Actual News from Chechnya

News update

The constitution of Chechnya, which was adopted at the March 23 referendum, came into force. This occurred after it was published in the local press. "I have every reason now to speak and act on behalf of the people," Chechen administration chief Akhmad Kadyrov told Interfax. He recalled that the overwhelming majority of the people of Chechnya had voted for the constitution in the referendum. "The people have supported our policy aimed at restoring peace and order to Chechnya, rehabilitating its economy and social sphere, and recognizing Chechnya as an integral part of Russia," Kadyrov said. He said structural changes to the Chechen administration and government will be made soon. "Formally, there should be an office of the presidential envoy, but I believe that economic expediency is very important. Therefore, Chechen Prime Minister Anatoly Popov and I will try to work out the best way," he said. Speaking about the "broad autonomy" proposed by President Putin for Chechnya and the agreement on the division of powers between the federal center and the republic, Kadyrov said it is more important for Chechnya to gain economic privileges. "We have no intention of asking for special political rights," Kadyrov said.
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Lord Judd will no longer be the chief reporter on Chechnya at sessions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The PACE political commission decided on Tuesday to appoint another reporter on Chechnya, Mikhail Margelov, head of the Federation Council committee for international affairs and PACE deputy chairman, told journalists on Tuesday. This will be done at its next session in Berlin late in April, Itar-Tass reports. Lord Judd announced his intention to quit at the winter session of PACE. The PACE political commission decided as well to change the format of the PACE-Duma joint working group for Chechnya, Margelov continued. At the next session it will be transformed into the PACE-Russian Federal Assembly working group.
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Chechen history

Chechnya | Questions and answers

This pamphlet is about Chechnya , a Russian territory which has witnessed the most tragic events over the past decade. The book is the latest update on the Chechen Republic . And this is very important, since a lack of fresh and accurate information about events in Chechnya generates many distorted conceptions and rumours - both within and outside Russia . For example, that Chechen society is allegedly inherently alien to Russia , that pro-Russian elements in the republic are marginalised; and lastly, that Russian power structures are fighting the Chechen people, rather than armed bandit groups. The reality, however, is that only with the return of the legitimate authorities are villages and towns being restored, children going to school for the first time in many years, and pensioners receiving long-forgotten pensions, i.e. a social rebirth is underway. Lying ahead are a referendum on a new Chechen constitution, and parliamentary and presidential elections. These votes will be held, despite continued attempts by bandit groups and their leaders to scupper the process of normalisation in the republic, the latest terrorist act being the bombing of the republican government building. The war being waged by Chechen separatists against federal forces and more often than not against their own co-citizens is by no means a "national liberation struggle of the Chechen people", but an episode in the overall offensive by international terrorism on the fundamental principles of modern civilisation. The facts show that being a part of the Russian Federation in no way threatens the Chechen Republic 's cultural identity, the free use of its own language, and preaching Islam. On the contrary, it was during de facto "independence" from Russia that the Chechen people suffered a humanitarian tragedy on an unprecedented scale. Hostage-taking, the slave trade and plundering came to form the economic basis of the new regime, while chaos and war became the form of its political existence. We want to emphasise once more: Chechnya is part of Russia , geographically, politically and civilisation-wise. So a hypothetical triumph of radical Islamism on its territory would be anti-historical. Such a development would signify the establishment in the midst of Europe of a Taliban-like regime, with all ensuing consequences for the international community. The corporate author - journalists of the Russian Information Agency Novosti - have attempted to be as brief as possible on providing answers to the most-often asked questions (above all posed by a foreign audience) about the Chechen issue. Hence the book's title: " Chechnya : Questions and Answers". It draws heavily on information provided by various Russian ministries and departments that in one or another way are involved in normalising life in the republic.
Russian Information Agency Novosti
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Chechen ethnos

