Professional musicians of Chechnya
The modern school of professional music draws inspiration from the richest heritage of folk singing and musical tradition. Melodies, composed by unknown authors who lived a long time ago, are still loved by the people. But the 20th century left us a long list of folk musicians, creators of popular pieces of music.20th century creations are usually named after those who composed and played them. Music sheets exist thanks to professional musicians. The Bisirkhoyev family, Yusup Gadayev, Sesikat Dudayeva, Ibraghim Batayev, Baudin Suleimanov are the best known of the folk musicians. Highly talented accordeon player Magomayev composed the well known "Shamil's Prayer." One day, a legend says, Imam Shamil's forces were trapped. The situation was hopeless. But Shamil got an idea. At first he knelt in prayer, then gave orders to his musicians and, loath as he was of any kind of entertainment, started dancing. His fiery dancing aroused his men. And, in the midst of the dancing, Shamil gave orders for fighting. His men fought like lions and broke the circle of siege. "Shamil's Prayer" consists of two parts: the first is sad and slow-moving, the second makes you want to dance. Composer G.Kh.Melpurnov (1900-1957) did much for the development of professional music in Chechnya. It was on his initiative that a band of folk instruments was formed in 1936. The bandmen played the traditional dechik-pondur, harmonica, zurna, and percussion instruments, as well as the more modern balalaika counterbass and updated adkhoku-pondury. While collecting and polishing Chechen and Ingush folk tunes, G.Kh.Melpurnov produced his own arrangements and original pieces of music. The government-sponsored Philharmonic Society, which opened in 1939, many musical schools and the Chechen academy of music, which opened in 1936, also did much for the promotion of musical culture in Chechnya. Most Chechen composers - Umar Beksultanov, Adnan Shakhbulatov, Sunjan Tsugayev, Ramzan Paskayev and others - were educated in Moscow and St Petersburg. The composer and musicologist Said-Emi Dimaev authors many compositions in most different genres, including songs and romances, symphonic and chamber music, orchestral suites, music for the cinema and theatre, arrangements and variations based on traditional music. He has also written the oratorio " Time to Act ".
(in detail...)

Shamil Lakaev: Chechen karate hopeful
In May 2002, Shamil Lakaev won the European kiokushinkai karate Cup in Hungary in what has become his biggest success up to date. His previous track record stands out for bronze at the 2001 European championship. 23-year-old S. Lakaev was born in Gudermes. He has been into karate for five years. His coach is Lechi Kurbanov, also from Gudermes, who is still successfuly participating in Russian and international tournaments. Back in his home town S. Lakaev coached boys from 7 to 12 years old. Now he is living and training in Moscow along with a group of other Chechen fighters sponsored by famous Chechen politician and businessman Malik Saidulaev. Welterweight Lakaev features on the undernational Russian karate team.
(more about famous chechens...)

Medieval Nakh tribes and kingdoms
The Chechens and Ingushis of the first half of the first millennium A.D. who lived on the northern slopes of the Caucasian Mountain Range were known as nakhchmatians, kists, durdzuks, gligvs, melkhs, khamekits, sadiks. One can still come across Sadoi, Khamkhoev and Melkh tribes and family dynasties in the mountains of Chechnya and Ingushetia. One and a half thousand years ago the people of Chechnya and Ingushetia who lived in areas bordering on Georgia and in Georgia itself professed Christianity. To this day one can see ruins of Christian churches in the mountains. Nearly the whole of the Thaba-Erda Church near Targim village in the Assinovsky gorge has survived. Experts say the church was built in the Early Middle Ages.The same period was marked by intensive ties between the mountaineers and the neighbouring and remote developed countries. Research carried out by the Abkhazian scientist Guram Gumba proves that the Myalkh Emperor Adermakh was married to a daughter of the Bospor tsar from the northern part of the Black Sea. Ties with Byzantium and Khazaria were as intensive. Chechens and Ingushes must have fought on the side of their Slav friends when Prince Svyatoslav of Kiev fought Khazaria and Prince Igor the Polovets invaders. Testifying to that are the lines from The Tale of Igors campaign, in which Igor, captured by the Polovets is offered an escape in the mountains, where Chechens, the people of Avlur, will guarantee him protection. In the 8th though 11th centuries major trade routes passed through the Khazar city of Semender, situated presumably in Northern Daghestan, to the Black Sea, the Taman peninsula and further on to European countries. Apparently, due to that route Chechnya got household items and works of art of rare beauty and tremendous skill. Another route that connected Nakhs with the outside world was the Daryalsky pass, which linked Chechens with Georgia and the rest of the neareastern world.The early Middle Ages witnessed the flourishing of stone construction in the mountains that Nakhs lived in. All gorges in the upper reaches of the Daryal, Assa, Argun and Fortanga boasted complex architectural structures made of stone, such as towers, castles, burial vaults, churches and shrines. Later on entire settlements- actual fortresses sprang up which to this day make people marvel at their splendour and architectural design. Many war towers were built on rock peaks and were practically inaccessible to the enemy. The architectural structures, viewed as works of art, could only appear due to the high level of industrial development and social and cultural life. (more about ethnos...)

