The republic covers an area of 17,500 square kilometres (6,800 square miles), with a population of over 1.5 million residents as of 2021[update].[5] Its population largely consists of the indigenousChechen ethnic group, who are part of theNakh peoples and adhere primarily to theIslamic faith.Grozny is thecapital and largest city.
The Vainakhs are the ancient natives of theCaucasus. It is noteworthy, that according to the genealogical table drawn up by Leonti Mroveli, the legendary forefather of the Vainakhs was "Kavkas", hence the name Kavkasians, one of the ethnicons met in the ancient Georgian written sources, signifying the ancestors of theChechens andIngush. As appears from the above, the Vainakhs, at least by name, are presented as the most "Caucasian" people of all the Caucasians (Caucasus – Kavkas – Kavkasians) in the Georgian historical tradition.[11][12]
American linguistJohanna Nichols "has used language to connect the modern people of the Caucasus region to the ancient farmers of theFertile Crescent" and her research suggests that "farmers of the region were proto-Nakh-Daghestanians". Nichols stated: "TheNakh–Dagestanian languages are the closest thing we have to a direct continuation of the cultural and linguistic community that gave rise toWestern civilisation."[13]
Traces of human settlement dating back to 40,000 BC were found nearLake Kezenoyam. Cave paintings, artifacts, and other archaeological evidence indicate continuous habitation for some 8,000 years.[14] People living in these settlements used tools, fire, and clothing made of animal skins.[14]
TheCaucasian Epipaleolithic and earlyCaucasian Neolithic era saw the introduction ofagriculture,irrigation, and the domestication of animals in the region.[13] Settlements near Ali-Yurt andMagas, discovered in modern times, revealed tools made out of stone: stone axes, polished stones, stone knives, stones with holes drilled in them, clay dishes, etc. Settlements made out of clay bricks were discovered in the plains. In the mountains there were settlements made from stone and surrounded by walls; some of them dated back to 8000 BC.[15][full citation needed] This period also saw the appearance of the wheel (3000 BC), horseback riding, metal works (copper, gold, silver, iron), dishes, armor, daggers, knives and arrow tips in the region. The artifacts were found nearNasare-Cort,Muzhichi, Ja-E-Bortz (alternatively known asSurkha-khi), Abbey-Gove (also known asNazran or Nasare).[15]
In the 14th and 15th centuries, there was frequent warfare between the Chechens,Tamerlane andTokhtamysh, culminating in theBattle of the Terek River (seeTokhtamysh–Timur war). The Chechen tribes built fortresses, castles, and defensive walls, protecting the mountains from the invaders (seeVainakh tower architecture). Part of the lowland tribes were occupied by Mongols. However, during the mid-14th century a strong Chechen Princedom calledSimsim emerged underKhour II, a Chechen king that led the Chechen politics and wars. He was in charge of an army of Chechens against the rogue warlordMamai and defeated him in the Battle of Tatar-tup in 1362. The kingdom of Simsim was almost destroyed during the Timurid invasion of the Caucasus, when Khour II allied himself with theGolden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh in the Battle of the Terek River. Timur sought to punish the highlanders for their allegiance to Tokhtamysh and as a consequence invaded Simsim in 1395.[16]
The 16th century saw the first Russian involvement in the Caucasus. In 1558, Temryuk of Kabarda sent his emissaries to Moscow requesting help fromIvan the Terrible against the Vainakh tribes. Ivan the Terrible married Temryuk's daughterMaria Temryukovna. An alliance was formed to gain the ground in the central Caucasus for the expandingTsardom of Russia against Vainakh defenders.
