The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue 57 05.01.03 Actual News from Chechnya News update Collection of signatures in support for a referendum on the draft constitution of the republic ends in Chechnya Chechnya has ended the collection of signatures in support for a draft constitution. Speaking to the ITAR-TASS news agency the head of the promoting group on holding the referendum Khasani Taimaskhanov informed this. According to Taimaskhanov, the summing up meeting of the group on Saturday was informed that 13 2000 signatures were collected instead of 12 000 needed. Khasani Taimaskhanov emphasized that signatures had been collected in all settlements and the campaign showed that people desired peace. Chechnya plans to hold the referendum on the constitution and presidential and parliamentary elections in March. (more News... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=Moseng) Chechen ethnos 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. (in detail... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=etneng&row=3) 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 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 The history of Russian-Chechen relations ... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=historyeng&row=3) Russia - Chechnya Russian regions to Chechnya Rostov Region Administration resolves Chechen refugees problems A commission for paying off compensations to the Chechen residents for lost homes and property has resumed its activity in Rostov Region. The work was suspended because of the reorganization of migration policy agencies. In October Rostov Region received 12 million rubles from the federal budget to pay the compensation. At a session of the commission 76 applications were considered from the Chechens who moved to the region. Most of the applications were met. 9 million rubles more will be soon transferred. According to the commissions chairman and Deputy Governor of Rostov Region, Alexander Bedrick, the money will be enough to pay off compensation to the majority of the applicants. There are about 100 of them. The local administration has summed up the summer health program, under which funds were allocated for holiday vouchers for local children and kids from Chechen regions devastated by floods, including Naursk and Urus-Martan regions of Chechnya. (more about Russia - Chechnya... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=sorroweng) Chechnya: news | arguments | facts 05 January 2003 The daily Gums expands its activity The Gudermes-based daily Gums will be not only the organ of press in the district but also in the districts of Kurchaloevsky and Nozhai-Yurt next year. Its editorial board will be increased to 29 from 13. The dailys correspondents will work in the two districts. The number of copies will be increased to 20 000 from 7 000. The Editorial board plans to print the four-paged newspaper thrice a week. But at the beginning the paper will be issued twice a week, a four-paged edition at the start of the week and an eight-paged issue in the weekend. This is linked with the specific of the printing press in Znamenka. The paper will be issued thrice a week when a new printing press of bigger capacity will be opened in Grozny in about two months. The annual subscription for the paper is 312 rubles. The readers can make six-month subscriptions too. Among the subscribers are residents of the districts, local administrations, state farms, enterprises and departments. The paper will be sold at the agencies too at retail price. The editor-in chief Khozhbaudi Borkhadzhiev promises to distribute the paper among non-commercial organizations such as schools, libraries, clubs, clinics and hospitals free-of-charge. The editorial board has resolved all issues linked with the delivery of the paper to readers in time with the Chechen press service, federal postal service and the heads of local administrations. The editorial board has prepared a lot of materials devoted to the outcome of the year in all areas, including political, economic, cultural and sport in the three districts and the republic as a whole. It has materials devoted to the main event of the next year, the constitutional referendum, too. (more News from Chechnya http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 04 January 2003 Chechen policemen are eager to secure the republic Chechnya is rapidly developing its security service system. Next year only mountainous districts will have to handle the terrorist problem by means of military forces. In the central districts the police will deal the same problem. Since the beginning of 2002 more than 200 policemen have been trained in the special institute of the Russian Ministry of Interior. The work of the traffic control service is being greatly improved. Thus in Vedensky district traffic control service officials will have to rewrite all the cars and vehicles belonging to the state. Much effort demanded to handle the problems of car owners, since there are no banks in Vedensky district where they could pay their automobile bills. Besides the service will have to deal the problems of taxi drivers working without license, and drivers who violate traffic rules, endangering their passengers lives. (more News from Chechnya... