"Daimokhk"- Fatherland The Chechen-Ingush Cultural Society Daimokhk was first set up and registered in Moscow in December 1989. In autumn 1993 the Societys Council introduced some changes in the composition and structure of its bodies and took a decision in principal that Daimokhk is not a political but cultural, educational, human rights, research and charitable international public organization of descendants from the Chechen-Ingush republic living in Moscow. The Societys goal is to preserve, study and promote the Vainakh language, literature, history and culture. On February 14th, 1995, acting under the new Russian legislation Moscows Justice Department re-registered Daimokhk as a regional public organization and in July 1996 on instructions from Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov the Society was granted premises on lease. Daimokhk exists due to funds from fellow Chechen and Ingush sponsors. On certain programs financial support comes from the Moscow government. Daimokhks political neutrality can be seen on its official symbols too. The Societys emblem depicts the timeless values of Vainakh culture: an open book, dechik-pondur ( an old folk music instrument), a medieval stone tower (one of the masterpieces by medieval architects) and naturally, the snowcaps of the Caucasian mountains a picturesque image of the Motherland. The Daimokhk Society is headed by the Council, which is now chaired by Abuezid Maudievich Apaev. The Societys work is carried out in the following directions: Education. A Chechen extracurricular education centre has been functioning at the Daimokhk Society in Moscow since September 1993. At present about 60 boys and girls at the ages between 6 and 16 years study there. Even elderly people attend some classes. The school is functioning only on Sundays. Chechen children from all corners of Moscow attend the school. Experienced teachers of Chechen decent work there. Dr. Liliya Utsieva who graduated from the Grozny Teachers Training Institute teaches Chechen language and literature. Ethics is being taught by two teachers, Islam Elsanov who graduated from the Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow in the lower classes and Musa Dudaev, peoples Artist of Russia, in the upper classes. A graduate from the Moscow University of Culture and Arts Abdulla Bakhaev is conducting the Choreography class. The teachers themselves draw the education programmes for children. They stage with the pupils fragments of plays by Chechen authors and hold meetings with arts and cultural workers of Chechnya. The school marks all national holidays too. According to the chairman of the cultural centre Daimokhk Abuezid Apaev, many talented children in arts, music, dance and singing study in the school. They will definitely become cultural activists of Chechnya in the future. Some of them have already brought honour to the school. For one, its student Viseita Kubiev won the national competition of ballroom dances early this year. As of September 2001 another three schools of the type are to open in Moscow. In addition, the Daimokhk Council is planning to open a Caucasian High School.The Societys educational projects get support of the Moscow City Hall. Children of Chechen refugees who have no registration in Moscow have been allowed to continue their studies at Moscow schools. At the present more than 400 children from Chechnya get education at Moscow schools and more than fifty go to Moscow day-care centers. Health protection. Many medical workers from Chechnya are members of Daimokhk. Among them are all sorts of experts who regularly consult those in need of medical assistance. The Moscow City Hall has satisfied a request from Daimokhk Society to give free medical aid to people from Chechnya. Since August 1995 medical centers of the Moscow Health Committee provide free diagnostics, consultations and hospital treatment for those who come for it. Several thousand Chechens have received medical help in the past few years. Working with the Society is physician Uspanova Satsita Akhyanovna, who diagnose the patients and writes medical statements and requests to the Moscow Health Committee. She also arranges for Chechen children to receive treatment at out-patients clinics near where they live in Moscow. Charity. Beginning from 1995, members of Daimokhk have frequently taken part in purchasing, delivering and distributing humanitarian cargoes and medicaments for Chechen people. The Society has also been helping refugees and sick people arriving in Moscow. Everybody who comes to the Society for help of advice can have papers copied him and certificates printed for free. Cultural and educational activity. Members of the Society regularly get together to mark national and Muslim holidays. For students and young people and for school students and their parents it organizes monthly folklore dance and music parties. Daimokhk regularly holds meetings with famous fellow countrymen, conferences and gatherings devoted to memorable dates in history. (more from "Ethnic chechens beyond the border of Chechnya: culture ahd life" ...)