As theImperial Russian Army took control of the Caspian corridor and moved into Persian-ruledDagestan, Peter's forces ran into mountain tribes. Peter sent a cavalry force to subdue them, but the Chechens routed them.[20] In 1732, after Russia had already ceded back most of the Caucasus to Persia, now led byNader Shah, following theTreaty of Resht, Russian troops clashed again with Chechens in a village called Chechen-aul along theArgun River.[20] The Russians were defeated again and withdrew, but this battle is responsible for the apocryphal story about how the Nokhchiy came to be known as "Chechens" – the people ostensibly named for the place the battle had taken place. However, the name "Chechen" had already been used as early as 1692.[20]
Under intermittent Persian rule since 1555, in 1783, theeastern Georgians ofKartl-Kakheti, led byErekle II, and the Russians signed theTreaty of Georgievsk. According to this treaty, Kartl-Kakheti received protection from Russia, and Georgia abjured any dependence onIran.[21] To increase its influence in the Caucasus and secure communication with Kartli and other Christian-inhabited regions ofTranscaucasia, which it considered useful in its wars against Persia and theOttoman Empire, theRussian Empire began conquering the Northern Caucasus mountains. The Russian Empire usedChristianity to justify its conquests. This allowed Islam to spread widely among the Chechens, as it positioned itself as the religion of liberation from theTsardom of Russia, which viewed Nakh tribes as "bandits".[22] The rebellion was led byMansur Ushurma, a Chechensheikh belonging to theNaqshbandiSufi order—with wavering military support from other North Caucasian tribes. Mansur hoped to establish anIslamic state based in theTranscaucasus underSharia law. He was unable to fully achieve this because, in the course of the war, he was betrayed by theOttoman Turks, handed over to the Russians, and executed in 1794.[23]
The resistance of the Nakh tribes never ended and was a fertile ground for a newMuslim-Avar commander,Imam Shamil, who fought against the Russians from 1834 to 1859 (seeMurid War). In 1859, Shamil was captured by the Russians at aul Gunib. Shamil leftBaysangur of Benoa,[25] a Chechen with one arm, one eye, and one leg, in charge of command at Gunib. Baysangur broke through the siege and continued to fight Russia for another two years until he was captured and killed by Russians. The Russian Tsar hoped that by sparing the life of Shamil, the resistance in the North Caucasus would stop, but it did not. Russia began to use a colonization tactic by destroying Nakh settlements and building Cossack defense lines in the lowlands.[citation needed]
The Russian Tsarist regime used a different approach at the end of the 1860s. They offered Chechens and Ingush to leave the Caucasus for the Ottoman Empire (seeMuhajir (Caucasus)). It is estimated that about 80% of Chechens and Ingush left the Caucasus during the deportation. It weakened the resistance, which went from open warfare to insurgent warfare. One of the notable Chechen resistance fighters at the end of the 19th century was a ChechenabrekZelimkhan Gushmazukaev and his comrade-in-arms Ingush abrek Sulom-Beck Sagopshinski. Together they built up small units which constantly harassed Russian military convoys, government mints, and the postal service, mainly in Ingushetia and Chechnya. Ingush aul Kek was completely burned when the Ingush refused to hand over Zelimkhan. Zelimkhan was killed at the beginning of the twentieth century. The war between Nakh tribes and Russia resurfaced during the times of theRussian Revolution, which saw the Nakh struggle againstAnton Denikin and later against theSoviet Union.
On 21 December 1917,Ingushetia, Chechnya, andDagestan declared independence from Russia and formed a single state: theUnited Mountain Dwellers of the North Caucasus, which was recognized by major world powers of the time. The capital of the new state was moved toTemir-Khan-Shura (today in Dagestan).[26][27]Tapa Tchermoeff, a prominent Chechen statesman, was elected the first prime minister of the state. The second prime minister elected was Vassan-Girey Dzhabagiev, an Ingush statesman, who also was the author of the constitution of the republic in 1917, and in 1920 he was re-elected for the third term. In 1921 the Russians attacked and occupied the country and forcibly absorbed it into the Soviet state. The Caucasian war for independence restarted, andthe government went into exile.[28]