Issue 13
01.08.02

Chechen diary

01 August 2002  Harvesting In Chechnya: first hundred ton of corn already gathered
First hundred ton of corn has been already gathered in Chechnya. Farmers gather 24 centner of corn per hectare. This is a good figure even compared with neighbouring Caucasian republics, says the Chechen Minister of Agriculture and Food Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov. He said that harvesting was winding up in Gudermes and Schelkov districts. Agriculture machinery was transferred to neighbouring districts. Such practice will be employed on a gradual basis. We are planning to finish harvesting in Urus-Martan, the Minister said. All scheduled tasks are likely to be fulfilled what will enable us to ensure steady supply of domestic-made bread to the population D. Abdurakhmanov said in an interview with our reporter. We are considering exporting excess corn to other Russian regions. We could use the revenues for purchasing machinery, fuel, and high-quality seeds. It is yet early to talk about harvest home that might be postponed to a later date for this years harvesting was hampered by heavy rains. However, the Chechen Minister of Agriculture outlined arrangements for the long-expected harvest home. The festivities will take place in all districts and population centers, Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov said. All farmers will receive rewards. Best of the best will receive Volgas, second best Zhiguli. The rest will be awarded with distinctions. More than 30 people will be warranted state awards, orders, and medals. They will also receive valuable presents and free tickets to resorts. We want to reward all farmers decently and make sure that all Chechen and Russian people come to know these people who toil afield and do their best as part of a broader effort to put wind into Chechnyas sails, said Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov.
(more from Chechen diary)

31 July 2002  Humanitarian effort for flood victims under way
A humanitarian cargo with food and construction materials for Chechnyas flood-hit districts has been delivered to Gudermes. Humanitarian aid is raised by Russias state reserve, regions across the country and non-profit organizations. An ad-hoc committee is projecting and overseeing the distribution of humanitarian package. The distribution of food, medication, and clothes is supervised by Chechnyas Emergency Ministry. Construction materials are alllocated to the most severely hit districts. According to emergency staff of the republic, the flood has left more than 20 000 people homeless, with 760 houses completely ruined and more than 2 000 badly damaged. Residents of the ruined houses will receive compensation to the tune of 50 000 rubles, while those of badly damaged 20 000 rubles. Money for compensation have been allocated from federal budget early in July, according to deputy head of Chechen government Nasrudin Magomadov, chairman of the governmental commission to cope with the consequences of the flood. However, compensation payments were delayed due to a more thorough check-up of the list of people targeted for compensation, head of the Chechen government Stanislav Ilyasov said. Initially, the list had nearly 27 000 people, but check-up by the Chechen Emergency Ministry and interior department found that true figure of flood victims was 20 6oo people. 3 000 of them are pensioners who will receive compensation money raised by the Pension Fund. The rest will surely receive compensation payments too. We have got money for that,S. Ilyasov said.
(more from Chechen diary)

30 July 2002  Rebels say farewell to arms

Another rebel group has surrendered to law enforcement officers in the Alkhan-Kala settlement 3 km west from the Chechen capital of Grozny. The group consisted of seven fighters all of whom admitted involvement in the illegal armed formation and said they wanted to return to peaceful life as prosecutors office officials and intelligence officers formalized the surrender. Each rebels record will be closely scrutinized and if no grave offense found, they will be amnestied and allowed to apply for work or education, according to the Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Movsar Khamidov, who supervised the procedure of surrender. Nearly one hundred item of weaponry automatic rifles, grenade-launchers, machine guns and ammunition - has been turned in in Chechnya over the past two months. An effort to bring rebels to surrender has been carefully thrashed out since the beginning of the year. Representatives of the Kadyrov administration tried to get in touch with rebels, often through their relatives, to press them to lay down arms and start up a new life. 37 fighters of so-called Aslan Maskhadovs presidential guard and several more splinter rebel groups surrendered on May 4 in the Zentoroi village of the Kurchaloi district. Soon, 28-strong group led by field commander Musosta Kutiev followed suit. He said that several more leaders of major rebel groups were waiting to see what would be the result of Kutiev groups surrender for they were also going to quit. Check-up found that all 28 Kutievs fighters had a clean sheet, which is why they became free. Later, similar procedure took place in the Zandak settlement of the Nozhai-Yurt district. There is every reason to believe that the effort billed Rehabilitation will bear more fruits elsewhere in the republic.
(more from Chechen diary)

Chechen traditions

The pre-islamic customs, manifest in farming festivals
The day of the thunderer Sela