Yavus Akhmadov
Famous historian Akhmadov Yavus Zaindievich was born in Semipalatinskaya district of the Kazakh Soviet Republic in 1949. He started school education in the city of Jambul and continued when he returned to his homeland, the village of Goity in Urus-Martan District in the Checheno-Ingush autonomous republic. He graduated from the historical faculty of the Checheno-Ingush State Teachers Training Institute in 1970. He started his carrier as a history teacher at a school in Goity. A year later he was invited to work in the local lore museum of the autonomous republic. Later he started postgraduate studies at the Institute of History, Archeology and Language of the Dagestan branch of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Makhachkala while working in the museum. He defended his thesis on the topic: Relation between the peoples of Checheno-Ingushetia and Russia in the 18th century in 1978. He continued his research work at the scientific research institute of history, language and literature in the autonomous republic in the seventies. During his 12-year work at the institute he published scores of articles, the first volume of The History of Chechnya , a collection of documents on Russian-Chechen relations in the 18th century and two school textbooks The History of Checheno-Ingushetia. In 1990 Yavus Akhmadov defended his doctorate thesis in Rostov-on-Don on People of the North Caucasus in the foreign policy of Russia, Iran and Ottoman Empire between 16th century and the first quarter of the 18th century. Since then he has been working in the Checheno-Ingush State University as a Professor. He was elected as an academician of Academy of Sciences of Chechen Republic in 2001. Yavus Akhmadov has published more than 70 works, including 7 monographs and textbooks. Several works have been published in the Commonwealth of Independent States, Turkey and the United States. Yavus Akhmadov took part in several Soviet, Russian and international conferences. He is also a famous statesman. He was the Minister of Information and Press in the Chechen republic between 1994 and 96. He has headed the regional department of the Russian Press Ministry in the Chechen republic since early 2000. (more about famous chechens...)

