Geography:
Situated in the eastern part of the North Caucasus, Chechnya is surrounded on nearly all sides by Russian territory. In the west, it borders North Ossetia and Ingushetia, in the north, Stavropol Kray, in the east, Dagestan, and to the south, Georgia. Its capital is Grozny. The region contains three rivers.
These are: Terek, Sunzha, and Argun.


Population

The current population of Chechnya is approximately 1.3 million; this includes Chechens, Russians, Ingush, and other North Caucasians. More than 1,000,000 Chechens live in other areas of the Caucasus, Central Asia, and parts of the Russian Federation. The ratio of males to females is approximately 1:1, and 33% of the population is urban dwelling, while 66% live in rural areas.

Language

The primary languages of Chechnya are Chechen and Russian. Chechen belongs to the family of Nakh languages (North-Central Caucasian Languages). Arabic was once the only literary language of Chechen speakers, and “written Chechen” was derived in 1923, from the Latin alphabet. Although there are several dialects of Chechen, these are intelligible. Literary Chechen is based on the central lowland dialect. Other dialects include Ingush, which has speakers in Ingushetia, and Bats, which is the language of the cattle-farmers in part of Georgia.

Religion and Culture

Chechnya is predominantly Muslim, its inhabitants having been converted to Islam under the Ottoman Empire of the 15th Century. While the majority of Chechens practice Sunni Islam, the collapse of the Soviet Empire saw a rise in Sufi brotherhoods in the region.

Prior to the adoption of Islam, the Chechens practiced a unique blend of religious traditions and beliefs. They partook in numerous rites and rituals, many of them pertaining to farming- these included rain rites, a celebration that occurred on the first day of plowing, as well as the Day of the Thunderer Sela and the Day of the Goddess Tusholi.

The Chechen social code is embodied in the term “nokchallah”, which, although it resists direct translation into English, implies moral and ethical behavior- chivalry, generosity and the will to safeguard the honor of women.

Village kinship and a clan structure still characterize Chechen society. The 125 clans have their own traditions and laws, though they share a common history, language, religion and culture. While many Chechens abide by the laws of “adapt”- or common Islamic law- many continue to follow pagan law. The former, however, is encouraged as a way of preserving
public morality.

Chechen culture- like the language- represents a people who have resisted Russian expansion in the Caucasus for over two hundred years.
Today there are over 800 mosques in the Republic, as well as temples, churches, and Islamic schools.

Economy

Chechnya’s economy is presently recovering from the consequences of war.

Civil conflict devastated the economy, and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) still has not returned to pre-war levels. While the oil industry was booming prior to the war, as well as the production of grains, fruits and vegetables, petroleum production is the only one of these industries that has rebuilt itself since the war. Chechnya’s chief exports are oil and grain.

The Russian government estimates that 2 billion dollars have been spent on reconstruction efforts in Chechnya since the war. Recently, the EU committed 20 million euros for post-war “development” in Chechnya.

Unemployment is high, and smuggling and counterfeit remain significant problems in Chechen society.

History

Chechnya’s present independence struggle is not one that developed recently. It dates back to the 19th century, when Russians attempted to conquer the region were met with the fierce resistance of Imam Shamil. The Chechens were overcome, and in 1859, the Russians incorporated Chechnya into their empire.

In 1922 after a period of independence during the chaos of the October revolution, Chechnya became an autonomous district in the Russian Federation.

In 1936 the territories of the Chechens and Ingush were combined into one region and obtained the status of an Autonomous Republic.
WW2 and the Nazi invasion challenged Moscow's rule of the Caucasus. When the war ended, Stalin sought vengeance. He accused the Chechens of collaboration and the entire Chechen population was deported to Soviet Central Asia.
Deported Chechens were allowed to return only in 1957 when Khrushchev was in power in the Kremlin.

Russification policies toward Chechens continued into the late 20th century. Knowledge of Russian was required to secure a job.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Chechen National Congress- a Chechen independence movement- emerged, and was ultimately opposed by Russian Leader Boris Yeltsin. Reasons for opposition included the claim that Chechnya was not an independent entity within the Soviet Union, that Chechnya’s secession would create a precedent for other minority groups within the Russian Federation, and that Chechnya’s abundant supply of oil was critical to Russia’s economic prosperity.
Nonetheless, Dzhokhar Dudayev- a former officer declared Chechnya’s independence in 1991 in the senior air force who emerged as Chechnya’s nationalist president. It was this year that Chechnya became a member of the UNPO.

Anarchy prevailed following this declaration. Chaos persisted until 1994, when Yeltsin instigated the First Chechen War by sending 40,000 troops into the region. The war, which was supposed to be bloodless and short, lasted until 1996, and proved taxing for both Chechnya’s and Russia’s economies.

An estimated 100,000 people died during the drawn-out fighting.

After two years, a cease-fire and peace agreement was signed in Moscow. The peace agreement provided for the retreat of Russian troops from Chechen territory and a final settlement of the Chechen status by December 31, 2001. The deal gave Chechnya substantial autonomy but not full independence.
In 1997 the Chechen chief of staff, General Aslan Maskhadov, was elected president. This election was monitored by the OSCE and other international monitors and branded as fair. Chechnya enjoyed self-rule until October 1999.

The second Chechen war broke out in September 1999 in the wake of the invasion of Dagestan and a series of bombings attributed to Chechen separatist movements and “terrorists”. The Russians alleged that the Chechen government had ties to these groups and terrorists.

In 2002 the Federal Security Service (FSB, former KGB) took over from the army as the organ heading up the operation in Chechnya. Russian government claimed that the situation was normalized.

In March 2003, a referendum approved a constitution establishing Chechnya as an autonomous Republic within the Russian Federation. This same year, the Chechen Foreign Affairs Minister, Ilvas Akhmadov, launched his peace plan, which aimed to transform Chechnya into a democratic and peaceful state over a transitional period of several years.

In March 2005, the democratically elected President Aslan Maskhadov was killed during a raid by Russian special forces.

Human Rights Watch and other prominent activist groups continue to condemn violence in Chechnya.

Organizations:
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria joined the UNPO on August 6, 1991. It is the legitimate government of the Chechen people.


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