Actual News from Chechnya

News update

A member of the Grozny office of the International Committee of the Red Cross has disappeared in Chechnya, sources in the republic's law enforcement agencies told Interfax. Red Cross official Said-Khusein Deniyev and another two unknown people left the organization's office in Grozny's Leninsky district and disappeared on January 13. A search for them is in progress, one of the sources said. Senior Chechen law enforcement officials could not be reached for comment.
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Russia does its best to protect human rights in Chechnya, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told the New York-based United States Council on Foreign Relations, a non-governmental organization. "I am fully authorized to say that we not only have all information concerning rule of law and human rights in Chechnya, but also take all measures necessary to improve it on the regional as well as federal level," the Russian Defense Minister said. He said all human rights violations, including those revealed in the course of the counter terrorist operation, were being thoroughly investigated, and those who have committed crimes are punished in full compliance with the Russian legislation. "In the past years, dozens of military servicepersons have been convicted by court for various crimes, many of which were committed against the civilian population of Chechnya. The fact that the number of crimes has dropped of late is explained by the mere fact that the war is over," he said. At the same time, he noted, the Russian Defense Ministry has information about 150 to 200 foreign mercenaries active in Chechnya. "Suffice it to say, mercenaries from over 50 states participated and were eliminated in the counter terrorist operation area in Chechnya. We have information about 150 to 200 foreign mercenaries active in Chechnya. Most [mercenaries that we know of] have been recruited in Turkey, a NATO member state," the Russian official said. He said dozens of Turkish citizens had been eliminated in fighting against militant groups. "I would like to use this opportunity to state once again, firmly and unequivocally: Russia has never and will never hold any talks and keep any contacts with terrorists. Hopefully, our NATO partners will stick to the same principles, rather than providing asylum to notorious people, as it was in Britain and the United States," the minister said. (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 254
14.01.05

Chechnya: news | arguments | facts

14 January 2005  Three staff members of Chechen presidential security service killed
Three staff members of the Chechen presidential security service were killed in the highlands of southern Chechnya on Wednesday when their car came under submachine gun fire, a source in the Vedeno district police department told Interfax on Thursday. The three men died instantly and a local resident who happened to be in the same car died later from injuries he suffered during the attack. Investigators are working at the crime scene. Police are searching for the attackers.
(more News from Chechnya...)

14 January 2005  R.Kadyrov: Detention of Maskhadov's relatives denied
Chechen First Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov has denied reports that the republic's law enforcement agencies allegedly detained relatives of Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov. "These reports are not true," Kadyrov told Interfax by phone on Thursday. "Acting on my instruction, various law enforcement agencies carried out a detailed check and established that neither Interior Ministry bodies nor any other agencies had received letters from relatives of the aforementioned people reporting their abduction," he said. Kadyrov offered his comments in response to a press release circulated by the Memorial human rights center in Moscow on Wednesday evening that eight of Maskhadov's relatives had been detained by Chechen law enforcement agencies on December 3-28, 2004. They include Maskhadov's two brothers, sister and nephew, the release says.
(more News from Chechnya...)

14 January 2004  Most of foreign mercenaries killed in Chechnya are turks
Turkey is a record-breaker among the nations whose citizens have been killed as mercenaries operating as part of illegal armed formations in Chechnya, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told a news conference at the Russian embassy in Washington. "I see no major problems in the Russian-Turkish relations, except the double standards towards the fight against terrorism. I mean Turkey is a record-breaker in terms of the number of its citizens killed in Chechnya while operating with Chechen illegal armed formations," the minister noted. Minister Ivanov also stressed that the Russian-Turkish relations had been on the rise, all the more so that Russian President Vladimir Putin has recently paid a visit to Turkey and a large Turkish businessman team led by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan reciprocated as early as in the beginning of this week. Responding to questions about the Russian-Armenian relations in light of Russia's links with Turkey, the Russian defense minister noted that Armenia was a closest Russian ally. "Our two countries are members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (along with Armenia and Russia, the members of this defense organization under the CIS auspices are Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). There is a large Russian military base in Armenia. We have very close economic and cultural links," Ivanov said. At the same time, he said, "We are not going to push Armenia in any direction. Armenia is a sovereign nation that will take its own decision on where it wants to go. This is a principle of ours."
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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.
(more about chechen traditions...)

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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