Issue 1
19.06.02

Chechen diary

19 June 2002  Chechen State Teachers Training Institute cooperates with Adygei University

Under the programme to revive Chechnyas system of education patronized by the Russian Ministry of Education Adygei State University and Chechen State Teachers Training Institute have signed an agreement on cooperation. The two have long maintained ties. Adygei University has trained teachers for Chechnya in the past. According to its rector Rashid Khunagov, the restoration of partnership between the two is important for Adygei, Chechnya and Russia as a whole. The agreement covers all areas of activity of the university and institute, including scientific cooperation and assisting the institute in training qualified lectures and professors. The best students of the institutes final course have the opportunity to continue their education at the University in Maikop next academic year. Students from Chechnya will get a chance to attend the summer methodological university traditionally held in a rest-camp in the Republic of Adygei. The Adygei University will supply the Chechen institute with books, textbooks and methodological literature. Its library has been instructed to prepare a list of books that will be presented to the institute. The two cooperate in sport and rest too. The rest homes of the university on the Black Sea coast are ready to receive students and staff of the teachers training institute. (in detail)

18 June 2002  Census in Chechnya is a step toward returning life to normal

Census in Chechnya is a step toward returning life to normal The consultative council of national autonomies under the Russian government discussed at its meeting in May national census in the light of realization of national policy conception. The census is of utmost importance since the last census was taken in another country and in the previous century. The forthcoming census will determine the countrys population and will answer the question how to build social and economic policy. According to Nationalities Affairs Minister Vladimir Zorin, residents in Chechnya who are interested in returning life to normal support census. Many residents of the Chechen republic are now living in many Russian cities and neighbouring republics. Almost all Chechen families have been affected by war. There is a need to know the real situation of each and every resident to build a national policy. Questions before the residents are democratic and information about them is anonymous. No one will check documents or registration. For the first time census will be taken about housekeeping rather than the family since many families in the Caucasus live together but have individual businesses. The appearance of new forms of property will be taken into account in taking census. The seventh question is about nationality and no one will be asked to present documentary evidence to confirm his or her answers. Each resident identifies his or her nationality himself or herself. Concerning the knowledge of languages, if a resident knows three Caucasian languages he can write under the next point. (in detail)

Chechen culture

Traditional Folk Arts
Chechen home and utensils
THE HISTORY OF CHECHEN HANDICRAFTS
It was not until the late 19th century that the Chechens started using other than wooden, brass and earthen tableware. Village artisans had polished their skills to perfection in making household utensils. Glazed crockery featured geometric or floral designs. Bowls were usually big. And the shape of a bowl depended on what they would put into it. A pitcher with a narrow neck contained melted butter. A pitcher with a wide neck was meant for milk and sour milk. The neck of a water pitcher was so narrow that only a child's fist could fit in. Water pitchers had big handles and wide circle-shaped bottoms: they would be carried on the shoulder from the river that could flow far enough from home or in a canyon. A special kind of earthenware held grain. Demand was high for the well-made Chechen pottery.Wooden tableware was made with a lathe. The hardest sorts of timber - oak and maple - went for tableware. Some household utensils were also made of wood: barrels, wheel spikes and other parts of wheelcarts. Cradles were made of wood in such a way as to enable a Chechen mother to strap it to her back and carry it out to the field. Its accommodating design and loyalty to the national tradition explain why some Chechen women still put their babies in such cradles. Other things made of wood: trays, mugs, spoons, churns - have also survived till nowadays. 19th century brass washbowls, mugs, tubs and pots are still used by the Chechens. The Chechen home looks traditionally simple, if not ascetic. There was an absolute minimum of furniture: portable wooden beds and small tables. But household utensils that do credit to the village artisans adorned the rooms. There were things made of wood and brass, crockery and, in addition to all that, things made of wool and felt. Felt was indispensable. Chechens used it for mattresses, blankets and wall rugs and as insulation lining. Multicolor Chechen rugs are usually decorated with red and blue fringework. Felt capes offer good protection against bad weather and may be used instead of blankets. Making a felt cape was a time-consuming process and a woman's job. It took a Chechen woman 8 days to one month to make one felt cape. Chechen capes were quite thin and weighed next to nothing. They sold well all over the Northern Caucasus. Chechnya used to be the main cape production center of that region. Chechen broadcloth also won renown in the 19th century. Uniforms of government officials were made of it in central Russia. Lengths of broadcloth were made at a special weaving loom, soaked and braked in warm water, rolled out with a special roller and, finally, left in that same roller to dry. (in detail...) 

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