Ethnogenesis of contemporary Chechens
The aborigines who for centuries had inhabited the northern slopes of the Central Area of the Main Caucasus Range and the steppe lands stretching out all the way to the lower reaches of the Volga River in the north and the Caspian Sea in the West have naturally left a trace in the lineage of the modern-day Chechens and Ingushis. Traces have been found near lake Kezenoi Am in Chechnyas Vedeno district of people who lived there about 40,000 years ago. Which means that contemporary Chechens, Ingushis and Tsova-Tushins stem from the founders of the ancient civilization of Asia Minor and the Trans-Caucasus. And that the place where they now live once served as an abode for the most ancient people offering a motley mix of material and spiritual cultures. The Cyclopean structures made of huge boulders, ancient burial mounds overlooking the Chechen plains and the wonderful medieval turrets whose elegant outlines still boggle the mind, all bear witness to the tragic and heroic history of the neo-Nakhs living in the North Caucasus region. How did the Vainakhs distant forerunners manage to cross the Main Caucasus Range and settle in its northern flatlands? There are many sources shedding light on this, the most reliable being the Kartlis Tskhovreba (The History of Georgia) a collection of Georgian chronicles believed to be written by Leonty Mroveli. The chronicles mention the role the Dzurdzuks played in Trans-Caucasian history of the first millennium B.C. Most of these chronicles apparently date back to the ebbing years of the first millennium B.C. that is after the campaigns of Alexander the Great. The legend-like narrative which, even though combines different epochs, still makes it almost perfectly clear that the distant forefathers of the modern-day Vainakhs used to play a very prominent political role throughout the Trans-Caucasus and North Caucasus regions. According to the Georgian chronicles, Dzurdzuk was Caucasos most famous and powerful son. It was the Dzurdzuks that Georgias first king Farnavaz asked for help at the dawn of the new millennium in his effort to consolidate his reign against his ever-feuding vassals. His marriage to a Dzurdzuk woman cemented the Iberians and Kartvelians newly-acquired alliance with the Dzurdzuks. It was the Dzurdzuks, the most populous and powerful ethnic group living in what is now Georgia, the Kartlis Tskhovreba maintains, who reinstated King Farnavaz many times after he had been dethroned by his mutinous vassals. In Urartu, the local eastern Hurrite tribes living on the shores of Lake Urmiya, were then known as Matiens. In early medieval Armenian geography the precursors of Chechens and Ingushis were known as Nakhchmateans, whom the contemporary Nakhs have directly descended from. Moreover, the shores of Lake Urmiya were home to the town of Durdukka, which eventually gave its name to the Nakh tribes who later migrated from there to the Trans-Caucasus. They began to be called Dzurduks (Durduks). Which means that the Matiens, Nakhchmateans and Dzurdzuks are actually Nakhs who for centuries maintained their genetic code, ethnic image, traditions, culture and lifestyle. There were other tribes and communities which served as a historical and ethnic bridge between the ancient Hurrite-Urartu world and the Vainakhs living in the Central Caucasus region. The Urarteans were only partially assimilated by Armenians and for centuries lived independently both in the Central Caucasus region and along the Black Sea coast. Some of the Urartean tribes eventually blended with the dominating ethnic groups while others, like the present-day Chechens, Ingushis, Tsovatushins and other ethnic groups, held on to their roots and to this very day have retained their ethnic uniqueness. Experts believe that its hard to deny the fact that the Urarteans migrated northwards following the breakup of their state. Otherwise it would be impossible to explain why the Vainakh language is genetically related to the Hurrite-Urartean language since they simply couldnt simultaneously emerge in Asia Minor and the North Caucasus. Languages cannot move around on their own, can they? Little known, yet abounding in true facts, the history of the Nakh people living in the periods between the Hurrite-Urartean kingdoms in the Near East and the new Nakh states emerging during the Tatar-Mongol conquest all attest to the fact that the Nakhs actually spawned completely new ethnic groups in the Central Caucasus. Some experts believe that the Khevsurs, Dvals, Svans, Tushins, Udins and other tribes and ethnic groups all descended from the Nakh people. Historian Vakhushti (1696-1770) also maintained that even the Kakhetians saw the Dzurdzuks, Gligvs and Kists as their ethnic brethren, adding that they have been unaware of this ever since they fell out. The Nakh tribes, the unions of tribes and also the kingdoms, located on both sides of the Caucasus range during the first half of the new era, were the Ers, Dzurdzuks, Kakhs, Ganakhs, Khalibs, Mekhelons, Khons, Tsanars, Tabals, Diaukhs, Myalkhs and Sods. The tribes were sometimes grouped together by experts as Dzurdzuks, Nakhchmateans and Kists. It would be a mistake, however, to surmise that the various Hurrite-Nakh and related tribes and communities settled in Central and East Trans-Caucasia only after the breakup of Urartu the Hurrites last and most powerful kingdom. Professor G.Melikishvili argues that the quick population of these lands (Trans-Caucasia), and their turning into an inalienable part of the empire was largely due to the fact that here the Urarteans had to deal with ethnically related population. And still, traces of Hurrite and Nakh residence in the Trans-Caucasus region, complete with concrete names and locations only date back to the period following the breakup of the Urartu kingdom. Maybe this is due to the lack of written records back in those distant days. However, the most ancient such source provided by Leonty Mroveli contains the following phrase dating back to the times of Alexander the Great (4th century B.C): After that (Alexanders invasion of Kartli) the Khaldean tribes returned and also settled here. It has been determined that the Urartu Ers one of the countrys biggest tribes are also part of the Hurrite and Nakh tribes. It appears that it was the Ers, probably the most powerful ethnic group in Urartu, who loom large behind such names as Erebuni (The home of Ers. Bun meaning home in Chechen.) and Eraskh (i) (the river of Ers). -Khi is a Hurrite-Nakh hydronym-forming suffix. The Hurrites called the river Tigris Arantsakhi, which translates as a lowland river. A river that once traversed a territory populated by the Black Sea Hurrites (Makhelons, Khalibs and others) is still called Chorokhi meaning an internal river or a countrys river. The ancient name of the Terek river is Lomekhi, which means a mountain creek, and the modern-day South Ossetians call the Liakhvi river Leuakhi, which in the Nakh language means a glacier river. (in detail...)

