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.
(more...)

Famous Chechens

It is the early 19th century. Russian soldiers found a three-year-old baby in what remained, after a combat engagement, of the Chechen village of Dady-Yurt. The baby boy was placed in the custody of Cossak Zakhar Nedonosov who attended to the daily needs of the commander of Russia's Caucasian Corps. As a result, the boy became known as Pyotr Zakharov (Zakhar's Pyotr.) Cossak Nedonosov took care of him till 1823 when a hero of the war against Napoleon, General Pyotr Yermolov, adopted his young namesake. Although he had seven children of his own, Yermolov took very good care of the boy and did his best in an effort to give him a good schooling and education. Even at his tender age, the boy showed a talent for drawing. When Yermolov's health condition deteriorated and he left the Caucasus for Moscow, Pyotr Zakharov started taking classes from portrait-painter Lev Volkov and, in the year 1833, entered with flying colors the St Petersburg Academy of the Arts. The Academy Charter said that gifted serfs and representatives of ethnic minorities could only be admitted as "out-of-class" students. But "out-of-class" student Zakharov excelled in studies and won, even as a freshman, a grant of the Society For The Encouragement Of Artists. The young artist attended classes and did much more work on his own. He joined many art exhibits. A number of his paintings won awards and medals. They were praised by art critics. The Academy was about to give Zakharov a grant for travel to Italy. Highly-gifted but TB-afflicted Zakharov needed it to build up his creative potential and to improve his health condition. But Czar Nicholas I crossed the Chechen's name off the Academy grant-winners' list. Zakharov's first teacher of painting, Lev Volkov, dealt him another blow: he rejected Zakharov's request for the hand of his daughter. Although the young people loved each other, the girl's father packed her off to some Caucasian-based relatives suggesting that they marry her off as soon as possible. Pyotr Zakharov graduated cum laudae from the Art Academy in 1836. He was now known as a freelance painter. A Chechen artist, as he described himself, Zakharov started, even in his school years, to paint portraits. He produced a whole gallery of portraits of celebrities: historian Granovsky, surgeon Inozemtsev, and fiction writer Muraviyov, to name but a few of these. Contemporaries felt that his portrait of poet Mikhail Lermontov revealed, with great accuracy, Lermontov's character. Every new picture by Zakharov was better than the previous ones. He won renown in Moscow and St Petersburg. Many outstanding men asked him to paint their portraits. Zakharov's famous self-portrait was painted in 1842. It was kept till January, 1995, in the Fine Arts Museum of Grozny. Although the painter had parted for good with his home country, his self-portrait reveals his Chechen background. Zakharov is wearing a sheperd's fur hat, a sleeveless sheepskin overcoat and is holding a hunting gun. He never wore this kind of garb but may have dreamt of wearing it. Pyotr Zakharov died at the age of thirty, in 1846. He had already been made a member of the Russian Academy of the Arts and the most famous Karl Bryullov described him as Russia's second-best portrait-painter. Pictures by Pyotr Zakharov-Chechenets are, indeed, gems of 19th century painting. The largest art museums of Russia - the Tretyakov Gallery of Moscow, the Russian Museum of St Petersburg and others - are proud to have them.
(more about famous chechens...)

Chechen cuisine

Dough: wheat flour - 100 g , yogurt - 100 g , baking soda - 0.2 g , salt - 0.5 g Filling: cottage cheese - 75 g , egg - a quarter , salt - 0.5 g , butter- 20 g To make dough, combine flour with warm yogurt, add salt and baking soda, blend thoroughly. Mix cottage cheese with egg and salt. Cut batter into pieces of 200 to 230 grams each. Roll out until they are 0.3 centimeters thick. Place filling in center of each piece of dough, roll over and press to seal and roll out until they are 1 to 1.5 cm thick. Bake in ungreased griddle turning them over at regular intervals. When ready, brush both sides with hot water to make chepalgash soft and to remove burnt flour. Brush with butter, put pancakes one on top of another. To serve, cut each chepalgash into 4 to 8 pieces and sprinkle these with melted butter. Potatoes may be used instead of cottage cheese for filling.
more about chechen cuisine ...)

Issue 32
08.10.02

News from Chechnya

08 October 2002  Mr. Kadirov says Chechen police will cope with odd rebel groups single-handed

Nine thousand men of the 10-thousand-strong Chechen police serve in the republican Interior department, 300 of them riot police officers and 800 officials of the non-departmental guard. The figures have been represented by the head of the Chechen Administration Akhmad Kadirov as he appeared before the media. He believes Chechen law enforcement bodies have enough evidence to fight odd rebel groups. Mr. Kadirov expresses confidence that the situation in the republic will change dramatically as the Chechen Interior Ministry will start function at full capacity later this month. Local police will bear the major responsibility for conducting an anti-terrorist operation in Chechnya. Officials of the law enforcement bodies will carry out no more massive military mops-up, and from now on there will only targeted checks in the places where criminals are believed to conceal. The Chief Commander of Russias Interior forces Colonel General Vjyacheslav Tikhomirov shares Mr. Kadirovs opinion. Speaking at a news-conference in Moscow, he said Russia has no plans to increase the number of its troops in Chechnya. Local military will take the lead in battling criminals instead of the interior forces detachments.
(more news from Chechnya)

