The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue 33 11.10.02 Chechen culture Education Grozny Music College Opened in 1937, the college has since spawned several generations of pianists, violinists, singers, accordionists, conductors and music critics. Most of these people graced the citys musical life and were known far beyond the borders of their native Chechen-Ingush Republic. During its heyday in the Seventies and Eighties, the college had seven departments - piano, singers, strings, winds, conductors, folk music and of music theory. The applicants held their breath hearing the names of Ogarkova, Snitko, Milhailov, Nikogosov, Bezuglov, Sudenko, Voit, Lukinov, Vysotskaya and other leading teachers each boasting a school and style all his own Many graduates of the colleges piano department subsequently went on studying at the Gnessins Music Institute in Moscow and the Leningrad Conservatory. Once studying here, in the class of Merited Artist of the Chechen-Ingush Republic, Maina Snitko, was Ali Dimayev who, carrying on a family tradition, is now a popular pianist and singer. The singers department was equally renowned, its graduates very successfully working with opera companies across the former Soviet Union, including the Lunacharsky Opera and Ballet Theater in Saratov and the Yerevan Opera Company.The conductors and choir department was always the most populous, its teachers much credited for promoting the art of Chechen choir singing.The folk music department was equally famous providing excellent training on traditional folk instruments including, of course, dechik-pondur , concertina and other traditional Chechen instruments. The department of wind instruments was hugely popular among the students, especially during the Sixties when their jazz orchestra was a major city highlight playing in the style of the Glen Miller Orchestra, which was very hip back in those days. A. Edisultanov was the pride and glory of the winds department, setting up a big band at the republican circus and conducting the symphony orchestra of the local philharmonic society. Composer Said Dimayev once also studied there. Many graduates of the music theory department are equally admired in Chechnya, especially Adnan Shahbulatov , a well-known composer and public figure whose name is now borne by the music college he once attended. The Grozny Music College has at various times been led by a constellation of talented musicians and managers, among them Leonid Brailovsky. A Merited Artist of the Chechen-Ingush Republic and a graduate of the conductors department of the Gnessins Music Institute in Moscow, he once led a childrens choir at the citys Music School No 1, trained would-be students and did a lot of educational work in the republic. He put together a team of excellent teachers and developed a highly successful teachers training course there. The students regularly took part in all kinds of music competitions occasionally teaming up on stage with their teachers performing in Grozny and elsewhere in the republic. Teachers working at the Grozny Music College remain true to the lofty traditions of their much-respected institution. Those of them who stayed on keep working on, never losing hope that, someday, orchestras will be playing there again (more... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=cteacheng&row=0) Famous Chechens Military men Alexander Chechensky His birth name is unknown. A small child, he was picked up by Russian soldiers in the mountain village of Aldy, devastated and deserted as a result of a raid. The foster-father to the child was Second Lieutenant Nikholai Raevsky, a young 17-year-old Russian officer and future hero of the 1812 War with Napoleon. Raevsky gave the boy the name of Alexander and the surname Chechensky in memory of his homeland. He did all he could to give the boy good home education and that helped Alexander enter and successfully graduate from the Moscow University. Next were years of military service. At first Alexander Nikholaevich Chechensky fought in the Caucasus and at his 24 was made Second Lieutenant for taking part in expeditions against Persians and Turks. Then Alexander asked to be transferred to the West. He commanded a hussar regiment and in 1805-1807 took part in battles with Napoleonic troops. For his courage he was awarded with the St.Georges Order with ribbon together with Bagration. And for the battle under Gutstadt received a golden saber bearing the inscription For Courage. During the 1812 Napoleonic War Chechenskys detachment participated in the famous Battle of Borodino as part of the cavalry corps of Cossack commander Platov. Alexander was then waging a guerrilla war together with the wartime hero Denis Davydov. And invariably reports by higher command pointed out the dauntless courage of Alexander Chechensky and the skillful operations carried out by his detachment. With his soldiers Alexander Chechensky fought his way from Smolensk to Poland. He was made Major for the capture of Grodno. Next was the siege of Dresden. In his report to higher command Denis Davydov wrote: Cavalry Captain Chechensky, the Commander of the 1st Bug regiment, excelled as he habitually does. In battle near Reinchenbaum Chechenskys regiment routed a superior French force seizing their banner and taking a prisoner colonel and many other officers and soldiers. The new Commander of the Russian Army, Barclay de Tolly, who succeeded the late Kutuzov, promoted Alexander Chechensky Lieutenant-Colonel. Chechensky' regiment distinguished itself in the historic Battle of peoples near Leipzig and in the Netherlands, storming the Breda and Willemstad Fortresses. For the battle of Leone, France, Alexander Chechensky was awarded St.Annas Order with diamonds and got a promotion. After the fall of Paris Colonel Chechensky was among the tsars retinue next to Generals N.N.Raevsky and D.Davydov taking part in a victorious military parade on Champs dElysees. After the foreign campaign General Alexander Chechensky retired. He married a Privy Councillors daughter Yekaterina Bychkova and had six children Sofia, Alexander, Yekaterina, Nikholai, Vera and Nadezhda. In December 1825 General Alexander Chechensky took part in the enthronization of Emperor Nicholas I. The life of Alexander Chechensky is a prime example of the historical unity of the peoples of Russia. (more about famous chechens... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=famouseng) News from Chechnya 11 October 2002 Peaceful life comes back to Grozny Grozny is clambering to its feet slowly but surely. Apartment buildings are being repaired and constructed; the streets are lively with buses and route taxis. Trade stalls and the market are teeming with consumers, people are rushing to work and children are going to schools. All people whose housing was battered by the summer flood have been put on record. Makeshift settlements are being set up for them. The authorities are doing all it takes to provide them with normal housing before cold weather settles in. Displaced persons are returning from Ingushetia. All wishing to return are likely to do so before winter. According to head of the Chechen government Stanislav Ilyasov, 170 000 pensioners have been registered in the republic and 200 000 children enrolled to schools, most of them from Grozny. Main challenges for residents are electricity, gas and water supply, legal compensations, and employment. The city authorities have made a priority of improving living conditions in the capital. The Grozny mayor decreed that the central market be brought in order within three days. The market is a source of income for considerable portion of the residents. Cleanness and order will be ensured on a daily basis from now on. People want to live in their own homes, in their city, and no matter how complicated the situation in the republic is, they are coming back, restore their houses, and apply for job, says head of the Leninsky district administration of Grozny Hizir Chagaev. Our children are unaware of tram, circus, parks, and performers that used to come in here, says Rezida Sareleeva, a refugee who recently returned to Grozny. But we dont need anything except for peace, so that we could work with our own hands. (more news from Chechnya http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 10 October 2002 Europe sees positive shifts in law enforcement in Chechnya Law enforcement in the Chechen republic is coming from strength to strength, something that several European countries have been singling out of late. One of such countries is Luxemburg, where a Russian State Duma delegation led by its speaker Gennady Seleznev has stayed recently. During his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Lydia Polfer, the State Duma speaker said life is getting better on the larger part of Chechnya with schools, hospitals, and agriculture sector rebounding. He said, however, that militants have changed tactics. They are turning more fire not on federal forces now but on Chechens who cooperate with the troops. It is good Europe has realized who Chechen separatists really are. Doors used to be wide opened for them, but now Europe understands it must not do so, said Gennady Seleznev. He recalled that commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe continues to monitor the situation in Chechnya. The team also points out that there is stabilization in Chechnya and people are returning to peaceful life. Lydia Polfer, in turn, emphasized that after September 11, there appeared a new level of trust between Russia and the West. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 09 October 2002 Sergei Yasterzhembsky says a hotbed of terrorism has been eliminated in Chechnya This was the title, under which France Press news agency has published a report from Ekaterinburg where a regional forum on federal information policy was held, attended by Assistant of the former Russian President Sergei Yasterzhembsky. This move is significant for one of the leading Western news agencies that so far have been interpreting the events in Chechnya as a struggle for freedom of an independent Ichkeria. But the facts signal that terrorists who operated in Chechnya, fought not for ideas but for self-enrichment. Pitifully, most young men yielded their demagogic mottoes and joined their groups. There were also mercenaries in large numbers, ready to fight for money anywhere and for anyone. However, they were paid false dollars, largely produced in the republic. Mr. Yasterzhembsky describes the current situation precisely, saying that Chechnya is slowly and painfully returning into Russias legal zone. Terrorist infrastructure that allowed to train militants has been eliminated, and dozens of warlords taken in custody or killed. The main organizer of the tragedy in Pervomaisk Salman Raduev was sentenced to life imprisonment. A new power was created to start reviving economy and social sector. A terrorist enclave that posed threats to security in both Russia and Caucasian states has been rooted out. This is highly crucial for the country and the world community as a