Under theSoviet Union, Chechnya and Ingushetia were combined to form theChecheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In the 1930s, Chechnya was flooded with many Ukrainians fleeing afamine. As a result, many of the Ukrainians settled in Chechen-Ingush ASSR permanently and survived the famine.[29] Although over 50,000 Chechens and over 12,000 Ingush were fighting againstNazi Germany on the front line (includingHeroes of the USSR:Abukhadzhi Idrisov,Khanpasha Nuradilov,Movlid Visaitov), and although Nazi German troops advanced as far as the Ossetian ASSR city of Ordzhonikidze and the Chechen-Ingush ASSR city ofMalgobek after capturing half of the Caucasus in less than a month, Chechens and Ingush were falsely accused as Nazi supporters and entire nations weredeported duringOperation Lentil to theKazakh SSR (laterKazakhstan) in 1944 near the end ofWorld War II where over 60% of Chechen and Ingush populations perished.[30][31] American historianNorman Naimark writes:
Troops assembled villagers and townspeople, loaded them onto trucks – many deportees remembered that they were Studebakers, fresh from Lend-Lease deliveries over the Iranian border – and delivered them at previously designated railheads. ... Those who could not be moved were shot. ... [A] few fighters aside, the entire Chechen and Ingush nations, 496,460 people, were deported from their homeland.[32]
The deportation was justified by the materials prepared byNKVD officerBogdan Kobulov accusing Chechens and Ingush in a mass conspiracy preparing rebellion and providing assistance to the German forces. Many of the materials were later proven to be fabricated.[33] Even distinguishedRed Army officers who fought bravely against Germans (e.g. the commander of 255th Separate Chechen-Ingush regimentMovlid Visaitov, the first to contactAmerican forces at Elbe river) were deported.[34] There is a theory that the real reason why Chechens and Ingush were deported was the desire of Russia to attack Turkey, an anti-communist country, as Chechens and Ingush could impede such plans.[22] In 2004, theEuropean Parliament recognized the deportation of Chechens and Ingush as an act ofgenocide.[35]
The Chechens and Ingush were allowed to return to their land after 1956 duringde-Stalinization underNikita Khrushchev[30] when the Chechen-Ingush ASSR was restored but with both the boundaries and ethnic composition of the territory significantly changed. There were many (predominantly Russian) migrants from other parts of theSoviet Union, who often settled in the abandoned family homes of Chechens and Ingushes. The republic lost itsPrigorodny District which transferred to North Ossetian ASSR but gained predominantly RussianNaursky District andShelkovskoy District that is considered the homeland forTerek Cossacks.
TheRussification policies towards Chechens continued after 1956, withRussian language proficiency required in many aspects of life to provide Chechens better opportunities for advancement in the Soviet system.[22] On 26 November 1990, the Supreme Council of Chechen-Ingush ASSR adopted the "Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Chechen-Ingush Republic". This declaration was part of the reorganisation of the Soviet Union. This new treaty was to be signed 22 August 1991, which would have transformed 15 republic states into more than 80. The 19–21 August1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt led to the abandonment of this reorganisation.[36]
With the impending dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, an independence movement, theChechen National Congress, was formed, led by ex-Soviet Air Force general and new Chechen PresidentDzhokhar Dudayev. It campaigned for the recognition of Chechnya as a separate nation. This movement was opposed byBoris Yeltsin'sRussian Federation, which argued that Chechnya had not been an independent entity within the Soviet Union—as the Baltic, Central Asian, and other Caucasian states such as Georgia had—but was part of theRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and hence did not have a right under the Soviet constitution to secede. It also argued that otherrepublics of Russia, such asTatarstan, would consider seceding from the Russian Federation if Chechnya were granted that right. Finally, it argued that Chechnya was a major hub in the oil infrastructure of Russia and hence its secession would hurt the country's economy and energy access.[citation needed]
During theChechen Revolution, the Soviet Chechen leaderDoku Zavgayev was overthrown and Dzhokhar Dudayev seized power. On 1 November 1991, Dudaev's Chechnya issued a unilateral declaration of independence. In the ensuing decade, the territory was locked in an ongoing struggle between various factions, usually fighting unconventionally.
