The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue 8 15.07.02 Chechen culture Education Higher education institutes in Chechnya Three institutes of higher education are functioning in the Chechen capital Grozny at the moment. The Chechen State University was until the late 80s one of the leading institutes in the North Caucasus. Founded in 1972 it had 9 faculties and 34 sub-departments with more than 60 Doctors and over 300 Candidates working there. The University had a solid scientific base, technical laboratories and a rich library. Every year it published collections of works on technical and humanitarian sciences and regularly held international, national and regional conferences and seminars. During the 1994-1996 military operations the Universitys wings were destroyed. But some time later classes resumed on the premises of a boarding-school in Olympiisky district in Grozny and went on until October 1999. In March 2000 the University resumed work again. Despite the difficult times and destruction it published several monographs and text-books and 300 scientific articles. 2 theses for the PHD degree and 7 for the Candidate degree were defended. Last academic year the Chechen University had 5 thousand students. The preparatory department was working full time. This year the majority of entrants chose to go to the finance and economics faculties and the English department of the faculty of languages and literature. Competition at entrance examinations at the faculties was stiff enough with 6 people contesting one seat. The Teachers Training Institute is the republics youngest, opened in 1981. 7 faculties humanitarian sciences, physics and mathematics, technology and economics, teachers training, natural sciences, physical training and correspondence offered training in 17 professions. Now that the main building needs restoration, classes are held in another one. 2325 students are now studying at 6 faculties and 248 teachers are working, of them 4 Doctors and 67 Candidates. Starting from the new academic year the institute is opening post-graduate courses for 16 seats. Grozny State Petrochemical Institute.Under a decree by the Council of Peoples Commissars of the Soviet Union on the 3rd of July 1929 the Oil Technical College in Grozny was reorganized as Petrochemical Institute with two faculties, mining and petrochemical. In the 50s the institute was among the countrys prestigious institutes of higher education. Students came to study there from various Soviet regions and foreign countries. It was no accident because prominent scholars worked at the institute. Among them are academicians M.D.Millionshikov whose name currently bears the institute, A.A.Dorodnitsin, and V.A.Selsky. There were many Doctors of Philosophy and Professors among the staff. There were 8 faculties by 1989 and students graduated under 16 specialties. And more than 5 000 students studied in full-time, evening and correspondence courses. Though the institute was damaged in fighting the staff remains. Among them are Professors T.D.Dakhkilgov, M.M.Magomatov, S.M.Dibiev and I.A.Bashirov. The Institute is reviving owing to the staffs efforts. Now it has five faculties, oil technology, building construction, petrochemical, automation and information technology and geological and mining. At present about 3 000 students are studying in full-time courses. At the admission examinations this year four young people competed for one place. More than 50 000 have graduated from the institute in the past 70 years. Among them are academicians of the Soviet and Russian Academies of Sciences, Soviet and Russian Ministers, Heroes of the Soviet Union and State Prize winners. (more about chechen culture... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=cultureeng) Famous Chechens Sportsmen Wrestler Brothers Triumphing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, freestyle wrestler Buivasar Saitiyev became the first Chechen athlete ever to win Olympic gold. Four years later his younger brother, Adam Saitiyev, did the same in Sydney, Australia. The Saitiyev brothers did not take long to grow up. When their father died in a car accident, Buivasar was only 13 and Adam two years his junior. Besides them, their mother had four other kids to bring up, two boys and two girls. Shortly after finishing high school at age 17, Buivasar left his hometown of Khasavyurt for the faraway city of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia whose freestyle wrestling school is one of the best in Russia. Adam followed suit two years after and his coach Viktor Alexeyev still remembers how small he was, weighing only 56 kilograms. In Krasnoyarsk, Adam started gaining weight putting on 10 kilos each year. As a result he established a one of a kind record becoming a three times national champion each time in different weight categories of 69, 76 and 85 kilograms. His elder brother was in the 76 kilogram category which was one of the most problematic for our