Actual News from Chechnya

News update

President Murat Zyazikov, of Ingushetia, has firmly opposed the idea of his republics unification with Chechnya. Of late my negative attitude to this idea underwent no change. This idea is harmful to both peoples. We should not repeat mistakes of the past, Zyazikov told a news conference in Moscow. He believes that the supporters of unification are hoping it would help address many problems, such as the problem of refugees and unemployment. Asked about the forthcoming early presidential election in Chechnya Zyazikov said, I have invariably respected the choice of the Chechen people, and I always will, irrespective of who becomes president of that republic. We shall furnish any assistance we can to the Chechen people in holding the election. The Ingush president was evasive, when asked who in his opinion might become Chechen president.
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The last Chechen refugee camp has been closed in Ingushetia, a republic neighbouring Chechnya. All 850 residents of the camp have returned home, an official of the regional Interior Ministrys migration department told Itar-Tass. The returnees have been put up in Grozny in prepared family dormitories. Many of the refugees will get 300,000-rouble compensation for their houses destroyed during the military campaign in Chechnya. Refugee camp cities appeared in Ingushetia in 1999, when intensive combat began in Chechnya. More than 14,000 people then lived in the tent camps (more...)

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 aked 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 economics

More tax collection signifies positive changes in the Chechen economy

April 30 was the last day for the submission of tax declaration by Chechens on their income last year. By May 1, 14,696 people had submitted declarations to the Chechen tax office, including 13,422 from state employees , 1,064 from businessmen and 210 from various other individuals. Overall, the tax declaration campaign results evidence a significant increase in the income of Chechens, which in turn reflects a positive tendency in the republics economy and social sector. A total of 619,395 rubles, a 1,5 fold increase over last years figure were received from individuals and whats more, the increased collection covered all sources of income without an exception. A 1,6 fold increase on last years figures were received from individual businessmen, 5,3 fold increase came from tax on individual land ownership,2,3 times more tax was collected from transport operators while 3,7 more tax was collected from private property owners. Judging by the results of the first quarter of this year, there is visible a tendency toward a stable increase in the income of Chechen citizens. If in January to March 2003, 117,867rubles were collected as tax from individual citizens, in the first three months of this year 168,933 rubles, an increase of 40 per cent were received from the same number of individuals. The positive dynamics in tax collection must be credited to the professionalism of employees of the Chechen tax office, who on January 25 marked their 4th anniversary. Ten employees of the territorial department have been decorated with the honorary medal of excellence by the Russian tax ministry while several others were given honorary testimonials and valuable gifts.
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Issue 194
01.06.04

Chechnya: news | arguments | facts

01 June 2004  Search for perpetrators of terrorist acts underway in Ingushetia
Law enforcers in Russias North Caucasian territory of Ingushetia are searching for the people, who masterminded terrorist acts together with the three militants destroyed near the township of Barsuki on May 30. Sources at the Prosecutors Office of Ingushetia said an operation had been organized to track down and detain other members of the criminal ring reporting to the grouping of the Islamic fundamentalist Abu Al Walid. Sources at the Ingushetian Interior Ministry said the militants had been blocked in a building used as a temporary house by a family from Georgias Akhmeti district. Using two women and three children as a live shield, the terrorists offered armed resistance. The combat lasted about four hours, in the course of which the militants were destroyed and three officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) received wounds posing no risk to their lives. None of the civilians were injured. As the operatives searched the house, they found about 30 kilograms of plastic explosive, a suicide bombers belt, six grenades F-1, two grenades RGD-5, parts for manufacturing homemade explosive mechanisms, and small arms. Investigators also established the identities of two killed terrorists Muslim Salamov and Ramazan Natayev, both of them residents of Chechnya. Late Monday night, work was still in progress to identify the third terrorist. The men had come to Russia from Azerbaijan via Georgian territory shortly before that, said Colonel Ilya Shabalkin, a spokesman for the federal antiterrorist forces headquarters in Northern Caucasus. This was established in the course of investigation, said he.
(more News from Chechnya...)

