Chechnya came under Russian influence in the late eighteenth century, and Chechen resistance was almost immediate, due in part to the Russian decision to settle Cossacks within Chechen territory. Less than a century later, rebels under the leadership of Imam Mansur Ushurma attempted to establish an independent Chechnya governed by sharia law. This attempt was unsuccessful, as were later attempts by Imam Shamil in the mid-eighteenth century.
During the twentieth century, the Chechens attempted to fight their way to independence whenever an opportunity presented itself, such as during the Russian Revolutions of 1905 and 1917, World War II, and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. This rebellion was successful during the 1917 October Revolution, but Chechnya was brought back under the thumb of the newly-communist Soviet Union in 1922. Following the Chechen resistance during World War II (which diverted resources from the defense of Stalingrad), Joseph Stalin charged the Chechens with undermining the defense of the Caucasus and collaborating with Nazi Germany; this resulted in the deportation of the entire Chechen population to Kazakhstan and Siberia until 1956.
Following the collapse of Soviet Russia in the early 1990's, Chechnya once again gained a de facto independence under Dzhokar Dudayev, a former Soviet air force officer. As the Chechens grew more defiant, Russian President Boris Yeltsin responded by sending several hundred personnel from the Foreign Ministry to Chechnya. These personnel were met at the airport by Chechen rebels and deported by bus back to Russia proper. Chechnya started to become a household name in 1994, when Russia launched what was billed as a full-scale invasion of Chechnya, focused on the Chechen capital of Grozny.
The Chechens had prepared for a siege in Grozny for some time, and the Russians had seen Chechnya slipping from their control since the collapse of communism. As the Chechens prepared, the Russians covertly financed several opposition factions. Unfortunately for Russia, each group had a separate agenda, preventing them from uniting in opposition to Dudayev. As a result, Dudayev was able to use the Russian support for these groups to stir the Chechen people to anger over Russian meddling in Chechen affairs. Because of this, the Chechens were prepared when the Russians finally arrived. What the Russian Defense Ministry expected was a quick victory and consolidation (the Hero of Russia medal was offered to the first infantry squad to reach the presidential palace in Grozny); and an entire reset of the Chechen economy, political system, and society was expected to take roughly three years. Instead, the Chechens pulled Russia into a long, bloody urban war for control of Grozny and the rest of Chechnya.
Given the collapse of the Soviet Union only a few years prior, and the loss of multiple Soviet republics, why did Russia invest so much force and so many resources into the recapture of Chechnya? One major factor was political: whereas now-independent nations such as Ukraine, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan were considered to be "allied" nations, Chechnya has been considered a component of Russia itself since the 1700's. The precedent of independent nations leaving the now-defunct Soviet Union had been one matter; the potential precedent of a piece of Russia itself seceding was completely different. For the sake of illustrations, the collapse of the European Union would receive a much different response at Versailles than would a declaration of independence by Normandy. Were Chechnya able to successfully secede, this precedent would also contribute to nationalist sentiments in neighboring Ingushetia and Dagestan. Russian leaders had no desire to see a separatist domino effect in the Caucasus region.
Another factor, possibly more important than the issue of political cohesion, was and is Chechnya's natural resources in general, and oil in particular. Just as the Russian Federation continues to exert its influence over the energy resources of the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, Russia was and is unwilling to sacrifice the Chechen component of its energy infrastructure. These oil fields, among others, combine with Chechen and Central Asian gas reserves to become a piece of Russia's last credible trump card in its relationship with the outside world. Russia's disputes during the last several years with Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania over energy supplies demonstrate how crucial Chechen oil is to an otherwise unstable Russian economy.
The next piece in this series will detail the two Chechen Wars and the history of Chechen terrorism.
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