Issue 10
22.07.02

Chechen diary

22 July 2002  Chechnyas System of Education

The Russian government is ready to increase the number of places in universities, institutes and technical collages for Chechen youth. Minister of Education Vladimir Pilippov made this statement at the presentation of a report on Chechnyas education system, its current situation and prospects for its restoration. The report was prepared by the federal and republican ministries of education with the assistance of the UNESCO. Among the people who attended the presentation were head of the Chechen administration Akhmad Kadyrov, president of the Russian Academy of Education Nikolai Nikandrov, the representatives of UNESCO, deputies of the Lower and Upper Houses of the Russian parliament and cultural educational workers of Chechnya. Speaking at the presentation Chechen Minister of Education Lema Dadaev said that this year 12 000 young people completed 11 classes and about 16 000 pupils 9 classes. Among the pupils who completed secondary education are 140 gold medallists and 181 silver medallists. According to the minister, 196000 children and 18 000 study in schools and higher education establishments respectively. Chechnya has repaired 454 schools, 7 technical colleges, 12 professional technical colleges and 3 higher education establishments. Lema Dadaev said that the republic had done significant work in the past two years to give children education. All schools are well furnished and schools have 80% textbooks. Children get warm diets free of charge and nurseries and sport schools have modern equipment. For the first time in ten years teachers get their salaries regularly. This year they left for the summer vacation after getting allowances. Lema Dadaev emphasized that most pleasant thing is that the absolute majority of the teenagers has a desire to study and get good professions to spend normal lives. The task of the ministry is to give them an opportunity to realize their dreams. (more from Chechen diary)

21 July 2002  Abdul-Khakim Sultygov is Chechnyas new human rights envoy

A-Kh Sultygov is 40. He was born in Grozny and graduated from the Checheno-Ingush State University and joined the Plekhanov Economic Institute in Moscow for postgraduate studies. He has a doctorate in Economics. He headed the Institute of Humanitarian and Political Technologies in Moscow from 1998 to 2000. Before the new appointment he was the chief of staff of the State Duma s Chechnya affairs commission on a political settlement and human rights. In an interview with press Sultygov has noted that the special envoy must make his contribution to inform all residents who live in and outside Chechnya that the government knows their rights and does its best to honour them in full. And it is important that people who live in Chechnya knew that they are equally responsible before the law regardless their faith or nationality. Sultygov said that all people must understand the sacrifice made by Russian soldiers in Chechnya. He appealed to keep in mind the rights of Russian servicemen. At the same time like ordinary Chechens they must be equal before the law, he said. According to Sultygov, his first step is to study the situation in Chechnya by living there and establish contacts with people. Sultygov said that his predecessor Vladimir Kalamanov had done a lot and his service deserved praise. Sultygov considers that his duty is to strengthen this potential. Abdul-Khakim Sultygov emphasized that as the Russian Presidents envoy he would not substitute anybody in Chechnya where the power is shared and head of the administration, judges and prosecutors are working. He considers his appointment as another conformation of the Russian Presidents policy that the Chechen problem must be resolved by Chechens themselves. (more from Chechen diary)

20 July 2002  Consultative council under the head of the Chechen Administration marks its first anniversary

The consultative council under the head of the Chechen administration was set up in June a year ago. At present it has become an important element in the management of Chechnya. Its chairman Shaid Zhamaldaev says that the council was formed as a coordinator and link between the Chechen leadership and the society. The creation of the council was one of the points of Akhmad Kadyrovs programme designed to adjust the situation in Chechnya. This programme was adopted by the Russian President. The council includes most famous and respectable people in the republic and embraces representatives of public organizations, parties and movements, heads of districts and scientific, cultural and educational workers. Though the involvement in the council is a social work for them, they handle serious issues. The council makes attempts to attract all members of the Chechen society to bring the situation in Chechnya to normal and achieve peace. The council fulfills the function of a parliament when takes into account its task of preparing a draft constitution and a referendum to adopt it and holding elections after it. It discussed the five drafts of constitutions of Chechnya. Three of them were put forward by the famous public figures of Chechnya, Musa Doshukaev, Abdulla Bugaev and Bislan Gantamirov. Another two were presented by the election commission and a working group headed by the head of the Chechen administration Ahmad Kadyrov. A constitutional commission was to discuss the drafts in detail. Though they are almost similar commission chose the draft proposed by the head of the administration as the basis. This was supplemented by the provisions from the other drafts. The draft will be examined by a group of legal experts of the southern federal district and the Russian presidents staff. (more from Chechen diary)