01 June 2004  European MPs Plan to visit Chechnya
State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov promises aid to PACE delegates in arranging their trip to Chechnya. On May 31, the speaker of the lower house met PACE rapporteurs Andreas Gross and Rudolf Bindig. Russian parliamentarians are ready to provide information and practical assistance in arranging the trip and the preparation of concluding documents, said Gryzlov. In his opinion, the election campaign in Chechnya (elections are due on August 29) will not suspend restoration efforts in the republic. "The political process is not a good basis for hampering socio-economic measures, these processes go together," said the Duma speaker. He emphasised that the federal and the republic's authorities were a token of Chechnya's early return to a normal and peaceful life. According to Gryzlov, the problem of human rights and legal interests in Chechnya remained in the focus of attention. After the tragic events of May 9 in Grozny, when the terrorist attack killed President of the Chechen Republic Akhmad Kadyrov, the federal authorities of Russia and Chechnya are faced with the common task of preserving stability in the region and arranging the forthcoming presidential elections, said the speaker. "Today, we have no doubt that bandits who planned and committed the murder of Kadyrov have failed to achieve their main goal - destabilise the situation in the region," he added. According to Gryzlov, this ruthless terrorist attack was toughly censured both by the international community and Kadyrov's supporters in the republic, as well as opponents of the former Chechen leader. "The upcoming visit to Chechnya of PACE rapporteurs is another evidence of the international community's attention to the situation in the North Caucasus," he continued. Gryzlov expressed confidence that the conclusions and recommendations of the PACE rapporteurs would be based on objective assessment of the present-day developments and their willingness to help the Russian Federation restore the republic. Gryzlov pledged that the results of the delegates' work would be carefully studied and analysed in the Duma.

01 June 2004  Assassinated Chechen leader Kadyrovs elder son dies
The Chechen administration confirmed that Zelimkhan Kadyrov, elder son of late Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, passed away on May 31 in the village of Tsentoroi. "The death occurred on Monday at about 18.05 Moscow time as a result of congestive heart failure", said a source in the Chechen president administration. Following the car accident, which Kadyrov, 30, met with in 2003, he went through a number of major operations and often applied for medical assistance. After his father's death Zelimkhan Kadyrov complained of sickness and heartache, the source added. The road accident happened in October last year. A VAZ-2199, driven by Zelimkan Kadyrov, smashed a VAZ-2104 on the motor road between the villages of Bachi-Yurt and Tsentoroi near Gudermes. Zelimkhan Kadyrov got a blunt object trauma and had his right arm fractured, internal haemorrhage was also detected. The wounded went through splenectomy. Zelimkhan's father Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov was killed in a terrorist attack in Grozny on May 9 2004.
(more News from Chechnya...)

Russia - Chechnya

Chechen culture

The natural surroundings determined what kind of villages and housing units were to be built in the mountainous and flatland parts of Chechnya. Mountain rock was the main. and wood, clay and straw, the auxiliary building materials. Security was the chief concern of those who settled to live in mountain canyons: their villages were to be well protected. Besides, the highlanders were concerned about the availability of grass and grazing pastures, water, and, last but not least, arable land. Land ought not to be wasted, so houses were built even on top of mountain cliffs. One-storey houses with a flat roof constituted the widest-spread type of buildings in mountainous Chechnya. Two-storeyed houses and three-to-five-storeyed towers were occasionally built, too. Several buildings - the living quarters, a tower and the outhouses - made up what might be called a family holding. Their relative positions depended on the terrain. A mountain village looked a helter-skelter agglomeration of buildings. No straight streets cut through it. Land was scarce. It was divided between kins and no construction blueprints were ever drawn up. The more kinsmen, the bigger chunk of land a kin was entitled to get. As a result, there appeared blocks of family holdings: kinsmen settled to live side by side with one another. Every village had a main square which was dominated by a mosque. The main square was meant for public gatherings. Flatland villages eventually came to imitate the highlanders' planning methods. They stretched on the bank of a river or along a road and were far more populous. A mountain village had 20 to 25 family units whereas a village of flatland Chechnya, over 400. The Chechens usually built their long, flat-roofed, one-storey houses of mountain rock and, less frequently, of straw brick. It took a week to build this unpretentious shelter, and a week was all the time a Chechen could afford to spend on housing construction after his old house was destroyed by an enemy. Other construction materials were used in flatland Chechnya. The walls of the houses were made of a mixture of clay, chaff and fresh manure. The roofs were made of wooden poles covered with tree bark and a layer of clay. The clay was to be tamped with a special rammer, otherwise grass would grow on the roofs.
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Chechen tarditions

The book "Vainakh Ethics" by Edi Isaev is an utmost important work at a time when the life in Chechnya is returning to normal. Edi Isaev is a historian, Professor at the Chechen State University, writer and publicist directs his book to youth. In introduction he emphasizes: "The norm of Vainakh ethics is the code of wise truths of people that reflects their ideals." The book is educational. It contains the ideas on ethics by thinkers of various people and various times from Epicurus and Confucius A.S. Makarenko and L.N.Toltoi. The second chapter is devoted to ethic norms of Chechens. The third chapter considers in detail traditional family ethic code. The final chapter is devoted to Islamic ethic norms. Materials from the book Vainakh Ethics by Edi Isaev is devoted to customs and traditions of Chechens.
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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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