freestylers. Indeed, before Buivasar, there was not a single Soviet or Russia wrestler who had ever won in this category! In 1995 Buivasar Saitiyev easily won a junior world championships securing himself a slot in the adult national squad. In the very first bout with the contests main hopeful, Rodriguez, Buivasar made easy work of the formidable Cuban posting a 10:0 win which left him with an injured knee. Subsisting on injections, he still made it into the finals, but just as his doctor was making yet another shot of anesthetic before the decisive meet with defending world champion Lyaipold of Germany, the syringe missed the joint hitting the bone. The pain was so excruciating that Buivasar blacked out only coming to five minutes before kickoff. And won allaying whatever doubts anyone still had about sending or not sending him to the Atlanta Olympics. In Atlanta, Buivasar won hands down and, surprisingly, was a bit disappointed by his easy win. Id been bracing up for a real fight, he recalls, but I all came so nice and easy Buivasar Saitiyev was the first freestyle wrestler in modern history to win Olympics at 21. Adam Saitiyevs world debut came in 1999 and, just like his brother before him, he became a world champ in that very same weight category of up to 76 kilograms. During the Sydney Olympics 2000 he crowned a four-bout victorious streak with a clear win in the finals over Cubas Romero a feat no other finalist could second The Saitiyev brothers are consciously performing under the Russian flag wherever they fight in the world. They have more than once been approached with lucrative offers to give up their Russian citizenship but each time the answer was qa resounding no. I like my life and Im not going to change anything, Buivasar says Even though there are problems, not in sports, but in everyday life My mothers relatives live inChechnya and my fathers in Dagestan After the Sydney Olympics the Saitiyev brothers had a meeting with Akhmad Kadyrov and, despite all their victories, they will be wrestling on meaning there will be more victories to come their way. As to their biggest dream of simultaneously winning Olympic this is something they are going to try real hard to do in Athens two years from now (more about famous chechens... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=famouseng) Chechen cuisine Delicacies Adzhabsanda 500g meat, 150g fat of sheeps tail, 500g potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and onions, 2 sweet peppers, 100g garlic, 1 bunch fresh coriander leaves. Salt and pepper to taste. Adzhabsanda is prepared on steam. For that take two pans one big and the other smaller. Cut potatoes into cubes and carrots into fine threads and put the potatoes and carrots on the bottom of the smaller pan. Top with sliced tomatoes, onions, cloves of garlic. And top that with pieces of fat of sheeps tail and meat. The ingredients should be put in such a way that would lie 3 or 4 centimeters below the brim, otherwise the sauce that forms during the boiling might flow out. Put a bit of salt and ground pepper between the layers. You can also add cut fresh coriander leaves and sweet pepper. After that put the smaller pan with the food into the bigger one, pour water into the bigger one and put it on fire. Close the bigger vessel with lid tightly so that the steam will not go out. As the water will be boiling away, add more. You might fail to prepare the dish if the bigger pan runs out of water or if it is not closed tightly with a lid and the steam goes out. Preparation of the dish takes about 1.5 or 2 hours. The longer you boil it (for example, 5 or 6 hours), the tastier it gets. Serve in plates or drinking bowls. (more about cuisine... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=kitcheneng) Chechen diary 15 July 2002 Chechengazprom Company plays a key role in bringing the situation in Chechnya to normal The general director of the Chechengazprom Company Said-Amin Umaev says that the republics energy sector is of utmost importance. The company received the federal status in November 2000 and has been under the Russian Energy Ministry. According to S-A. Umaev, the restoration of economic infrastructure, government institutions and peace starts with Chechnyas energy area, especially gas sector. The Chechen economy is mainly consist of mainly cottage industries and various criminal structures. And the government is represented by army and law enforcement agencies. This is abnormal and incorrect. But the number of servicemen and the security service agents can be reduces only when the economy works and industry starts to function. Economic must force out war. The offices of the companies Chechengazprom and Chechenenergo still stand among ruins left by the war but they are forerunners of peace. According to Umaev, the Chechengazprom Company has made significant progress owing to the support by the Russian Fuel and Energy Ministry and state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom. The Chechen Company could start the restoration of technological infrastructure and production quickly after establishing business ties with the Gazprom. S-A. Umaev emphasizes that the Chechen authorities also do there best develop the gas industry. He said that the staff of the company consisted of professionals and highly devoted people has rendered great service in achieving progress. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 15 July 2002 Stavropol region helps a kindergarten in Chechnya Efforts to help Chechen children are on track throughout all regions of Russia. One of such efforts has been launched in Stavropol region by the regional interior department and the Stavropol pravda newspaper. The papers reporters have repeatedly visited hot spots of the North Caucasus, such as Chechnya while Stavropol interior troops are permanently deployed in the Naur district of the Chechen Republic. They know first-hand the hard way of Chechen children who lack human care and have to roam the streets, scrounging for food. Late last month, Stavropol activists launched a program aimed at restoring Chechen kindergartens. The program focuses on the Solnyshko kindergarten in the settlement of Novotersk in the Naur district. The kindergarten was abandoned for more than a decade. Local residents did not go there because they were afraid of mines. The playground was ruined. District administration lacked funds for the repair-work. The first step was made by Stavropol interior troops. They cleared the area of mines and repaired the building and the playground. Locals followed the lead by applying for acception of their children to the kindergarten. There are more than 70 such applications now. The Stavropol Pravda, for its part, called on the residents of Stavropool region and kindergartens sraff in particular to raise books, albums, toys, and sports kit needed for Chechen children. Pensioners and the young are also doing their bit. Children are sending cards to their Chechen peers. The first truck with what had been raised left Stavropol for Chechnya late last month. People in Stavropol hope that when Solnyshko kindergarten opens after summer break-up on Sept. 1 everything will be ready to welcome its first pupils. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 13 July 2002 The Russian Education Ministry attaches great attention to problems of the Chechen youth The former head of the security service in the Dudaev regime Abu Arsanukaev has applied for amnesty. He personally made this appeal to the head of the Chechen administration Akhmad Kadyrov. In his letter he insists that he committed no crimes and has nothing to do with the activity of illegal militant groups. In 1999 Maskhadov appointed him as deputy prosecutor-general of Ichkeria, Chechnya. During the Dudaev rule Arsanukaev considered the most influential person and close associate of General Dudaev. He involved in fighting against Russian forces during the first Chechen campaign. But when the anti-terrorist campaign started he left the republic. Arsanukaevs has made an unprecedented move. Meanwhile, several militant groups have lately surrendered weapons. All this show that a growing trend that more and more separatist start to understand the present day reality. According to a surrendered militant, separatists had the choice either to return to peaceful life or become a real culprit. Common sense is getting upper hand. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Religion in Chechnya Kunta-Khadzhi Kishiev the Chechen Mahatma Gandhi The nature of Kunta-Khadzhis teachings is best reflected in his sermons and instructions that were collected from accounts by murids of the Kunta-Khadzhi fraternity. The most serious of works about the life of Kunta-Khadzhi is a book by philosopher Vakhit Akaev, which is called Sheikh Kunta-Khadzhi. Life and Teaching and which came out in Grozny in 1994. The author writes: Islam that got established in Daghestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia is of specific nature, which formed under the influence of Sufism. The Sufi Order facilitated dissemination and strengthening of Islam in the North Caucasus. It got stronger in Daghestan in the 19th century, when many representatives of official Islam stopped following the Koran and Sharia and began to encroach on the rights of the poor in favour of the ruling classes. That prompted Imam Gazi-Muhammad to declare gazavat or holy war on the ruling clique of mountaineers and expansionist policy of tsarism in the North Caucasus. The Kadiri tarikat, a social movement and religious concept, known in the North Caucasus as Zikrism, emerged at the end of the Caucasian war and at the initial stage its ideology differed radically from the concept of holy war. The founder of Zikrism Sheikh Kunta-Khadzhi, a native of the Chechen village of Ilskhan-Yurt, appeared on Chechnyas political scene at a time when people, weary of continuous war with the tsarist regime, needed peace. Kunta-Khadzhis