The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue 12 29.07.02 Chechen culture Medieval stone towers in Chechnya THE MEDIEVAL STONE TOWERS OF CHECHNYA The mountainous part of the Chechen Republic boasts stone buildings that tower over the terraced villages. These towers are seen as the highest achievement of Chechen architecture and may also be seen as a stone chronicle of Chechen history. Most of the towers were built in the period between the 14th and 18th centuries. Although each century left an imprint on their architecture, the towers share some characteristic features. The towers are cone-shaped and have no groundworks. Slabs of rock were placed in the square-shaped foundation, special cornerstones projected inside the tower and held up the tiers. Ladders were used for communication between the tiers. They were raised at night. There were three kinds of towers: residential, watch and fortification. Two or three storey residential towers had a flat roof and archways. Watch towers were built at the entrance to a canyon. Towers that served as fortifications had embrasures and were crowned with a terraced pyramidal roof. Their lower part was used as dwelling quarters. The stone towers and adjoining buildings were fenced off from the rest of the world, which turned them into fortresses. Scholars describe them as castle complexes. A glance at a castle complex reveals whether the man who lived in it was wealthy, what his trade was, and, sometimes, what his social status was. A slave set free by his owner was allowed to build a house and a stone tower on the condition that his tower remain unfurbished. The stone towers are centuries-old monuments to those who made them. Tall as they were, they stood firm, which proves that the Chechen masons were highly experienced engineers. Some of their stones are decorated with petroglyphs. Architects were highly respected people and highly paid professionals. They worked both at home and in the neighboring provinces of the Northern Caucasus because the residents of those provinces also appreciated their talents. (in detail... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=carchitectureeng&row=2) Famous Chechens Military men Movlid Visaitov A professional military man, Movlid Visaitov graduated from a cavalry school not long before the Second World War broke out and served near the border, not far from the Brest Fortress. In the first days of the war Visaitov was wounded but remained in the ranks. He participated in combat operations from the Terek to the Elbe, commanded the 255th Chechen-Ingush cavalry regiment and 28th guards regiment. As Visaitov was recommended for the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union, the list of his wartime services included cities and villages in the capture of which he had taken part, 600 enemy destroyed, 3500 enemy taken prisoner and thousands liberated from Nazi concentration camps Hence among Visaitovs awards are not only orders and medals of the Soviet Union, he got awards of Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and he got the American Legion of Honour, holders of which normally enjoy standing greetings from the US president and Senators. There was a special award too. (more about famous chechens... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=famouseng) Chechen ethnos Alaniya During the early Middle Ages the many tribes living in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains started forming a major union which they later called Alaniya. According to archeologists, linguists, anthropologists and other experts, the union embraced the Sarmat nomads and indigenous, mostly Nakh-speaking, groups, apparently the lowland Nakhs, which the Greek geographer Strabon dubbed as Gargareans, meaning "relatives" in the Nakh language. as relatives. The nomadic tribes of the steppes who were also part of the Alaniya union, adopted the Nakhs settled lifestyle and soon after they built a number of villages and fortified settlements along the rivers Terek and Sunzha. Travelers of the time said that the Alanian villages were nestled so closely to one another that the barking of dogs in one of them could easily be heard in a neighbouring one. Rising up around these villages were giant burial mounds, some of which are still there, just as the traces of fortified Alanian settlements like the Alkhan-Kala settlement in what is now the Grozny district on the left bank of the Sunzha river 16 kilometers west of the city. Experts believe the settlement was once home to the Alanian capital Magas (Maas), which in Vainakh means a Sun City. The eye-opening finds once unearthed during archeological excavations here have since been widely known in both the former Soviet Union and elsewhere in the world. (more about ethnos... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=etneng) Chechen diary 28 July 2002 Chechen wrestlers compete in Makhachkala Chechen sportsmen took part in the international unarmed combat wrestling competition for the Gusein Khaibulaev prize in the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala. Among the 117competitors were sportsmen form Nizhny Novgorod, Krasnodar, Dagestan, Adygeya, Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachaevo-Cherkessia and Azerbaijan. The prize fund of the tournament was 10 000 US dollars. The following sportsmen won the individual competitions: S. Alkhaov (Adygeya) in the 52 kilogram category, R. Kishmakhov (Krasnodar) 57 Kg, A. Nazaraliev (Azerbaijan) -62 Kg, M. Alekhanov (Dagestan) 68 Kg, A. Kostenko 74 Kg and A. Konovalov 82 Kg (both from Krsnodar), G. Gadzhimagomedov (Dagestan 90 Kg, M. Bryanov (Karachaevo-Cherkessia) 100 Kg, and M. Khasanov Adygeya) over 100 Kg. Unfortunately, none of the Chechen sportsmen qualified for the final matches. Hopefully they will compete successfully in the future. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 27 July 2002 The Russian government hands over federal property to Chechnya The Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov signed an order on the 15th of July to hand over federal property, including enterprises and buildings to the Chechen republic. This realizes Russian presidents decree on sharing of state property in Chechnya signed on the 26th of July last year. The list includes 48 facilities due to be handed over. Many of them are leading enterprises in the Chechen economy. Among them are Designing bureau of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Science, Railway transport department, Industrial and technical supply department, installation and building department, material and technical supply department and Metallist factory. The Russian Property Ministry and the Chechen administration will handle the process of hand over. But the Russian Ministries of Culture, Agriculture, Labour, Transport and Industry and Science and the state building department will directly involve in this. These ministries and departments are instructed to guarantee the hand over in accordance with the established order. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 26 July 2002 Children from Chechnyas Nadterechny District Vacationing at Russias Southern Spas Summer is at its peak, and a number of Russias regions host vacationing Chechen children. Despite the current situation aggravated by floods in Russias south, the Stavropol region and Kabardino-Balkaria welcome children from Nadterechny district of Chechnya. Several groups of schoolchildren, 530 boys and girls, have already returned home. Another two groups have gone to Yessentuki, where there are currently 210 Chechen schoolchildren. All of those who vacationed in Yessentuki were very pleased by the way their vacations in local summer camps were organised. Aside from Yessentuki, Nadterechny district schoolchildren spend their vacations in Pyatigorsk and Nalchik. It should be mentioned that due to bad weather, parents showed concern about their children. However, according to Anna Zakaeva, an officer at the Nadterechny district administration, there is steady communication with all the spas where the children take their rest. Information from the spas has it that they enjoy full-fledged rest. Another 1,000 schoolchildren will be able to take a rest at spas, summer camps and rest homes before the end of their vacations. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chechen traditions Modern customs and traditions Mutual aid and assistance The first thing a Chechen asks on meeting anyone is "How is your family? Are all of them safe and sound?" A well-mannered person will inquire, before taking leave, if there is "anything he could do to help." Mutual aid and assistance is rooted in the olden day. The hard living conditions made it imperative for the farmers to join forces. Villagers would tie up with one rope to be able to cut the grass on a steep mountain slope; it took a whole village to make a plot of land good for farming. If a calamity befell a family, everyone joined forces to repair the situation. Should a bread-winner die, all the villagers felt responsible for the bereaved family. Men would not sit down to eat until part of the food had been delivered to the family that had lost its bread-winner. An offer of aid and assistance was an integral part of every phrase of greeting that a young man might address to a representative of the older generation. If an elderly villager started doing something, the neighbors were expected to give him a hand. Often as not, it was the neighbors who completed the job. The tradition of reciprocal aid and assistance has taught the people to be responsive. The neighbors of an afflicted family hold the gates wide open to show that they share its grief. Should someone die, all the villagers will flock to its house to voice condolences and render moral assistance and, if necessary, material aid to his family. The relatives and neighbors take it upon themselves to foot all the funeral bills. A traveler will receive, on return to his home village, detailed information on all the recent developments. The first thing he does, on return home, is go to voice his condolences. Chechen wisdom says that "a neighbor next door is worth more than a relative far away from home," "death is preferable to life without human warmth," "people united are likened to an indestructible fortress." (more about traditions... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=traditionseng) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chechen history Researchers at State History Museum of the Russian Federation examine papers of Imam Shamil of Chechnya and Dagestan Imam Shamil (ruled in 1834-59 over a self-proclaimed imamate) led resistance to imperial Russia during some of the most crucial periods of the Great Caucasus War (1817-64). In 1936-37, Moscow's State History Museum dispatched researchers to the former war area who brought back 70 pieces of documentation from Shamil's Imamate. All are from the period between the 1830s and 60s. Twenty three were written by Shamil himself and carry his seal. Ten have instructions by Shamil on them. Thirty seven were entirely written by aids to Imam Shamil. Al these papers are now part of the Museum's collection. Most deal with stocking up on food for the resistance effort. Others contain proposals, considerations and instructions on fortification. The rest are about procuring or manufacturing arms. In some of them, Shamil outlined projects to mine iron ore, produce steel and make swords and guns. For lack of paper in his tiny impoverished Imamate, many of the papers -- even those with seals -- are quite small, often under 5 x 6 cm in size. Some are written on the back sides of earlier documents. In the late 1930s and in the 40s, Museum experts under the world-famous curator Anna Borisovna Zaaks carefully examined the Imamate papers and made them available for copying by museum workers from Chechnya and Dagestan. In November 2001, 19 more Shamil papers arrived, after being kept abroad for the period since shortly before World War One. Head of the Russian nobility and gentry in North America Duke A.P.Shcherbatov handed them to members of a Russian delegation under President Vladimir Putin when the Russian leader paid his latest visit to the United States. All are Shamil letters from the period between the Imam's capture in 1859 and his death in 1871. One, in Arabic, was written by Shamil himself. Three others were written by clerks but carry the signature of Imam Shamil. The remaining 15 are translations into Russian or, rarely, French of original Arabic-language letters by the captured theocratic ruler. The translation was the work of Russian military officers and diplomats of the Asia Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. In 1859-71, Shamil resided in Kaluga southwest of Moscow and sometimes visited Kiev and Kazan. The 19 letters from the period reflect his changeover from bitterly opposing Russia to seeking a constructive accommodation with it. In letters to Duke Alexander Baryatinski, who captured him in 1859, he calls his captor 'my friend' and 'my benefactor' and wishes him good health. In one, he congratulates Baryatinski on receiving a diamond-adorned sword from Emperor Alexander the Second 'for restoring law and order to the South Caucasus Province'. In a letter from 1968, Shamil asks someone whom he addresses 'Your Imperial Highness' -- most probably Crown Prince Alexander, subsequently Alexander the Third -- for help in obtaining a permission to perform a pilgrimage to Mecca: "Your Imperial Highness ! Being quite old, weak and frail, I fear I may pass away without making good on my religious obligation as a Moslem to visit the holy shrines of Mecca at least once in my lifetime. I therefore most humbly ask Your Imperial Highness to approach His Majesty for a permission for me to travel there. I would be immensely obliged to His Majesty if he allowed me to take my grown-up daughters with me for offering them as brides in a Moslem country. I am prepared to leave all my beloved sons in Russia." The Emperor granted the request. Shamil joined the annual Moslem Hadj in 1871 and died in March that year in Medina in what is now Saudi Arabia. His papers at State History Museum are under careful scrutiny and continue to attract great academic interest from far and wide. (more about history... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?section=historyeng&lng=eng) 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