TheFirst Chechen War, during which Russian forces attempted to regain control over Chechnya, took place from 1994 to 1996. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority in troops, weaponry, andair support, the Russian forces were unable to establish effective permanent control over the mountainous area due to numerous successful full-scale battles andinsurgency raids. TheBudyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis in 1995 shocked the Russian public. In April 1996, the first democratically elected president of Chechnya,Dzhokhar Dudayev, was killed by Russian forces using a booby trap bomb and a missile fired from a warplane after he was located by triangulating the position of asatellite phone he was using.[37]
The widespreaddemoralization of the Russian Army in the area and a successful offensive to retake Grozny by Chechen rebel forces led byAslan Maskhadov promptedRussian presidentBoris Yeltsin to declare a ceasefire in 1996, and sign apeace treaty a year later that saw a withdrawal of Russian troops.[38]
After the war, parliamentary and presidential elections took place in January 1997 in Chechnya and brought to power new President Aslan Maskhadov, chief of staff and prime minister in the Chechen coalition government, for a five-year term. Maskhadov sought to maintain Chechen sovereignty while pressing theRussian government to help rebuild the republic, whose formal economy and infrastructure were virtually destroyed.[39] Russia continued to send money for the rehabilitation of the republic; it also provided pensions and funds for schools and hospitals.[40] Nearly half a million people (40% of Chechnya's prewar population) had been internally displaced and lived inrefugee camps or overcrowded villages.[41] There was aneconomic downturn. Two Russian brigades were permanently stationed in Chechnya.[41]
In light of the devastated economic structure,kidnapping emerged as the principal source of income countrywide, procuring over US$200 million during the three-year independence of the chaotic fledgling state,[42] although victims were rarely killed.[43] In 1998, 176 people were kidnapped, 90 of whom were released, according to official accounts. President Maskhadov started a major campaign against hostage-takers, and on 25 October 1998, Shadid Bargishev, Chechnya's top anti-kidnapping official, was killed in a remote-controlledcar bombing. Bargishev's colleagues then insisted they would not be intimidated by the attack and would go ahead with their offensive.Political violence andreligious extremism, blamed onSalafism andWahhabism, was rife. In 1998, Grozny authorities declared astate of emergency. Tensions led to open clashes between the Chechen National Guard andIslamist militants, such as the July 1998 confrontation in Gudermes.
TheWar of Dagestan began on 7 August 1999, during which theIslamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB) began an unsuccessful incursion into the neighboring Russian republic ofDagestan in favor of the Shura of Dagestan, which sought independence from Russia.[44] In September,a series of apartment bombings that killed around 300 people in several Russian cities, includingMoscow, were blamed onChechen separatists.[30] Some journalists contested the official explanation, instead blaming theRussian secret services for blowing up the buildings to initiate a new military campaign against Chechnya.[45] In response to the bombings, a prolonged air campaign of retaliatory strikes against the Ichkerian regime and a ground offensive that began in October 1999 marked the beginning of theSecond Chechen War. Much better organized and planned than the First Chechen War, the Russian armed forces took control of most regions. The Russian forces used brutal force, killing 60 Chechen civilians during amop-up operation in Aldy, Chechnya on 5 February 2000. After the re-capture ofGrozny in February 2000, the Ichkerian regime fell apart.[46]
Cadets of the Ichkeria Chechen national guard, 1999.
AChechen fighter stands near the government palace building during a short lull in fighting inGrozny, Chechnya.
Chechen separatists continued to fight Russian troops and conduct terror attacks after the occupation of Grozny.[47] In October 2002, 40–50 Chechen rebelsseized a Moscow theater and took about 900 civilians hostage.[30] The crisis ended with 117 hostages and up to 50 rebels dead, mostly due toan unknown aerosol pumped into the building by Russian special forces to incapacitate the people inside.[48][49][50]
In response to these attacks, Russia tightened its grip on Chechnya and expanded its anti-terrorist operations throughout the region. Russia installed a pro-Russian Chechen regime. In 2003, a referendum was held on a constitution that reintegrated Chechnya within Russia but provided limited autonomy. According to the Chechen government, the referendum passed with 95.5% of the votes and almost 80% turnout.[51]The Economist was sceptical of the results, arguing that "few outsidethe Kremlin regard the referendum as fair".[52]
In September 2004, separatist rebelsoccupied a school in the town ofBeslan,North Ossetia, demanding recognition of the independence of Chechnya and a Russian withdrawal. 1,100 people (including 777 children) were taken hostage. The attack lasted three days, resulting in the deaths of over 331 people, including 186 children.[30][53][54][55] After the 2004 school siege, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin announced sweeping security and political reforms, sealing borders in the Caucasus region and revealing plans to give the central government more power. He also vowed to take tougher action against domestic terrorism, including preemptive strikes against Chechen separatists.[30] In 2005 and 2006, separatist leaders Aslan Maskhadov andShamil Basayev were killed.