Chechen traditions

Modern customs and traditions
Inside the family

Respect of elders. Every Chechen family, without a single exception, respects and cares about the elder generations of its members, in particular about the parents. Parents usually live together with one of their sons. A good daughter-in-law kicks off the day tidying up the in-laws' part of the house. Free from this, she may attend to other matters. The first thing the sons do when getting back home in the evening, is to go to see the parents, to talk and to share with them the day's joys and sorrows. It is not only their children but all other members of the family who take care of the old couple. Grandfathers are usually called "big fathers," and grandmothers, just "mothers," in Chechnya. Children may sometimes disobey their mothers. They will be forgiven for this. But it is absolutely inadmissible to disobey a grandfather, a grandmother or some other representative of the older generation of the family members or neighbors. Only an ill-mannered person will remain seated in the presence of elder people or will sit down without a repeated request from his seniors. It is inadmissible to drink alcohol in the presence of one's parents or any other older relatives. One should watch his manners and cannot raise his voice in a conversation with an older person. If the parents live separately from their sons, the children are especially attentive to them: the best food shall, for example, be given to the parents. It is an old tradition of the Chechen countryside that the parents live in a separate small house built for them by their children, right by the wall of the children's house. The children try to create the most comfortable conditions for the parents and meet all the requirements of the old age. Relations between family members. Most Chechen families are big. Several brothers usually live, together with their families, in the same village or even on the same plot of land. They observe the age-old rules of conduct in family relations. Conflicts and quarrels between their children or womenfolk are settled by the eldest male or female member of the family. If someone has hurt the feelings of her children, the mother of the family should make no complaint to her husband. She may, under the worst of the circumstances, appeal to either of the husband's relatives, but it is bad manners to pay attention to children's quarrels, grudges and tears. Chechen children know their uncle will be the first to meet a request or come to their aid. An uncle would rather tell his own offspring to leave him alone. But he will never leave unheeded a nephew's or a niece's request. The older members of a family feel responsible for the well-being of the younger generation. The younger generation feel responsible for the elders. The elders are responsible for the consolidation of family relations. The parents must do their best for accord and understanding in their sons' families. They must be very considerate to their daughters-in-law. The father-in-law must avoid hurting his daughters'-in-law feelings: they should not see him undressed and he may not drink alcoholic beverages when either of them is around. Family honor. The Chechens are accustomed to put the merits and shortcomings of an individual on the family bill. If someone has done wrong, the faces of his numerous relatives "will darken," and the whole family will go around with bowed heads. If someone has done well, people say that "nothing else could be expected from a member of that fine family," or that "the son of such a father could not behave in a different way." Children brought up in the spirit of the family tradition are competitive-oriented. They want to be "yakh," that is "better than anyone." Their elders insist that they should be "yakh, that they should under no circumstances be worse than their playmates." They should neither let others hurt a weaker being nor be the first to start a fight. (more about traditions...) 