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 03 January 2003 Childrens Library in Gudermes Childrens library has been opened in Gudermes. The housing department of the city picked out the former savings bank building for this purpose since the childrens library was set fire by some culprits this past summer. The staff of the library repaired the building and decorated the rooms by themselves and supplied the library with their own books. The school children in the city took part in the concert devoted to the opening ceremony; the state group of Vainakh staged dances and the guests from other districts also displayed their talents. Among the officials attended the ceremony and congratulated the first visitors of the library were the head of Cultural Ministrys department for clubs, libraries and cinema Lilia Yandieva and the head of the Gudermes district administrations department of culture Ruslan Babishev. (more News from Chechnya... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 02 January 2003 Urus-Martan district starts to produce furniture A service centre has been reconstructed in the Urus-Martan District. It has a mens and womens sewing workshop, dry cleaning and photo. The staff of the centre has been increased recently since a furniture repairing shop has been commissioned. The shop is equipped and gets necessary materials. It will make chairs, cupboards and sofas. Its head Sultan Magomadov assures that the quality of the products will not be second to those are being brought into the republic now. He plans to supply the products to the other Russian regions in the future. The shop receives orders from residents and companies for making household and office furniture. This is a good New Year present for the residents of Urus-Martan. (more News from Chechnya http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) 01 January 2002 Accomplishments of Chechen power engineers Power engineers have commissioned more than 1 200 kilometers of power lines and 82 power stations since the start of the restoration effort in Chechnya. The amount of investment over the period has exceeded 2 billion rubles. The first heat station with the boiler of 50 tons per hour of steam output was launched in Argun on December 15 2002. The Argun station is the first major energy generating facility restored in the republic. The construction work was carried out by the public corporation Nurenergo along with contractors from various Russian regions, including the public corporation Mosenergomontazh. The complex will heat industrial and social facilities of the city, including a sugar plant, integrated house-building factor, meat integrated factor, and several other enterprises. The launch of the power station will help to resume production in the city and create more 3 000 jobs. After the construction is over, the capacity of the Argun station will total 18 megawatt (4 boilers with 50 watt per hour of output and three 6 megawatt turbo-unit). It will provide the central part of Chechnya with heat. The memorial plate with eternal flame under it has been installed on the premises of the station. It bears the names of 64 employees who died from 1995 to 2002 during the reconstruction. The Russian joint-stock company Unified Energy Systems poured 400 million rubles in the construction of the station in 2002 and 450 million more will go into further works at the site in 2003. Complete restoration and maintenance of the Chechen energy network is a priority for the UES. (more News from Chechnya http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=diaryeng) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chechnya as seen by friends Pavel Florensky: I Cant Forget My Meetings With Imam Alimsultanov Pavel Vasilyevich Florensky, academician, Doctor of Science (Geology and Mineralogy), professor of the Gubkin Oil-and-Gas University in Moscow, and the grandson of Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky, the great Russian philosopher and an Orthodox priest, who fell victim to Stalins purges, is closely linked with the Caucasus, part of which is Chechnya. Many of his students, who successfully worked on the oilfields in Chechnya, are restoring them now. More than once Pavel Florensky visited Chechnya, providing vocational guidance for his students during their industrial training. Pavel Florensky puts to his credit that he was acquainted with Imam Alimsultanov, a Chechen poet and singer song-writer, who was well known and very popular in the early 90s. They met in Abkhazia in 1993, where P.Florensky worked as ethnographer and reporter. Pavel Florensky praises highly Alim Sultanovs work as the author of ballades and songs of revelation. Most of all he likes The Silver-Headed Caucasus and a folk fable, About the Vainakh Traditions. Pavel Florensky remembers very well what Imam Alimsultanov told him about himself. A Chechen-Akkin by nationality and a representative of Eastern Vainakhs, he was born in Kyrgyzstan. When he was an one-year-old child, he was brought to his ancestors land. He finished a school in Grozny. Later he studied in a polytechnic institute. He was a land reclamation expert. As a poet and a singer song-writer, he was