The Chechen government has been outspoken in its support for the 2022Russian invasion of Ukraine, where a Chechen military force, theKadyrovtsy, which is under Kadyrov's personal command, has played a leading role, notably in theSiege of Mariupol.[61] Meanwhile, a substantial number of Chechen separatists have allied themselves to the Ukrainian cause and are fighting a mutual Russian enemy in theDonbas.[62]
In March 2025, Chechnya blocked the messaging appTelegram due to concerns that it could be used by "enemies".[63]
Situated in the eastern part of theNorth Caucasus inEastern Europe, Chechnya is surrounded on nearly all sides by Russian Federal territory. In the west, it bordersNorth Ossetia andIngushetia, in the north,Stavropol Krai, in the east, Dagestan, and to the south,Georgia. Its capital is Grozny. Chechnya is well known for being mountainous, but it is in fact split between the more flat areas north of the Terek, and the highlands south of the Terek.
Despite a relatively small territory, Chechnya is characterized by a variety of climate conditions. The average temperature in Grozny is 11.2 °C (52.2 °F).[64]
According to the2021 Census, the population of the republic is 1,510,824,[5] up from 1,268,989 in the2010 Census.[66] As of the 2021 Census,[67]Chechens at 1,456,792 make up 96.4% of the republic's population. Other groups includeRussians (18,225, or 1.2%),Kumyks (12,184, or 0.8%) and a host of other small groups, each accounting for less than 0.5% of the total population. The birth rate was 25.41 in 2004. (25.7 in Achkhoi Martan, 19.8 in Groznyy, 17.5 in Kurchaloi, 28.3 in Urus Martan and 11.1 inVedeno).
Despite its difficult past, Chechnya has a highlife expectancy, one of the highest in Russia. But the pattern of life expectancy is unusual, and according to numerous statistics, Chechnya stands out from the overall picture. In 2020, Chechnya had the deepest fall in life expectancy, but in 2021 it had the biggest rise. Chechnya has the highest excess of life expectancy in rural areas over cities.[68][69]
2019
2021
Average:
75.9 years
73.0 years
Male:
73.6 years
70.5 years
Female:
78.0 years
75.3 years
Life expectancy at birth in Chechnya
Life expectancy with calculated differences
Life expectancy in Chechnya in comparison with neighboring regions of the country
Interactive chart of comparison of male and female life expectancy for 2021. Open theoriginal svg-file in a separate window and hover over a bubble to highlight it.
Analogious interactive chart of comparison of urban and rural life expectancy. Original interactive file.
12,515 people were registered from administrative databases, and could not declare an ethnicity. It is estimated that the proportion of ethnicities in this group is the same as that of the declared group.[72]
Sunni Islam is the predominant religion in Chechnya, practiced by 95% of those polled in Grozny in 2010.[73][74] Most of the population is Sunni and follows either theShafi'i or theHanafi schools ofIslamic jurisprudence.[75] The Shafi'i school of jurisprudence has a long tradition among the Chechens, and thus it remains the most practiced.[76][77] Many Chechens are alsoSufis, of either theQadiri orNaqshbandi orders.[73]
The once-strong Russian minority in Chechnya, mostlyTerek Cossacks and estimated as numbering approximately 25,000 in 2012, are predominantlyRussian Orthodox, although currently only one church exists in Grozny. In August 2011, Archbishop Zosima ofVladikavkaz andMakhachkala performed the first massbaptism ceremony in the history of the Chechen Republic in theTerek River ofNaursky District, in which 35 citizens of Naursky and Shelkovsky districts were converted to Russian Orthodoxy.[79] As of 2020, there are eightEastern Orthodox churches in Chechnya, the largest is the temple of theArchangel Michael in Grozny.
Since 1990, the Chechen Republic has had many legal, military, and civil conflicts involvingseparatist movements andpro-Russian authorities. Chechnya has enjoyed a period of relative stability under the Russian-appointed government, although there is still some separatist movement activity.[80] Its regional constitution entered into effect on 2 April 2003, after an all-Chechen referendum was held on 23 March 2003. Some Chechens were controlled by regionalteips, or clans, despite the existence of pro- and anti-Russian political structures.