Chechen history

The history of Russian-Chechen relations

The current conflict in Chechnya is largely rooted in the history of Russian-Chechen relations, which include six stages.
The first stage The first stage, which started in the middle of the 16th century and lasted until the end of the 17th century, was marked by a peaceful colonization of the region. That period is characterized by vassal-allied forms of relations between Moscow tsars and elders of Chechen communities. Moscow was trying to expand its influence in the region by political and economic means mainly. The policy was a success and Chechen communities voluntarily (by signing agreements) announced recognition of the supreme power of the Moscow state.
The second stage The second stage, which lasted almost throughout the 18th century, marks the beginning of Russia's open military expansion to the North Caucasus. Under Peter I and then Catherine II the doctrine of colonizing the mountain areas prevalent. Though in 1781 oaths of allegiance were officially registered the voluntary submission of Chechen communities bordering on Russian fortresses, the year 1785 marked the beginning of a powerful movement in Chechnya under the leadership of Sheikh Mansur. That was when Chechen people launched an armed struggle for freedom and independence. Sheikh Mansur was the first to make an attempt (still popular nowadays) to unite peoples of the North Caucasus into a single Islamic state. But he failed to do so. The anti-colonial movement started in Chechnya by highlanders spread to other regions of the North Caucasus. Taking part in the resistance were mainly the lower strata . As for the rich, at first they tried to use the peasants movement to consolidate their power in the mountain communities and restore freedom of choice in relations with Moscow. Soon afterwards, they got scared of the growing anti-feudal movement of Sheikh Mansur and in a number of cases even joined Russian troops to suppress the mutinous peasants. The first imam of North Caucasian highlanders fought tsarist troops for about six years, but suffered defeat. Sheikh Mansur was captured in 1791 and died in the Schlusselburg Fortress.
The third stage The third stage of Russian-Chechen relations falls on the first half of the 19th century. During General A.P.Yermolov's term as Commander of the Russian army in the Caucasus (1816-1827) military pressure intensifies as Russian troops continue to advance deep into Chechnya. Chechnya responds by stepping up its resistance movement, which, for more than 30 years, was headed by Beibulat Teimiev. Teimiev for the first time managed to unite most of Chechen communities. And he made an attempt to unite mountain people too by concluding an alliance between free Chechnya and feudal principalities of the North Caucasus. Beibulat Taimiev called for a peaceful solution to the conflict and wanted to avoid a big war with Russia. His treacherous murder led to the escalation of military operations.
The year 1828 became a turning-point in the Caucasian war. The struggle for independence waged by separate mountain communities in Chechnya and Daghestan entered a new phase. The muridism movement that started in Daghestan spread to the eastern areas of Chechnya. Imams Gazi-Magomed, Gamzat-Bek, Shamil and Tashov-Khadzhi headed "gazavat" - a holy war of Muslims against the infidels. In 1834 Imam Shamil succeeded in accomplishing what Sheik Mansur had started: to unite part of the North Caucasian highlanders in their struggle against tsarist Russia and set up a theocratic sharia state known as imamat that turned out capable enough to resist the world's strongest military power at the time for 27 years. In 1859 Shamil suffered defeat and became an honourary captive of Emperor Alexander II. He and his family were treated kindly by the tsar and they renounced the ideals of the Caucasian war. Chechnya found itself under tsarist military administration, and instead of autonomy in internal affairs as promised Chechens got a colonial regime with total violence and were driven to the foothills and mountain areas. In agreement with Turkey the tsarist regime began to deport Chechens to the Ottoman Empire. As a result, the tsarist authorities got rid of a considerable number of Chechens. Chechens responded with uprisings. The tsarist regime tried to resolve the problem by force, by exterminating, isolating and deporting the most active of the rebels. But the policy provoked new disturbances. A significant fact was that laws regulating the rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Empire did not spread on Chechens and Ingushes. Chechnya was ruled by the so-called "military-people's administration". Analyzing the reasons for the Caucasian war it has to be pointed out that it resulted from both the military expansion of the tsarist regime and the internal strife in the Caucasus, the struggle of the local elite for power and influence in the communities of the mountain people . The aggressive ethnic nationalism and religious extremism in Chechnya have always been opposed by pro-Russian forces supporting a secular democratic state and traditional Islam. Analyzing the Caucasian war, the history of Russian-Chechen relations, it is important to bear in mind the social and class nature of the movement of big ethnic groups. Meanwhile, ethnic movements, uprisings, revolutions and wars in the Caucasus of both the past and the present are caused, first of all, by social and economic reasons, backwardness and poverty of most of the population thrown at the mercy of the corrupt colonial administration and local bureaucracy. The whole experience of Russian-Caucasian relations testifies to a clash of interests of the elites that don't always coincide with national ones. The brightest example of that is the current "Chechen crisis". Undoubtedly, an element of inter-civilizational conflict is present in the confrontation between Russia and Chechnya but in our point of view, it is not a prevailing one. More than that, the ethnic factor has always been decisive in the Chechen resistance movement , which often acquired religious