Chechens as an ethnic group

The drawn-out Caucasian war left an imprint on the Chechen economy, family and society, Remembering that "all Moslems are brethren," numerous representatives of the ethnic communities of Daghestan and other neighboring regions had moved to live on the fertile land of Chechnya. Up to one third of the Avars, Darghis, Andis, Kumyks, Circassians, Tartars, Kurds and others moved to live in Chechnya. Tsudakhar, Andi, Kumyk, Tartar and other communities have preserved their identity in Chechnya. The Chechens welcomed representatives of other ethnic communities, protected them and rendered them all the necessary aid and assistance. They marked off territory where the newcomers could build their homes. The Chechens and the newcomers enjoyed equal rights in the use of meadowland, community pastures and other vitally important places. They danced on rare occasions now that many families were mourning their dead and everyone felt the economic strain of the war effort. Simplified wedding rites got to take less time. That was a positive development in the life of Chechnya.
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Issue 81
02.04.03

Chechnya: news | arguments | facts

02 April 2003  17 new construction projects in Chechnya sponsored by Russian federal districts
Administration of the Russian president has requested all federal districts of the Russian Federation to contribute to the restoration of the Chechen republic. All seven federal districts gave preliminary agreement to do so. Each of them will build socially important objects in Chechnya at their own expense. 17 scheduled projects include schools, hospitals and social service centers. Central federal district will restore two schools in Sunzhensky and Shatoysky district. Southern district will restore schools in Nozhai-Yurt and Itum-Kalinsky districts. Law enforcement units of the Omsk and Krasnoyarsk interior departments deployed there will contract local construction organizations. Volga district will help to build two schools in Kurchaloi district. Ural district will restore two schools in Grozny and Vedeno districts. It will fund construction of social services center in Gudermes. North West district will take up construction of three schools in Urus-Martan and Shalinsky districts. It will also build a culture hall. Far East district will repair a school in Vedeno district. All the construction work is scheduled for this year. If the projects are fulfilled as planned, by the beginning of a new school year, Chechnya will have 14 more schools that is 4810 more pupils.
(more News from Chechnya)

01 April 2003  Lipetsk region signs an agreement on cooperation with Chechnya
It is an initiative by the Russian Presidents envoy to the central federal district Georgy Poltavchenko to establish patronage relations between the districts of Chechnya and the regions of the federal district. Lately, a delegation from Chechnyas Naur district has visited Lipetsk. The two sides drafted an agreement on cooperation in the restoration of the Chechen economy and social area and signed it. Speaking to our correspondent the governor of the Lipetsk region, Oleg Korolev said that residents in the region consider Chechnya as a part of Russia that needs help and were always ready to render assistance. Although the Lipetsk region is in the far north it is interested in the establishment of peace and stabilization of the situation in Chechnya. According to Oleg Korolev, the agreement signed with the Naur district is a contribution to Russias common affair. When Oleg Korolev was chairman of a collective farm cooperated with Chechen construction workers and speaks highly of their work and attitude toward people. He believes that many enterprises and banks in the region are ready to invest money in the reconstruction of Chechnya. This will make it possible to create new jobs, give money to people and inspire confidence on the future. The agreement provides for the establishment of direct links with health facilities in the region and Chechnya and increase of the number of Chechen students at the institutes and universities in the region. It strengthens relations between the two regions of Russia, which, according to Oleg Korolev, have always existed in culture, industrial production and social area.
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31 Mart 2003  Aset Vatsuyeva.-NTV host
Starting from February 10 2003 Aset Vatsuyeva has become a familiar face to thousands of people for on that day she appeared for the first time on television as co-host of one of the popular programmes on NTV country and the world. Aset Vatsuyeva has some journalistic experience and a 6-month old son Zia. Aset is 25 and was born into a Muslim family in Grozny the Chechen capital. She studied in Saint Petersburg later transferring to the Moscow State University graduating from the faculty of journalism. From 1997 she worked in Moscow as a correspondent of the Grozny paper Voice of Chechen republic. Her reports were sent to Grozny through train conductors on the Moscow-Grozny line. Later she worked for 2 papers in the Russian capital - in the political section of Obshaya Gazeta and in the cultural section of Obyedinennaya Gazeta co-founded by the union for the restoration of peace and agreement in the republic of Chechnya and the New time movement. After the terrorist attack against the Moscow theater Aset Vatsuyeva did for NTV Namedni a serious report on Chechen women and that led to the host of the programme Leonid Parfenov offering her an opportunity to try her hands in a new NTV project. Asets son was under a month old and hence she took a while pondering over the offer before taking it up. She is happy that she accepted the offer and she has plunged into her new profession most passionately. Aset has received some help from experienced experts, among them old hand and versatile Anna Shatilova who taught Aset the arcane art of articulation. Another well known expert is Anna Nikolayevna Petrova a professor of the Moscow Artistic Academic Theater, MXAT studio- school who gave Aset lessons on stage speech and psychology of comportment. NTV information programme of country and the world is devoted in the main to events of the day in Russia as well as beyond its frontiers. Now Russias views on key global developments are being put across by a young Chechen journalist Aset Vatsuyeva. Asked whether she is not afraid of being a celebrity she retorted: should one be afraid of this? One should be ready for it since hosting a television prograamme is a public profession.
(more News from Chechnya...)

