Sources of conflict in organizational and social contexts

¶ … Conflict

The Chechen Conflict

The conflict between the Russia federal forces and the secessionist North Caucasian republic of Chechnya has been underway since 1994. As this paper will discuss, while the Chechen problem is usually seen as a primarily modern phenomenon the sources and root causes of this conflict have their origins in history even prior to the last century. (the Conflict in Chechnya, 2000)

Chechnya declared independence from the Soviet Union in November 1991. (Q&a: The Chechen conflict) the then Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, seen troops into the area to reinstate the rule of Russian federal law and to stop secession. In essence, the conflict of is the fight for national independence and the attempt to separate from the Soviet Union.

Chechnya is traditional homeland of the Chechen people and is bordered by Georgia to the south. The population of the region is mainly Muslim and the country is surrounded by the Russian Federation republics of Ingushetia and North Ossetia to the west, Dagestan to the east and north, and the Russian province of Stavropol to the north-west. (the Conflict in Chechnya, 2000)

After the declaration of independence, the Chechen war followed and the conflict with Russian troops continued from 1994 to 1996. However, the Russian army of approximately 35, 00000 heavily armed troops failed to suppress the Chechen rebels in the area. While the Russian troops succeeded in capturing the capital of Groznyy in 1995, the Chechen rebels staged an intensive guerilla campaign. A peace agreement was signed in 1996 and the rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov was elected present of Chechnya. Despite this, the Russian concern about the independence of the territory was to continue.

This resulted in the continuation of the conflict and many "terrorist" acts being perpetrated against the Russian government. In 1999, the Russian Prime Minister at the time, Vladimir Putin, took action against the Chechen guerrillas and in various anti-terrorist operations sent troops in to suppress the Chechens. However, these efforts also proved to be largely unsuccessful.

The causes and source of this conflict lie ostensibly in the Chechen people's desire for self-rule and independence. However, the root causes of the conflict can be traced back to the eighteenth century. During this period of Russian expansionism into the Caucasus, they met with resistance from the indigenous people of that region - which is Chechnya today. During this period various Chechen clan groups and their Circassian and the Dagestani neighbors "...engaged in a prolonged and violent conflict in a bid to preserve their distinct cultural identities and prevent the annexation of the region by the Russian Empire" (the Conflict in Chechnya, 2000).

Therefore, the foundational causative factors of the conflict lie in a long-standing attempt by the indigenous peoples of the region to retain their independence and unique identity and not to be assimilated into the Russian Federation. An important factor to consider with regard to the sources of this ongoing conflict is that the Chechen society is characterized by extremely strong loyalties, as well as rivalries, between the more then 140 different clans in the region. (the Conflict in Chechnya, 2000)

Chechen opposition also hardened against Russia in 1937, when the Russian authorities began a campaign of repression of Chechen dissidents and executed 14,000 Chechens at Ingush. (the Conflict in Chechnya, 2000) the Russian government also abolished the republic of Chechnya in 1944 and deported hundreds of thousands of Chechens to Siberia and Central Asia. The reason given for the deportations was that the Chechens had been complicit with the invading Germans. This action reportedly resulted in the deaths of more than 200, 000 Chechens. (the Conflict in Chechnya, 2000)

These events had two major outcomes. As mentioned, these atrocities hardened the attitude of the Chechen people towards the Russian government. At the same time, these actions also helped to increase the sense of nationalism that already existed among the Chechens.

The Chechen resistance was increased when the exiled Chechens were allowed to the country. The intensity of rebellion among the Chechens was to increase as the power of the Soviet Union began to wane in the 1980s and 90s. This was to result in the formation of a Chechen All-National Congress, headed by Dzhokhar Dudaev in 1990. This congress issued a unilateral declaration of independence in 1991. This declaration of independence had its roots in the deep and almost endemic dislike of the Russians and Russian rule.