whole. What make this evident are last September 11th tragic attacks in America, Mr. Yasterzhembsky underscored. (more news from Chechnya http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 09 October 2002 Chechnya is ready for census The Russian Presidents special envoy for human rights in Chechnya Abdul-Khakim Sultygov has called on the residents of the republic to participate in the census, due to take place in Chechnya on October 12 and 13. He said they must know how many people there are in the republic and who they are. The pending event, he underscores, is crucial for preparations for a referendum on a future constitution and government as well, since this is the only way to put statistics data in order and estimate the number of voters. Preparations for the census are as much as completed. A spokesman for the head of the Cabinet of Ministers Alla Vlazneva says security will be alerted in the course of the census. She also notes all the census takers have received special training to implement correctly their work. 400 thousand copies of special guidelines have been delivered to Chechnya to explain the people why the census is necessary. 200 thousand of the guidelines are in Chechen. Imams were also to help the people understand the need for the action. The head of the Chechen administration Akhmad Kadyrov has appeared before the imams in the Government in Grozny calling on them to prepare the Chechens for the upcoming event. They pledges Mr. Kadyrov to urge the residents not to decline to take part in census and give the census takers correct information about themselves. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 09 October 2002 Victims of the recent floods will obtain houses and compensations Elimination of the consequences of this summers natural disasters is the most acute problem. North Caucasus as a whole, Stavropol and Krasnodar regions were hit by the elements. Swollen mountain rivers claimed hundreds of lives, flooded fields and killed cattle. According to the latest reports, 21174 people have suffered in the floods in Chechnya, 4218 houses destroyed, 2046 of which completely ruined. Great funds are needed to eliminate the disasters consequences. The Central authorities are performing their duties to Chechnya. Over 112 million rubles have been allocated from the Russian Governments reserve fund for anticipating and eliminating emergency situations and consequences of natural disasters, including 33.5 million of extraordinary aid and 78.5 million to cover cost of damaged buildings. Compensations are paid off in all regions, except the Itum-Kalininsky in view of the difficult operative situation there. All people whose property was partly damaged will get 20 thousand rubles each. Those who were left homeless will acquire 50 thousand. The ruined buildings will be partly or entirely restored within several years, according to the regional administration. Now in Grozny restoration of a temporary premise for refugees for 10 thousand people is under way. It was also destroyed in the floods. By the end of the month a batch of prefabricated houses will be delivered to Grozny, according to the head of the capitals administration Oleg Zhidkov. The houses will be set up within a coupe of weeks so that people would be able to move there before frosts started. (more from Chechen diary http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chechen ethnos Nakhs in the North Caucasus The people who lived in what is now Chechnya and Ingushetiya belong to what wereknown as Koban and Kayakent-Kharachoi archeological cultures. Learning the art of smelting and forging iron as early at the start of the first millennium B.C. this ethnic group, obviously related to the Nakh-speaking Trans-Caucasian tribes, played a determining role in the ethno-genetic processes and the very genesis of the Chechen and Ingush peoples as sharing one and the same material and spiritual heritage. It was a time when the Chechens and Ingushis finally shaped up anthropologically in the North Caucasus area as representatives of the Europeoid race. The Chechen and Ingush tribes living on the northern slopes of the Main Caucasus Range contacted with the Scythians of the steppes and later with the Sarmat and Alan nomadic tribes, and archeological finds all point to close trade, military and political ties once existing between the Vainakhs and their neighbors, with the ancient Georgian, Armenian and Persian kingdoms. These contacts were not always peaceful though, and occasional clashes with the Scythians of the steppe lands and nomadic forays prevented the ancient Vainakhs from settling on the flatlands, forcing them to spend centuries in their highland villages which they turned into impregnable stone fortresses. The Vainakhs occasionally ventured down into the plains as is proved by the villages and burial mounds which can still be found near Serzhen-Yurt, Alleroi, Mairtup, Zandak and Bamut where they widely engaged in metal smelting, pottery, farming and cattle grazing, and also all kinds of craft. The dawning of the first millennium of the new era saw the Chechens and Ingushis fighting hard for control over the mountain passes. Together with other tribes and states, among them the Georgian kingdom, they fought back the Roman legions and the Persian armies. Between the 7th and 9th centuries A.D. the Vainakhs successfully repulsed the invading troops of the Arab Caliphate. (in detail... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=historyeng&row=7) 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