sermons calling for peace, brotherhood and support for the poor and orphans found a response among the people, driven to the point of physical extermination. Central in his sermons were the ideas of non-resistance to evil with violence, renunciation of military actions against the tsarist regime, which outnumbered mountaineers in military might, and appeals for submission. Kunta-Khadzhi was fully aware of the fact that irreconcilable resistance to the tzarist regime might result in a complete of annihilation of Chechens. It was that very circumstance that made Kunta-Khadzhi appeal to the idea of ending the bloodshed and returning to peaceful life. Zikrism ideology ran counter to the concept of holy war, or gazavat, which called for continuing the struggle till final victory. Shamil pursued Kunta-Khadzhi for his anti-gazavat ideas. The historical dispute between Shamil and Kunta-Khadzhi ended in a crush of the mountaineers centuries-old resistance to the immeasurably strong conqueror. Shamil, who had brought about the concept of gazavat or holy war, became a guest of honour of the Russian tsar and spent the rest of his life in Mecca. Kunta-Khadzhi, an advocate of submission, peace, good will and justice, was arrested with the consent of Tsar Alexander II in winter in 1864 and experienced in full what it was like to be an ordinary criminal in the jails of Novocherkassk and Ustyuzhino. St.Kunta-Khadzhi was tortured by loneliness, hunger and cold. The sheikhs letters, which never reached his family, testify to severe trials all of which he stood humbly and with dignity. In the above work Vakhid Akaev writes: Born into a poor Chechen family, on a territory conquered by the Russian Empire, he did all he could to establish spiritual brotherhood and social justice and put his whole heart into the cause. Success in combating social evil, as he saw it, could come not from the use of force, but from moral purification, elevation and mutual support among the mountaineers, the eternal search for God. The sheikhs ascetic lifestyle, his profound piety and desire to alleviate peoples sufferings drew Chechens that had suffered most in the war to his side. As for the attitude of tsarist dignitaries and the tsar himself, it was different from that to Shamil Unlike Shamil Kunta-Khadzhi was not a warrior and did not perform any feats of arms. He is a peace-maker, a saint and his deeds lie in the spiritual sphere. He recognizes one power the power of God. Hence there could be no leniency towards Kunta-Khadzhi on the part of rich and mighty. For the tsarist regime people with Kunta-Khadzhis outlook were much more dangerous than Shamil. The tsarist authorities looked on Kunta-Khadzhi as a fanatic, criminal and trouble-maker inciting people to serving God, and not the ruling classes. Hence official tsarist documents classed him as a political criminal, a fanatic, for he was seeking a righteous society calling for justice and life according to the laws of conscience and suffered to the point of self-torture feeling so keenly about peoples sins. Followers of Kunta-Khadzhi have never acknowledged his death in a belief that he went into hiding and will make a come-back, thereby recognizing him as Mahdi (the last Messiah, successor of prophet Muhammad, God bless Him). Even in the most tragic times for Chechen people Sheikh Kunta-Khadzhi relentlessly called for mutual assistance and charity. In India he would undoubtedly have been given the name of Mahatma or Teacher, and in Chechnya he is known as Evliya, which means Saint. He is not just a saint, but a saint, who suffered for new philosophy, new outlook. One is tempted to throw a bridge across the spiritual world of Kunta-Khadzhi to that of Leo Tolstoi to Mahatma Gandhi .People of different religions Chechen Kunta-Khadzhi, Russian Leo Tolsoi, Hindu Mahatma Gandhi all urged the humanity to be kind, compassionate, modest and generous. As for Kunta-Khadzhi himself, a preacher, who called for renunciation of mundane life and non-resistance to evil with violence, he was sent to life exile to the town of Ustyuzhno in the Novgorod province. He died there on May 19th,1867. Significantly, in the early 20th century printing-houses in Daghestan published collections of sayings by the Chechen saint that had been put together by his followers. The teaching of Kunta-Khadzhi Kishiev If you want to love Allah love justice.Wish your neighbour what you wish yourself.Never try to be richer, higher or stronger than others.Share with the poor everything God has sent you.Beware of the envious. Let them envy your knowledge, fairness and generosity.Pray to Allah that nothing earned with someone elses blood and sweat would get attached to you. This is an insurmountable obstacle towards tarikat. A war is preposterous. Distance yourselves from anything reminiscent of war, if the enemy has not come to take your faith and honour from you. Your power lies in your intelligence, patience and justice. The enemy will never