well-versed in the Vainakh folk tradition illi. Its three major components are ashug (a folk singer song-writer in the Caucasus), a three-string dechik-pondur (a traditional Caucasian musical instrument) and recitatives and legends about heroes. Imam Alimsultanov was an ashug by vocation. In the course of time he replaced his three-string pondur by a guitar a sign of time. He performed modern illis, rhyming them with folk tales and putting to music his favourite verses. He often used his own poems, the poems of Umar Yarychev, Mussa Geshayev, and also those of some other well-known Chechen poets in his songs. When I met with I. Alimsultanov, we used to ponder over the Chechens and the Russians common history, recollects P.V. Florensky. We were in absolute agreement that the fates of the Caucasian and the Russian peoples are closely inter-linked, he adds. I. Alimsultanov often compared a human society with a rainbow. All nations have their own cultures, religions, traditions, and customs, but taken together, they form a harmonious mosaic. I. Alimsultanov died in accident in Odessa in 1996. He is buried not far from Khasavyurt in Daghestan. Only a few of his songs have survived. Therefore, all the records that have been preserved are a dear memory for P.V. Florensky. Among them is a song to U. Yarychevs poem about F. Rubos painting The Capture of Shamil. In this song he ponders over the fate of the Caucasus and also over the fates of all those people from the Caucasus and other parts of Russia, who fell in the former wars. more ... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=friendeng&row=2) Chechen traditions The pre-islamic customs, manifest in farming festivals New year's eve The traditional way to celebrate New Year's eve goes way back. The kindling of a new flame was a matter of utmost importance. A new flame was to be burning in the fireplace when New Year's meal was cooked. A long log was put in the fire. Its length determined how long the family would be celebrating. As soon as the log allowed the door to close, a New Year's party, with many good things to eat and drink, with dancing and jesting, could begin. Sooner or later, all logs got shorter, so that every family would sooner or later start celebrating . New Year's logs were prepared in advance: a standing tree, most often an oak, was put to dry. It was a great sin to use fruit trees for this purpose. The ancestors of today's Chechens believed that the forces of evil stepped up action on New Year's eve. They would, for protection, scatter things made of steel in the cattle-sheds and their living quarters. A plentiful meal offered guarantees for the family's wellbeing in the year to come. All creatures, including mice, were to have their bellies full on New Year's eve. Wheat breads were baked. The head, ritual bread was shaped as a circle, with lines radiating from its center. Breads with all kinds of filling in them were baked in addition to the magic one. The eldest member of the family got a square-shaped one while the guests were treated to round breads. Coins, grains of wheat or a spool of yarn might be hidden, for fortune-telling purposes, inside fancy breads. Other fortune-telling methods were applied on New Year's eve. A man was, for example, chosen to spend the night in the sanctuary. He would lie face down and keep his ear pressed to the dirt floor and would, in the morning, try to interpret what he had heard. The same kind of fortune-telling is known in Russia. A Russian village-dweller would go to a crossroads, mark a circle and press his ear to the ground. If he heard a loaded sleigh swish heavily by, next year's harvest would be good. If the sleigh seemed to be empty, the harvest would be poor. Chechens knew a very special method of fortune-telling. They would hold to light a ram's shoulder blade. Spots on the shoulder blade predicted whether next year's harvest would be good, what kind of weather they were to expect and even family developments. A similar method of fortune-telling is known in China. Young girls took advantage of New Year's eve in an effort to find out something about their future husbands. A Chechen girl would bake three very salty little breads. She would put two of them under her pillow and eat the third. The person who gave her, in a dream, a drink of water, was to become her husband. Young people or teenagers would put on their sheepskin coats the wrong side up, and either wear felt hoods decorated with horns or paint their faces black with chimney soot. Such dress parades, as well as the custom of singing carols and begging for penny gifts, are, incidentally, known, till this day, in many countries of Europe and America. But horse races on the third day of a new year are held in Chechnya only. The three winners should be given a horse, a saddle, a bridle, a whip or a piece of clothing. Nowadays, New Year's eve has nothing to do with farming. Neither does it with Islam. People simply get together on New Year's eve to say good-bye to the outgoing year and to welcome in a new and, hopefully, much better year (more about chechen traditions... http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=§ion=traditionseng) 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