colouring. Preservation and development of the ethnic group has always taken the upper hand over religious wars. It would be good to remember that the mass consolidation of Chechen communities in the war against Russia and the invitation of Imam Shamil to Chechnya was not so much the result of the propaganda of ideas of "gazavat", as of General Grabbe's punitive operation in the small Chechen republic in 1840 and brutal reprisals against civilians. Violence and flagrant interference in their traditional way of life pushed the mountain people into war with Russia. Violence gave rise to violence. The same happened in the Chechen war of today. Launching large-scale military operations against civilians, Moscow provoked mass resistance to federal troops on the part of Chechens and aggressive separatism (nationalism). But even in that situation only part of Chechens participated in the armed struggle. Most people of Chechnya were against a war with Russia. More than that, some Chechen communities were fighting both against Imam Shamil and against Dudaev. Nevertheless, it was during the Caucasian war that the ideology of Chechen militant nationalism was born. This serves as a support for present-day separatists in Chechnya who reject Chechnya's union with democratic Russia, crossing peaceful constructive periods out of the history of Russian-Chechen relations. It should be borne in mind, however, that in the past war and Islam contributed a lot to the unification of Vainakh tribes laying the foundation for the formation of the Chechen nation and consolidating a considerable part of the population in their struggle against the tsarist policy of forced colonization.
The fourth stage The period when Chechnya was part of Russia (the second half of the 19th century) can be designated as the fourth stage in Russian-Chechen relations. During that period the tsarist regime pursues the policy of threats and bribery. Progressively-minded representatives of the tsarist administration begin to realize that violence will not resolve the problem of highlanders, and that what is needed is cultural work and modernization. In the 70s and 90s the police regime eases and a pro-Russian Chechen elite is formed. The first Russian schools for mountain people are set up and the region is gradually getting drawn into the economic system of Russian capitalism. In Grozny oil begins to be extracted and refined, a railway is being built, a national bourgeoisie and a Chechen nation is formed . It was then (during the rule of reformer Emperor Alexander II) that Chechnya brought forward its spiritual leaders : Kunta-Khadzhi, Solets-Khadzhi, Deni-Sheikh Arsanov, Bammat-Girei Mitaev, Ali Mitaev, Sugaip-Mulla and other advocates of the ideas of traditional for Chechnya Islam. The period was characterized by favourable conditions for a peaceful settlement of ethnic problems in the light of the liberalization of the Russian political system towards constitutional monarchy. The Chechen elite, despite repetitions of the policy of ethnocide against Chechens and Ingushes, tried to fit in with the Russian society thereby giving Chechen people a chance to reap the fruits of Russian culture. Significantly, Chechnya after joining Russia took an active part in almost all its wars. And that was in view of the fact that Chechens were exempt from army service. Chechen and Ingush volunteers, who took part in the Russian-Turkish (1877-1878), Russian-Japanese and Russian-German wars, won an everlasting glory. The Russian Emperor Nicholas II, assessing the performance of the Ingush and Chechen regiments during "the Brusilov breakthrough" on the Russian-German front in 1915 wrote in his telegram to the Governor-General of the Tersky region Fleisher: "The Ingush regiment pounced upon the German "Iron division" like an avalanche. It was immediately supported by the Chechen regiment. The Russian history, including the history of our Preobrazhensky regiment, does not know a single instance of a horse cavalry attacking an enemy force armed with heavy artillery: 4.5 thousand killed, 3.5 thousand taken prisoner, 2.5 thousand wounded. Less than in an hour and a half the "iron division" ceased to exist, the division that had aroused fear in the best armies of our allies. On behalf of me, the royal court and the whole of the Russian army send our best regards to fathers, mothers, sisters, wives and brides of those brave sons of the Caucasus whose heroism paved the way for the destruction of German hordes. Russia bows low to the heroes and will never forget them. I extend my fraternal greetings, Nicholas II, August 25th , 1915". The Chechen regiment was part of the so-called Wild Division that was formed on the initiative of the younger brother of the Russian Tsar Nicolas the Second Grand Duke Mikhail Aleksandrovich. During the first world war the Chechen regiment fought in the south-eastern front of the Russian army that was under the command of General Aleksei Brusilov. The Chechens displayed great heroism and bravery not only in the military operation that later became known as the Brusilov breakthrough of the Austro-German defencers but also in the battles in Galicica and the Carpathians, while crossing the Dniester and the Prut, and besides, in the battles not far from Polyanchik, Rybne, Tyshkovets, and Stanislavov, and also near the Lomnitse River, and, of course, in some other military operations. The Russian command praised highly the violent attacks of the Caucasian eagles from 40 to 150 officers and horsemen of the Chechen regiment got military orders, awards, medals, prized weapons, and promotion for their bravery in the battles. On the awards that were given to the non-Orthodox believers, the pictures of the Orthodox Saints, such as Saint George, Saint Vladimir, Saint Ann, and the like, were replaced by the Russian Empires State Emblem the double-headed eagle. In the early 20th century the tsarist regime resorts to force in relations with the mountain people . In response the Chechens vow to wage a guerrilla war and fight to death. During the three Russian revolutions Chechens come under the influence of Russian Social Democrats. Socialism becomes a competing with Islam ideology among part of intellectuals. By that time the Chechen intellectuals were aware of the existence of the Chechen nation. Chechen leaders (T.Elderkhanov, A.Sheripov, T.Chermoev etc.) underscored that the Chechen people had their national identity.