stand up to this force and admit defeat sooner or later. No one can overpower you or your truth if you follow your faith with devotion. The Almighty wants murids to spend their time doing good, that is, repair roads and bridges, clean up springs, grow trees along the roads and build mosques.A murid has to visit bed-ridden people, show interest in the needs of the elderly, the orphans and all feeble and sickly and do all he can to help them. A murid has to do other things that God might approve of, such as reconcile spouses that have fallen out, return mothers to their children and restore families. Never respond to evil with evil, for it causes more evil. Any evil is against God. God alone has the power to punish the villains and pardon the benefactors. You will defeat the villains and violent by rejecting them, perfecting your souls and your Order. The clearer and more righteous the way you follow, the more difficult you will make it for villains and tyrants. They will succumb to the power of your truth, for they will feel that the Almighty is on your side. They will be defeated by God and your tarikat. Time is working for you, for it is working for justice. Dont carry weapons. Stay away from them. Weapons remind you of violence and take you off your path to God. The power of weapons is nothing as compared to the power of human beings that follow the path of God. Any weapons testify to lack of confidence that the Almighty will come to your rescue at the right moment. Besides, Eblis constantly sends your hand groping for the dagger or gun. You are becoming a victim of Eblis. Be hard-working. Dont shrink from the most difficult of work. He who doesnt earn his living lives at the expense of others. This is a sin, which equals to stealing. Learn to value and feel deep respect for every bread crumb, for this crumb is enough to feed a bird and an ant. You will save a soul made by God and none but Him is capable of creating even the smallest of being.Love the world created by its Great Maker and do all you can to preserve it. Refrain from excesses, for excesses, unlike needs, know no limits. It is a shame and a sin to wish what others havent got, to wish to stand out from others for luxury, smart clothes or a larger place to live in. It is a shame and a sin to have a lot of cattle and not to share them with those starving. It is a shame and a sin to change clothes every day and go by looking loftily on those wearing threadbare clothes for a long time.It is a shame and a sin to stand near a barefooted in expensive and stylish footwear.It is a shame and a sin to try to stand out from others for a high and costly hat. Excessive food, sleep, clothes and living quarters do not bring us closer but keep us away from Allah.Every Muslim is beautiful for his moderation and modesty.Moderation and modesty are the keys opening the gate to God. Dont long for earthly honours. Earthly honours are illusions. Be happy and proud that you are equal among equals. If you discover you know more or have more, be quick to give it away, for otherwise it will be lost. What you have given away will come back, become a witness on Dooms Day. (in detail... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=religioneng&row=3) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chechen ethnos The Tatar-Mongo invasion During the Tatar invasion the Alania kingdom in the western part of Chechnya was devastated completely by hordes of two Genghiz Khans warlords Dzhebe and Subedei, who had moved into the territory from Derbent, and the population of Chechnyas plains found themselves vulnerable to the nomads. Tatars spared no one. The civilian population was either killed or made into slaves. Livestock and property were plundered. Hundreds of villages and settlements were reduced to ashes. Another blow against the foothills of the Caucasus came from Batys hordes in 1238-1240. In those years Tatar hordes rolled through the countries of Eastern Europe causing widespread destruction. Chechnya too had its share of the lot. Economically, politically, sociallly and spiritually the people of Chechnya were thrown centuries back. The Chechens of the plains managed to escape to the mountains. Fully aware of the fact that a Tatar invasion of the mountains would mean complete annihilation or assimilation, Vainakhs put up fierce and heroic resistance. Due to the fact that the part of Nakhs retreated high into the mountains, the people managed to preserve their language, customs and culture and evade the otherwise inevitable assimilation by numerous steppe tribes. The legend of how their ancestors fought unequal battle to preserve the nations independence and culture has been passed on from generation to generation of Chechens. (more about ethnos... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=etneng) Copyright CHECHNYA FREE.RU http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=news.media.chechnyafree http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com