The former separatist religious leader (mufti)Akhmad Kadyrov was elected president with 83% of the vote in an internationally monitored election on 5 October 2003. Incidents ofballot stuffing and voter intimidation by Russian soldiers and the exclusion of separatist parties from the polls were subsequently reported byOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitors. On 9 May 2004, Kadyrov was assassinated in Grozny football stadium by alandmine explosion that was planted beneath a VIP stage and detonated during a parade, andSergey Abramov was appointed acting prime minister after the incident. However, since 2005Ramzan Kadyrov (son of Akhmad Kadyrov) has been the caretaker prime minister, and in 2007 was appointed as the new president. Many[who?] allege he is the wealthiest and most powerful man in the republic, with control over a large private militia (theKadyrovites). The militia, which began as his father's security force, has been accused of killings and kidnappings by human rights organisations such asHuman Rights Watch.
Ichkeria was a member of theUnrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation between 1991 and 2010.[83] Former president ofGeorgia,Zviad Gamsakhurdia, deposed in a military coup of 1991 and a participant of theGeorgian Civil War, recognized the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in 1993.[84] Diplomatic relations with Ichkeria were also established by the partially recognisedIslamic Emirate of Afghanistan under theTaliban government on 16 January 2000. This recognition ceased with the fall of the Taliban in 2001.[85] However, despite Taliban recognition, there were no friendly relations between the Taliban and Ichkeria—Maskhadov rejected their recognition, stating that the Taliban were illegitimate.[86] Ichkeria also received vocal support from the Baltic countries, a group of Ukrainian nationalists, and Poland; Estonia once voted to recognize, but the act never was followed through due to pressure applied by both Russia and the EU.[86][87][88]
The president of this government wasAslan Maskhadov, and the foreign minister wasIlyas Akhmadov, who was the spokesman for the president. Maskhadov had been elected for four years in an internationally monitored election in 1997, which took place after signing a peace agreement with Russia. In 2001, he issued a decree prolonging his office for one additional year; he was unable to participate in the 2003 presidential election since separatist parties were barred by the Russian government, and Maskhadov faced accusations of terrorist offenses in Russia. Maskhadov left Grozny and moved to the separatist-controlled areas of the south at the onset of theSecond Chechen War. Maskhadov was unable to influence a number of warlords who retain effective control over Chechen territory, and his power was diminished as a result. Russian forces killed Maskhadov on 8 March 2005, and the assassination was widely criticized since it left no legitimate Chechen separatist leader with whom to conduct peace talks.Akhmed Zakayev, deputy prime minister and a foreign minister under Maskhadov, was appointed shortly after the 1997 election and is currently living under asylum inEngland. He and others choseAbdul Khalim Saidullayev, a relatively unknown Islamic judge who was previously the host of an Islamic program on Chechen television, to replace Maskhadov following his death. On 17 June 2006, it was reported that Russian special forces killed Abdul Khalim Saidullayev in a raid in the Chechen town ofArgun. On 10 July 2006,Shamil Basayev, a leader of the Chechen rebel movement, was killed in a truck explosion during an arms deal.
The successor of Saidullayev becameDoku Umarov. On 31 October 2007, Umarov abolished theChechen Republic of Ichkeria and its presidency and in its place proclaimed theCaucasus Emirate with himself as itsEmir.[89] This change of status has been rejected by many Chechen politicians and military leaders who continue to support the existence of the republic.