07 October 2002  Russian and US scientists launch joint project to restore education in Chechnya

Public education is gaining a new lease on life in Chechnya. 500 schools, 27 kindergartens, and three schools of higher learning are functioning in the republic. And now there are some bright developments in the offing. The US National Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Sciences decided to cooperate in enacting the program aimed at restoring public education in Chechnya. A delegation of American scientists discussed ways to achieve that with the Russian nationalities affairs Minister Vladimir Zorin. According to Minister Zorin, the joint program is a tool of establishing peace in the republic. The job is to address education problems in Chechnya and to create the air of tolerance and resistance to extremism and to promote the best of cultural traditions of the Chechen people. Remarkably, the plan will be carried out without mediators, the two Academies will cooperate directly with the Russian Education Ministry and Chechen educational institutions. During the meeting with the nationalities affairs Minister, member of the US National Academy of Sciences professor Robert Adams emphasized that an effort to restore Chechen schools has done more than the world knows. Professor Adams also said that the initiative of the two Academies would be followed through whether antiterrorist operation in the republic is on track or not.
(more from Chechen diary)

07 October 2002  The federal center pledges support for the Chechen Television

The Chechen State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company resumed activity over two years ago. The first airing after a long involuntary inaction was held on February 2d of 2000. Since virtually all technical supplies were destroyed in the course of the Chechen war, at the beginning the company broadcast from the city of Gudermes with help of signalmen and an amateur video camera, two videotape recorders and a single TV set. As the Chechen leadership moved to Grozny, the company launched broadcasting from the capital. Now space rooms, necessary technical facilities, transport, regular wages are available for the Chechen companys 100 and some officials. And, the more important, its staff is sincerely willing to work. The volume of daily broadcasting is rated at four hours. Local reporters prepare news bulletins, analytical and entertaining programs. Senior officials of the All-Russian State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company have visited their Chechen counterparts in Grozny. According to the Companys Deputy Chairman Alexander Zhdanovich, many problems of the Chechen company will shortly be settled, namely it would receive the updated equipment. Moreover, a decision has been reached to give Chechen journalists an opportunity to be trained at broadcasting companies of the Southern federal entity.
(more news from Chechnya)

06 October 2002  Restoration of culture objects in Chechnya under oversight of Russian Culture Ministry

The meeting between head of the Chechen government Stanislav Ilyasov and Russias Culture Minister Mikhail Shvydkoy and several senior ministry officials focused on a broad range of issues concerning restoration of social and cultural sector of the Chechen republic. They also summed up the achievements. Particular attention was paid to repairing culture and art facilities in the republic. S. Ilyasov reported on the restoration of such buildings in Naursky district this year. They are the children art school and the culture center. He stressed at the same time that it was crucial to do all it takes to complete restoration of the State concert hall in Grozny by 2004. The meeting also centered on the operations of the state-run Direction of construction work in the Chechen republic supervised by the Russian Culture Ministry. It was noted that the direction could not implement investment projects for this year in full. Minister Shvydkoy supported S. Ilyasovs proposal to include the Grozny theater premises into the list of restoration objects. The direction was instructed to prepare technical estimate this year and commission the theater in 2003. (more from Chechen diary)

05 October 2002  The secrets of Pkhyarmat. Dialogues about the unusual

The Moscow-based Eurasia + publishing house has brought up a book by a historian and publicist Ruslan Nashkhoev The secrets of Pkhyarmat. Dialogues about the unusual. The work highlights the centuries-old myth about a Chechen Prometheus Pkhyarmat. The narration is evolving in the way of a dialogue, with two persons debating colorful pages in the history of different countries and peoples. The dialogue represents the authors reflection on similarities and distinctions between a Chechen myth about Prometheus and other such legends both in Nakhsky and ancient Greek folklore. R. Nashkhoev demonstrates how important a myth about Prometheus is for the spiritual life of humans. The mainstream of Pkhyarmat intertwines with invaluable account of life of ancient Asian peoples, namely Shumers, Khurrittes, Urarts, ancestors of the Caucasians, including Chechens and Ingushis. The book contains some eye-catching chapters: Tracing the myth about Prometheus, The cradle of human genius, Khurrittes and Tatu-Heppa-Nefertiti grand wife of the king, the chapter in which R. Nashkhoev examines archeological studies and forwards an idea of Caucasian origin of Nefertiti, queen of the ancient Egypt. The book provides the text of the myth Pkhyarmat written in original language, Itum-Kalinsky dialect of Chechen, and also its literary translation into Russian made by Ruslan Nashkhoev. The secrets of Pkhyarmat. Dialogues about the unusual is the first part of R. Nashkhoev planned book on literature hallmarks of the Chechen people. He is now working on the second part of the Dialogues about the unusual. The message of the book, says the author, is to promote mutual understanding, peace, and concord between Chechens and all peoples of Russia and the world. The book addresses a broad audience interested in the world history.
(more from Chechen diary)

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. (in detail...) 

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