Actual News from Chechnya

News update

Referendum on Chechnyas constitution is a key event in the restoration of Russias law in the republic. Russian Presidents envoy to the southern federal district Victor Kazantsev made this statement during his videoconference with the heads of republics and regions of the district on Wednesday. He noted that legal, social and economic base had been created to hold the referendum and this would follow the presidential election. Victor Kazantsev drew the attention of the heads of the regions on guaranteeing security when preparations were going on for holding the referendum and during voting. He urged the commanders of the Russian forces in the North Caucasus military district and heads of law enforcement bodies to heighten alert.
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Speaking to Interfax news agency Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Tskaev has said that the block posts of Russian forces and police from other regions will be replaced by local Chechen patrols and mobile traffic police groups. He said that patrols had been sent to the places where block posts were and they control the situation. Permanent traffic posts will be set up in the places where roads cross and most dangerous crossings. The vehicles will be detained or examined only when there is a need but not all. Minister said that some block post would remain on minor roads near the city so as to prevent possible movements of militants.
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Chechen history

Prominent Russian and foreign scientists have published a collection of articles looking at the Chechen conflict and suggesting ways to resolve it. The collection, called Chechnya: From Conflict to Stability, bases on the materials of the international scientific conference Chechnya: From Conflict to Accord that took place in Moscow in November 2000. The book was published by the Russian Academy of Sciences, the N.Miklukho-Maklai Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology and the Foundation for Humanitarian Assistance to Chechen republic. Opinions on the problem, which has become the tragedy and pain of both Chechen and Russian people in the past 10 years, differ, - begins his article Economic and Social Consequences of Chechen Conflict: Ways out of the Crisis Malik Saidullaev, a prominent Chechen public leader and businessman. Dan Smith from the Institute of Peace in Oslo offers his opinion in an article about armed conflicts. Research on economic and social issues encompasses an article by Candidate of Philosophy Vakhit Akaev about the state of modern Islamic trends in Chechnya, including the conflict between followers of traditional Islam and wahhabism. An article by Professor Igor Kosikov is devoted to the activity of federal center and local authorities to restore the economy and create the state apparatus of the Chechen republic. The head of the department in charge of the restoration of the education system of Chechen republic of the Russian Education Ministry Vasily Mizherikov examines the current state of education system in Chechnya.
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Russia - Chechnya

Russian regions to Chechnya

Collaboration, support, and help are constant directions of relations between Saratov region and Chechen republic. The Sratov regional governor Dmitri Ayatskov pays much attention to this problem. In his phone talk with our correspondent, Ayatskov phrased his sureness that peaceful life in Chechnya is a common concern of all the Russian regions, and every man of this country. We need peace in North Caucasus, and we should aid its development by all means, believes Ayatskov. The Saratov region administration receives many letters from Chechnya with pleas to help, and they really try to help as much as they can. The administration provides food, schoolbooks, and notebooks for children, organizes childrens and veterans holidays, and renews schools. Now, when the referendum in Chechnya is about to be held, the Sratov region governor decided to publish in local typographies 100 thousand brochures with the text of the future constitution of Chechnya. The brochures are printed in Chechen. They will be delivered to the republic, however part of them will remain in Saratov.
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Issue 74
07.03.03

