Actual News from Chechnya

News update

was overstuffed with the various cultural developments, and it became a turning point in reviving Chechen culture. According to the Chechen Minister of Culture Movla Osmayev, this was manifested, above all, in that the republics leading theatre companies and concert halls, specifically the state dance ensemble Vainakh, the Nuradilov Chechen Drama Theatre, the republics Philharmonic Society, the Puppet Theatre had agreed their repertoire and began to perform. In mid-December Chechens celebrated the 65 years since the Vainakh ensemble was set up. The company had come up with and performed a renovated concert programme. In 2005 Vainakh will tour Russia and will also perform at international folklore festivals that are normally annually held in European countries. The renowned company is aware of the fact that they will need a younger generation of performers, so theyve been training 150 boys and girls at their choreographic studio. There are three more choreographic studios for small children and teenagers in Chechnya: the dance and song ensemble Nokhcho, and also the Bashlam and Daimohk ensembles. Daimohk has been successfully touring European countries since the year 2000.
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The Integrated Library Network of the Nadterechny District of Chechnya is seeking new ways to facilitate the quest for education and knowledge in a region that has emerged from war and is mounting a mammoth reconstruction effort. According to Director Malika Taramova, the 16 libraries in her Network have 115 thousand books between them. The greatest demand if for technology (mostly information technology), law, economics, philosophy, history, general and local geography and ecology. Elderly and physically challenged readers get librarian visits at home. A network of local volunteers (mostly scouts and retired people) provides a feedback from them. Mrs Taramova regrets an inadequate supply of new books and speaks about an acute shortage of books for children. She expects help after she raised her concerns at a conference of librarians from 33 Russian regions inBelgorod this autumn. She also tells us about successful arrangements for inter-district book exchange in Chechnya. A reader who cannot find the required book in his or her home district expediently gets it from another. The District's libraries double as comprehensive culture centres. They regularly host local discussion forums (often with refreshments and tea) on anything from housekeeping and cooking to family, moral behavior, aging, loneliness and finding a match. Youngsters are drawn to computer games, brain-rings and television-style wit gambles. Boys of pre-military age come to libraries to meet with war and service veterans in the District. All libraries are preparing exhibitions and events on the 60th anniversary of Allied Victory over Nazism. War veterans will get home visits with congratulations and presents. Mrs Taramova speaks about a great boost to her service from a drastically overhauled building of the Central District Library in Nadterechny. (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

Chechen oil will go through Tolstoi-Yurt

The reconstruction of oil separation station in the village of Tolstoi-Yurt is near completion. The technicians of the Chechengrazhdanstroi Company are now repairing the reserves equipment. The cost of work is estimated at 17 million rubles or about 600 000 US dollars. Grozneftgaz Company finances the project. Work is being carried out without halting the production process. According to the head of Grozny Rural district's industry and transport department, Isa Betirov, there is a need to reconstruct station and install additional separation equipment because it serves all oil fields in Chechnya. All oil produced in Chechnya passes through station. When the reconstruction work ends the station's capacity will significantly increases. The station splits raw oil into its components and gas and water are being removed from oil. After the first stage of purification oil is being transported to Shelkovsky region for further refining. Chechnya and other Russian regions consume refined oil from the republic. Chechengrazhdanstroi Company has promised to end the reconstruction work in September.
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Issue 253
11.01.05

Chechnya: news | arguments | facts

11 January 2005  Two caches of ammunition discovered in Dagestan
Two caches of weapons and ammunition have been discovered in a sweep operation being carried out in Dagestan. "One cache was discovered in a rock cleft in Dagestan's Kazbekovsky district, several hundred meters from the administrative border with Chechnya. It contained a Kalashnikov rifle, 800 cartridges and grenades," a Dagestani law enforcement official told Interfax on Saturday. The other cache was found in a summer cottage settlement outside Makhachkala. It contained about a hundred cartridges, two grenades for shoulder-fired grenade launchers, a mine and an anti-tank grenade. Both caches have been eliminated, the source said.
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11 January 2005  Christmas service ministered in only Orthodox temple of Grozny
Many servicemen and police officers on mission in Chechnya from various regions of Russia attended a Christmas service in the only Orthodox temple in Grozny 7 January. The church does not have a priest yet, and Rev. Varlaam visited Grozny to minister Orthodox Christmas services. There are about 100 Orthodox believers in Grozny, and nearly all of them are elderly people. Terek Cossacks built the Orthodox temple in Grozny 112 years ago. The church was semi-ruined in the hostilities, and the reconstruction began several weeks ago. The reconstruction will be complete by Orthodox Christmas of 2006, Rev. Varlaam told Itar-Tass. Chechen President Alu Alkhanov visited the church several days before the New Year. The Orthodox church and a mosque are under repairs in the town. Both of them will receive equal allocations from the budget. All the religions have equal rights here, Alkhanov told the press.
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11 January 2004  Suspect detained in Chechnya over last June Ingushetia attack
A person suspected of participating in the attack on Ingushetia on the night to June 22 last year has been detained in Chechnya. Police detained the suspect near the settlement of Sernovodsk, a Chechen Interior Ministry source told Itar-Tass. The 19-year-old person is suspected of committing a series of crimes, including participation in the armed attack on Ingushetia, the source said. Chechen police also detained a 23-year-old local resident, supposedly an active member of illegal armed groups. When he was detained, he pulled out the pin from a grenade and it exploded wounding him. The person was taken to hospital. The policemen were not hurt. During special operations, Chechen police found two machine guns, two submachine guns and a great number of cartridges in a vehicle left in Grozny. An investigation into the case is under way.
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Russia - Chechnya

Chechen culture

The modern-age Chechen literature started in the 1920s when writers and poets in Chechnya established contacts with colleagues in other parts of the Soviet Union. It was a close concern of such great founding fathers of the Soviet literature as A.Serafimovich, M.Gorky and M.Golodny. A.Serafimovich was a frequent visitor to Chechnya at the time. In 1929, he attended an executive meeting of the Grozny Association of Proletarian Writers. In an address to the gathering, he called on the Chechen writers 'to move as one into real life'. In 1930, he sponsored the publication of a Russian version of the poem 'To the Time of the Tsars' by the Chechen poet Said Baduyev. The poem was published in the opening issue of the NA PODYEME ('On the Rise') literary journal. In the late 1920s and in the opening half of the 1930s, M.Gorky was in overall charge of inter-ethnic literary exchanges within the Soviet Union. His favourite method was dispatching writer support brigades to outlying Soviet republics and regions. Said Baduyev in 1932 responded to this by publishing an essay entitled 'Maxim Gorky is Our Teacher'.
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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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