The fifth stage
The fifth stage, which covers the Soviet era, occupies a special place in Russia's relations with Chechnya. In the years of the revolutions and Civil War (from 1917 to 1925) Chechnya was in the power of anarchy. The national movement had split and failed to consolidate the society. It fell into three branches:
1) state nationalism oriented to the Soviets (the Communists);
2) democratic nationalism oriented to the highlander integration and the West;
3) radical nationalism oriented to Islam and Pan-Turkism;
During that period Chechens and Ingushes survived the revolution and counter-revolution, an ethnic war with Cossacks, genocide of the White and Red Armies and the unsuccessful attempts to create an independent state - a theocratic one (the emirate of Sheikh Uzun-khadzhi) or a secular one (the republic of mountaineers of 1918). Finally, the less affluent social groups among Chechens and Ingushes turned down their elites that called for an independent mountaineer state and opted in favour of Soviet power, which promised freedom, equality, land and statehood. But that was a gross error. The first measures taken by the Soviet power in Chechnya and Ingushetia showed that in reality the policy of the Communists had nothing to do with slogans they had used to involve landless mountain villagers into the struggle for a "better future".
Chechens put up resistance to the Stalin regime. Riots and uprisings grew into a guerrilla war. In retaliation for that in the 20s and 40s Vainakhs were subjected to permanent genocide which culminated in their mass deportation to Kazakhstan and Central Asia in 1944. The national elite, a genetically healthy part of the people, was eliminated in those years. Deportation resulted in the loss of nearly 40% of Chechens. After Stalin's death, during the "Khruschev" thaw, it was decided to restore the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. After 13 years in exile Vainakhs headed home. However, their return, like the republic's restoration, was a painful process. The political and territorial rehabilitation of Chechens and Ingushes never materialized. The political distrust in Chechens as people and professionals remained . Chechens, the indigenous population of the republic, remained second-rate people on their native land. The traditional culture and religion of Chechens and Ingushes were practically banned. Teaching in schools and institutes was conducted in Russian. Chechen was spoken at home only. The native tongue as a subject was taught in rural schools only, Vainakh literature was published in Russian mainly and the authorities pursued the policy of Russifying the indigenous people, thereby hampering the development of Chechen culture. In the 60s and 70s Chechen nationalism manifested itself in the form of numerous collective letters and addresses to the Central Committee of the Communist Party criticizing local authorities for their nationalities policy. Moscow reacted negatively and turned a blind eye to the persecution of those who signed the complaints. The period of ethnocide lasted 30 years. As a result, the psychological trauma inflicted on the Chechen people proved more destructive than the undisguised genocide of the Stalin era. When social dignity is taken away, national dignity spreads like a cancerous tumour. And this is exactly what happened in Chechnya. The process became especially visible during the disintegration of the Soviet Union, when modern Chechen ethnonationalism came into being.
The sixth stage
The Gorbachev perestroika, the collapse of the Soviet Union marked the sixth stage in Russian-Chechen relations that eventually led to a new Chechen war.
Conclusion
Hence the roots of the present-day national movement in Chechnya go deep into the centuries. The historical past of the Chechens shows that they have once again found themselves trapped by the unresolved problems of their tragic history. Among such problems,are, first of all, relations with Russia. Beginning from the 18th century relations between Russia and Chechnya can be described as permanent confrontation, which has degenerated into violent struggle once every 40-50 years. (In the past two centuries alone there have been 13 partial, 2 mass and one partial deportation of Chechens. The latest Chechen war started the 17th allegedly "voluntary" exodus of Chechens from the Chechen republic, but this time to other Russian regions. More than 700 thousand people have left the self-styled republic of Ichkeria). Military operations in Chechnya last from 6 to 25 years on the average and end in the suppression of Chechens with tremendous losses on both sides. A typical way of ending the conflict is to "freeze" it, that is, ending military operations and putting a damper on all-out war without settling the historical ethnic conflict between Russia and Chechnya. Hence one of the reasons for Chechen ethnonationalism is the unfulfilled idea of struggle for freedom and independence present in the minds of many generations of Chechens. Chechnya's social, economic and cultural backwardness is the result of problems of relations between Russia and Chechnya (their nature and level). Chechen ethnonationalism is, first of all, a cultural and historical problem. The 20th century saw a destruction of Chechnya's economy, its material and spiritual values , and culture as a whole once every 40-50 years. The first instance of that took place in 1917-25, the second in 1944-57 and the third in 1994-96. Naturally, all that told on the nature of Chechen nationalism. But the current conflict in Chechnya was not predetermined. It was provoked by those anti-Chechen and anti-Russian forces that are interested in permanent instability in the region. (more about history...) 

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