Chechnya: news | arguments | facts

07 Mart 2003  The federal Justice Minister Yuri Chaika and Deputy Prosecutor General for Southern Russia Sergei Fridinski tell us Chechnya has everything it needs to effectively enforce law and order
The republic has general courts, pre-trial detention cells, bailiffs, law firms and notaries. On February 8, it marked three years since its re-launched its public prosecuting agency. In 2002, the prosecutors posted dramatic increases in detection rates, particularly in dealing with capital crime and terrorism. In December, they apprehended four men on suspicion of firing on two Russian military helicopters, MI-8 and MI-26. The suspects admitted involvement and named their accomplices in the attacks. Some of the accomplices have been successfully done away with, the others are being hunted for. Investigators have established the identities of the terrorists who organized the double truck bombing of the main government building in Grozny on December 27. Several of these terrorists are being held. Head of the regional branch of the Federal Security Service Alexander Potapov says his men possess the background information on each of the terrorists who held some 800 hostages in a Moscow theatre in late October. Most of the attackers were from the Chechen districts of Urus-Martan and Achkhoi-Martan. The prosecuting agency is investigating 1178 criminal abductions, including of foreign nationals. In 2002, it solved 202 abductions of Chechen police and judicial officers and local officials. Investigators discovered the murder of 230 hostages while working on these abductions. Public prosecutors have initiated criminal proceedings against 45 police officers, including high rank, on charges of violating rights during routine identity and residence checks. The regional public prosecuting agency has branches in 14 cities, towns and districts and employs about 300 people. Over 70 percent of the staff are locals, the others are reinforcement from Russian regions outside Chechnya. The public prosecutors in Grozny, under their new city chief Igor Samokhin, are establishing branches in four city districts -Staropromyslovski, Zavodskoi, Leninski and Oktyabrski. The branches will employ 80 staff. Chechnya's reborn police force includes hundreds of locals, evidence of growing local confidence in and cooperation with the federal authorities. The Chechen Interior Ministry has issued some 300 thousand internal Russian passports over the past two-year period. Ten to 15 hundred are issued each day. A person reaching 14 or seeking to replace his or her old Soviet passport gets his or her new passport within 10 days. A person seeking to replace a lost passport gets his or her new passport within a month. Mr Fridinski praises Chechnya's law enforcement for successfully policing law an order ahead of the scheduled referendum on a new regional constitution on March 23.
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6 Mart 2003  An address of Moscow-based Chechen community officials to Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov
A group of officials of the Moscow-based Chechen community have forwarded a message to the city Mayor Yury Luzhkov. The message is signed by 41 people, including A. Arsamakov, M. Bazhayev, D. Kurumov, M. Saydulayev, S. Khadzhiyev, Kh. Khasbulatov. The message points out that rebel fighters acts of terror in Russia make the life of peaceful law-abiding Chechens nervous and turn them into victims of unfounded suspicion. The authors say in their message that they would like to set up a public body under the Moscow Governments Committee on Interregional Ties and National Policy to deal with the Chechen community-related problems. Those who signed the message feel that the issue will prove quite topical as long as the situation in Chechnya remains unstable and more acts of terror may be staged in the Russian capital. They also point out that a public body in question, something like a Council on the Chechen community problems, would provide for closer cooperation with the Moscow Governments services in the areas of culture, security and fighting the negative image of Chechens.
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05 Mart 2003  New Russian moves to safeguard rights and freedoms in Chechnya
Appearing before a Kremlin sitting of his National Security Council on Tuesday the 25th of February, President Putin instructed the army and the police to sharply improve their network of checkpoints and roadblocks in Chechnya. He said such points and blocks must remain only where they are really necessary but must function with greater efficiency. In compliance with his instructions, the overall number of roadblocks will go down from 60 to 40 within a short period of time. The military and civilian authorities have already started to remove roadblocks, beginning with Chechnya's capital city Grozny. According to the chief military administrator of Chechnya Lieutenant General Yevgeni Abrashin, the city retains only 12, all permanently stationed around its perimeter. Each will possess instant access to electronic databases on wanted criminals and stolen vehicles. Security inside the city perimeter will be provided by municipal, federal and traffic police. The Chechen regional head Akhmad Kadyrov believes the streamlining of roadblock operations will lead to greater stability everywhere in Chechnya. He says it should significantly improve confidence in the federal and regional authorities among local people. The Kremlin aide Sergei Yastrzhembski expects even stronger security around Chechnya after dismantled roadblocks hand over functions to Chechen police, Chechen riot control units and undercover informers who tip people with involvement in crime or terror attacks. President Putin, at the meeting on Tuesday, told his law enforcers to create conditions for each security operation in Chechnya to be closely monitored by public prosecutors, in case there are violations of freedoms and rights. He hoped this would forever put paid to any such violations. But complaints are still coming, the President thundered. Chechnya's chief public prosecutor Vladimir Kravchenko responded by pledging prompt action to detect and prosecute rights abusers. He said his men monitored 127 security operations in Chechnya last year. Sixteen such operations, however, went off unsupervised for lack of notification from forces that carried them out. Mr Kravchenko promised everything in his power to completely rule out unsupervised security round-ups. He said supervision by public prosecutors makes such operations transparent and safeguards citizens' rights. According to chief military prosecutor with the Russian forces in the North Caucasus Alexander Mokritski, over the past three years alone his agency has initiated 162 criminal cases against military personnel who committed crimes against local civilians or abused citizens' rights. Over 50 officers and men have been convicted by courts.
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Chechen culture

Traditional Folk Arts

Unveiling the book, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Tourism in the Russian Lower House G.Omarov had this to say: "... the freshly published book 'Chechen Arms' symbolizes the historical and cultural unity of all peoples in the Caucasus. It calls for peace, ethnic harmony and neighbourhood in the Caucasus area." Archives contain next nothing on the subject and previous publications are sketchy. A whole body of facts concerning Caucasus arms and history would almost certainly have sunk into oblivion if I. Askhabov had not defied the difficult war conditions of the 1990s to collect memories and material evidence of old arms smithies in highland villages around Chechnya. His work boosted the list of known Chechen arms smiths from 14 to 162. Dr E.Astvatsaturian of Russia's State History Museum wrote a preface to Askhabov's book. She says the author's success in identifying people behind signatures and brands should enable Russian museums to correctly attribute hundreds of Chechen swords and daggers in their collections. One fine Chechen dagger at the State History Museum has been proven to be a creation of the famous arms smith Makhmad from the village of Dzhugurta.
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