Тhe Internal Displacement Monitoring Center reports that after hundreds of thousands ofethnic Russians and Chechens fled their homes following inter-ethnic andseparatist conflicts in Chechnya in 1994 and 1999, more than 150,000 people still remain displaced in Russia today.[91]
Нuman rights organizations criticized the conduct of the 2005 parliamentary elections as unfairly influenced by the centralRussian government andmilitary.[92] In 2006,Human Rights Watch reported that pro-Russian Chechen forces under the command ofRamzan Kadyrov, as well asRussian federal police personnel, used torture to get information about separatist forces. "If you are detained in Chechnya, you face a real and immediate risk of torture. And there is little chance that your torturer will be held accountable", said Holly Cartner, Director of the Europe and Central Asia division of the Human Rights Watch.[93]
On February 1, 2009,The New York Times released extensive evidence to support allegations of consistent torture and executions under the Kadyrov government. The accusations were sparked by the assassination in Austria of a former Chechen rebel who had gained access to Kadyrov's inner circle, 27-year-oldUmar Israilov.[96]
On July 1, 2009,Amnesty International released a detailed report covering the human rights violations committed by theRussian Federation against Chechen citizens. Among the most prominent features was that those abused had no method of redress against assaults, ranging from kidnapping to torture, while those responsible were never held accountable. This led to the conclusion that Chechnya was being ruled without law, being run into further devastating destabilization.[97]
On 10 March 2011,Human Rights Watch reported that since Chechenization, the government has pushed for enforcedIslamic dress code.[98] The presidentRamzan Kadyrov is quoted as saying "I have the right to criticize my wife. She doesn't [have the right to criticize me]. With us [in Chechen society], a wife is ahousewife. A woman should know her place. A woman should give her love to us [men]... She would be [man's] property. And the man is the owner. Here, if a woman does not behave properly, her husband, father, and brother are responsible. According to our tradition, if a woman fools around, her family members kill her... That's how it happens, a brother kills his sister or a husband kills his wife... As a president, I cannot allow for them to kill. So, let women not wear shorts...".[99] He has also openly defendedhonor killings on several occasions.[100]
On 9 July 2017, Russian newspaperNovaya Gazeta reported that a number of people were extrajudicially executed on the night of 26 January 2017. It published a list of 27 names of the people known to be dead, but stressed that the list is "not all [of those killed]"; the newspaper asserted that 50 people may have been executed.[101] Some of the dead were gay, but not all. The killings appeared to have been precipitated by the death of a policeman;[101] according to the author of the report,Elena Milashina, the victims were executed for engaging in terrorism.[102]
In December 2021, up to 50 family members of critics of the Kadyrov government were abducted in a wave of mass kidnappings beginning on 22 December.[103] In a case-study published during the same year, Freedom House reported that Kadyrov also conducts a total transnational repression campaign against Chechen exiles outside of Russia, including assassinations of critics and digital intimidation.[104]
Although homosexuality is officially legal in Chechnya per Russian law, it is de facto illegal. Chechen authorities have reportedly arrested, imprisoned and killed persons based on their perceived sexual orientation.[107]
In 2017, it was reported byNovaya Gazeta and human rights groups that Chechen authorities had set upconcentration camps, one of which is inArgun, where gay men are interrogated and subjected to physical violence.[108][109][110][111] On 27 June 2018, theParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe noted "cases of abduction, arbitrary detention, and torture ... with the direct involvement of Chechen law enforcement officials and on the orders of top-level Chechen authorities"[112] and expressed dismay "at the statements of Chechen and Russian public officials denying the existence of LGBTI people in the Chechen Republic".[112] Kadyrov's spokesman Alvi Karimov toldInterfax that gay people "simply do not exist in the republic" and made an approving reference tohonor killings by family members "if there were such people in Chechnya".[113] In a 2021Council of Europe report into anti-LGBTI hate-crimes,rapporteur Foura ben Chikha described the "state-sponsored attacks carried out against LGBTI people in Chechnya in 2017" as "the single most egregious example of violence against LGBTI people in Europe that has occurred in decades".[114]
On 11 January 2019, it was reported that another "gay purge" had begun in the country in December 2018, with several men and women being detained.[115][116][117][118] TheRussian LGBT Network believes that around 40 people were detained and two killed.[119][120]
Grozny in 2013, with the "Heart of Chechnya" Mosque andGrozny towers
During theFirst Chechen War, the Chechen economy fell apart.[121] In 1994, the separatists planned to introduce a new currency, but the change did not occur due to the re-taking of Chechnya by Russian troops in theSecond Chechen War.[121]
The economic situation in Chechnya has improved considerably since 2000. According to theNew York Times, major efforts to rebuild Grozny have been made, and improvements in the political situation have led some officials to consider setting up a tourism industry, though there are claims that construction workers are being irregularly paid and that poor people have been displaced.[122]
Chechnya's unemployment was 67% in 2006 and fell to 21.5% in 2014.[123]
Total revenue of the budget of Chechnya for 2017 was 59.2 billion rubles. Of these, 48.5 billion rubles were grants from the federal budget of the Russian Federation.