A Chechen legend of the pre-Islamic period says only god Sela, and no one else, had fire in his fireplace at the creation of the world. A thief crept into Sela's house to steal the fire. Furious, Sela hurled a burning log at the thief, glowing embers of which fell down to Earth. Earth would, but for those embers, have remained a cold and desolate place. The Chechens paid tribute to Sela by calling the lightnings Sela's torches, and the rainbow - Sela's hunting bow. They named the month of May and the day we call Wednesday after Sela. It was forbidden to throw away fire ashes and to give one single ember to anyone on Sela's day. Remnants of temples and sanctuaries where people worshipped Sela can still be seen in Chechnya. The ancestors of today's Chechens described this god as "the honorable Sela," "the bright and tactful Sela" and "god of the stars, lightning and fire." They used to bestow special honors on the bodies of people stricken by a lightning. Such dead bodies were entombed in a sitting position and with all their armor in crypts made of hewn slabs of mountain rock. The place where a flash of lightning struck a human being or an animal was considered sacred. Water brought from the sanctuary of Sela was believed to be endowed with healing properties.Highpriests would spoon it out to the ailing and used it to treat eye disorders. Sela the Thunderer's day of the old Chechens shares some of its characteristics with Eliah the Prophet's day of the Christians. Sela's day fell on a Wednesday of the month of Sela - May 22 to June 22. Prayers were said and offerings were made at Sela's sanctuary. A typical prayer would run like this: "Make the sky burst often with thunder. Make the sun heal with its warmth. Let the rain anoint the Earth and let what has been planted grow. Don't let the wind blow heavily in autumn." Or something like this one: "Sela, take people out of harm's way, protect what we have planted from hailstorm and flood, make us take in good crops." (more about traditions...) 

Chechen history

R.N. Ivanov. Collection "Hadji-Murat: Documents. Letters. Essays. Facts."


Rudolf Nickolaevich Ivanov is a renowned Russian professor, a fellow with the International Academy of Information, and an expert in the history of the Caucasus. His book "Hadji-Murat. Documents. Letters. Essays. Facts."was conceived to restore a true-to-life picture of a legendary figure of the 19th century Caucasus war. Hadji-Murat was famous for his public deeds, brilliant military skills, and courage that earned him respect not only among his people but among the Tsar's army as well. If anything, none of the followers of the outstanding Chechen leader Shamil ever attained such renown as Hadji-Murat.
A talented commander and a desperate man-of-war, Hadji-Murat lived a short but eventful and tragic life. He was born 1817 or 1818 in Avaria, in the very heart of Dagestan. He first became known in 1834, when he and his brother Osman staged a plot against Gamzat-bek Avarsky and later became a mediator between Russian troops and Avarians. 1836 Hadji-Murat was charged with secret contacts with Shamil and was arrested on the order of the Russian army General von Klugenau. On the way to prison Hadji-Murat escaped. Since then he served Shamil as his proxy in all Avarian villages. Within the next 15 years Hadji-Murat was Shamil's closest associate. He staged many daring raids that earned him renown. Russian army would send elite troops to catch the "phantom", as Hadji-Murat was called for his elusiveness. 1851 he fled from Shamil to Chechnya and surrendered to the Tsar's army in Argun gorge. Here is how R.N. Ivanov accounts for this act:"...All history of relations between Hadji-Murat and Shamil was a history of mounting antagonism between the two. No wonder then, that when Hadji-Murat was defeated at Tabasaran the rift grew into internecine war. Given that Hadji-Murat's second wife was Chechen, he wanted to move their family of three sons and two daughters to Chechnya. On the way there, they were blocked by Shamil's men. Hadji-Murat was to be arrested and then executed. It was then that Hadji-Murat fled to the Vozdvizhenskaya fortress under Russian troops' protection. His family was left in Shamil's hands..." Hadji-Murat was sent to Tiflis where he stayed for 152 days. The Tsar's emissary to the Caucasus prince M.S.Vorontsov took to Hadji-Murat and was anxious to help his family out. Shamil, however, did not accept ransom. Then prince Vorontsov allowed Hadji-Murat to go to Grozny to settle the issue with Shamil by himself. But their negotiations failed. Hadji-Murat was returned to Tiflis. He asked to be allowed to go to Nukha to observe a religious ritual. On April 22 1852 he attempted an escape with four of his men. The chase caught them near the village of Belyadushka. A fierce scuffle ensued and Hadji-Murat was stabbed. Professor R..N. Ivanov believes what was truly behind Hadji-Murat's escape from Russians remains unknown up to now. This is a mystery that he had taken down to his grave. One could assume that Hadji-Murat fled to the mountains to create his own state rather than back to Shamil. Besides, he loved his wife and children very much and might have again tried to liberate them from captivity."
Hadji-Murat died a century and a half ago. People in the Caucasus still cherish his memory. His natives hope to restore his house in Khunzakh and set up a memorial museum there.
(more about history...) 

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