27 Mart 2003  K. Ibrahimov: Russian intellectuals
The gathering of Chechen and Moscow writers in the Russian capital brought to a close the festival of Chechen culture. In the hall of the international community of writers union poets and prose writers talked about common problems, remembered friends and read their works. The Chechen writer and playwright Sayid-Hamzat Nunyev chaired the gathering. Chechen guests heard a lot of pleasant words said about them. The well known poetess Lyudmila Shipahina spoke about her friendship with Raisa Ahmatova. Chechens believe in eternal friendship, she said and her response ended with a poem which was concluded like this:

"Old dignities not dropping,
In heavens guilt not measuring,
Chechnya my sister,
Lets embrace in tears."

Chechen history

Horse races date back to times immemorial. Several kinds of horse raceing were practiced as sports events. BRINK RACES required courage and excellent riding skills. A line was drawn some 15 to 20 meters away from the brink of a mountain. This is where the galloping horses were to be brought to a halt. The most skillful riders arrsted the flight of their horses at six steps from the precipice. The horses had been trained to heave down, suddenly, on their hind quarters. The horse together with the rider fell, not infrequently, into the abyss. Only highly skilled grownups qualified for this competition. Young boys were only allowed to look on. A victory in DEAD MAN'S RACES brought a man the weapons, horse, horse harness and/or clothes of a deceased villager. The wealthier, the more experienced and celebrated the deceased man had been, the more horse riders joined the competition. Teenagers, and even children, were allowed to try their luck, too. Children would usually compete for the clothes, grownups - for the weapons. The grownups were expected to hit targets while galloping full speed past them. Those who wanted to get the dead man's dagger were to ride with their own daggers clenched tight between their teeth. Boys of 12 to 15 years of age rode their horses for dozens of miles and got the dead man's headwear and less important things for a prize. This kind of horse races underwent a change in the mid-19th century. Neither the dead man's cold steel and fire arms nor his headwear were any longer handed down to the best horse riders. New suits of clothes and new footwear were bought for the purpose.
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Chechen cuisine

"The Chechens, like the rest of the highlanders, avoid extremes in their eating and drinking habits. What they usually eat is chureks or corn bread with mutton lard spread on it, and wheat stew with lard in it; water is their basic refreshment." "...Unleavend wheat or barley bread baked on charcoal, milk and cheese constitute their daily menu; meat is eaten, very rarely, by the richest of the Chechens." That was written about the Chechen eating habits in the 19th century. And it was not until the late 19th century that many vegetables grown in Europe - tomatoes, cabbage, radish - had found their way to the kitchen gardens of mountainous Chechnya. Chechen farming units have, since times immemorial, been self-sufficient, with only spices and sweetmeats being bought at the market. And, although they have become familiar with the cuisines of many other ethnic communities, the Chechen women cherish the very special culinary traditions of their own.
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