In late 1970s, Chechnya produced up to 20 million tons of oil annually, production declined sharply to approximately 3 million tons in the late 1980s, and to below 2 million tons before 1994, first (1994–1996) second Russian invasion of Chechnya (1999) inflicted material damage on the oil-sector infrastructure, oil production decreased to 750,000 tons in 2001 only to increase to 2 million tons in 2006, by 2012 production was 1 million tons.[124]
The culture of Chechnya is based on the native traditions ofChechen people. Chechen mythology along with art have helped shape the culture for over 1,000 years.
From April 2024, all music must have a tempo between 80 and 116 beats per minute, to comply with Chechen traditions. Borrowing musical culture from other peoples is not allowed.[125]
^The work of Leonti Mroveli: "The history of the Georgian Kings" dealing with the history of Georgia and the Caucasus since ancient times to the 5th century AD, is included in medieval code of Georgian annals "Kartlis Tskhovreba".
^abAlex Goldfarb and Marina Litvinenko.Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB. New York: Free Press, 2007, pp. 95.ISBN978-1-4165-5165-2.
^Tishkov, Valery.Chechnya: Life in a War-Torn Society. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004, p. 114.
^abcRoshchin, Mikhail; Lunkin, Roman (2005). "Ислам в Чеченской Республике" [Islam in the Chechen Republic]. In Bourdeaux, Michael; Filatov, Sergei (eds.).Современная религиозная жизнь России. Опыт систематического описания [Contemporary Religious Life of Russia. Systematic description experience] (in Russian). Vol. 3. Moscow:Keston Institute; Logos. pp. 152–169.ISBN5-98704-044-2.
^Nazgul A. Mingisheva and Yesbossyn M. Smagulov, "Chechnya" in Mark Juergensmeyer and Wade Clark Roof,Encyclopedia of Global Religion, Volume 1, SAGE, 2012, p. 193.
^abRussell, John (2007). Gammer, Moshe; Lokshina, Tanya; Thomas, Ray; Mayer, Mary; Dunlop, John B. (eds.). "Chechnya: Russia's 'War on Terror' or 'War of Terror'?".Europe-Asia Studies.59 (1):163–168.doi:10.1080/09668130601072761.JSTOR20451332.S2CID153481090.
Президент Чеченской Республики. Указ №164 от 15 июля 2004 г. «О государственном гимне Чеченской Республики». Вступил в силу после одобрения Государственным Советом Чеченской Республики и официального опубликования. Опубликован: БД "Консультант-Плюс". (President of the Chechen Republic. Decree #164 of 15 July 2004On the State Anthem of the Chechen Republic. Effective as of after the ratification by the State Council of the Chechen Republic and subsequent official publication.).
Референдум. 23 марта 2003 г. «Конституция Чеченской Республики», в ред. Конституционного закона №1-РКЗ от 30 сентября 2014 г. «О внесении изменений в Конституцию Чеченской Республики». Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования по результатам голосования на референдуме Чеченской Республики. (Referendum. March 23, 2003Constitution of the Chechen Republic, as amended by the Constitutional Law #1-RKZ of September 30, 2014On Amending the Constitution of the Chechen Republic. Effective as of the day of the official publication in accordance with the results of the referendum of the Chechen Republic.).
President of the Russian Federation. Law #4071-1 of 10 December 1992On Amending Article 71 of the Constitution (Basic Law) of the Russian Federation–Russia. Effective as of 10 January 1993..
Bird, Chris.To Catch a Tartar: Notes from the Caucasus.ISBN0-7195-6506-5
Bornstein, Yvonne and Ribowsky, Mark.Eleven Days of Hell: My True Story of Kidnapping, Terror, Torture and Historic FBI & KGB Rescue. AuthorHouse, 2004.ISBN1-4184-9302-3.
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