Chechnya's Independence Struggle and the Rise of Militancy

Geographic and Cultural Background

The land occupied by the fledgling state of Chechnya is strategically, and somewhat remotely, located between the Black and Caspian seas. Lying in a natural land corridor — a land bridge between the northern Russian Federation nations and the countries of Iraq and Turkey — Chechnya holds a strategic position for travel to or from Russia, Turkey, and Iraq, despite its hilly terrain and limited natural resources. As for the peoples of this part of the world, freedom has been only a fleeting experience. When the tsars of Russia were not conquering the land, the Soviet Republic was. The area struggled to maintain a stable existence while situated on the border of two world wars, so the concept of self-rule, and the responsibilities that come with it, existed only as ideas in the minds of generations of Chechens.

Historical Roots of Chechen Resistance

Originally, the Chechens were part of a multi-cultural state from the 8th century until its destruction by the Mongols in the 13th century. The hilly terrain shaped a nomadic yet resolute people organized in clans. As was the fate of most of Europe during the Dark Ages, much of Chechen history from the 10th through the 18th century was spent conquering or being conquered. In the decades that followed, the Caucasian mountain peoples slowly forged ties with the Russians, but continued to oppose political domination by Russian leaders. In the 1840s, a resistance movement formed in Chechnya and Dagestan under the leadership of Imam Shamil. Shamil's rebellion successfully held off the Russians for more than a decade, but in 1859 the rebellion collapsed and Chechnya was annexed by the Russian Empire (Encarta.com, online).

During the next six or seven decades, control of Chechnya changed hands a number of times, until the ascension of the Soviet Union in the period between the world wars. During various periods, the state's citizens were forced onto collective farms and Russia made efforts to restrict their religious practices. The Chechens suffered under these policies and fought fiercely for their beliefs and cultural heritage. Just before World War II, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin accused the Chechens of collaboration with the Nazis and deported them to Central Asia. The republic was abolished and was not restored until 1957, when its former inhabitants were allowed to return from exile.

The following is a brief chronology of these events:

1858 — Chechnya conquered by Russia after the defeat of its Islamic leader, Imam Shamil.
1922 — Chechen autonomous region established within the Russian Federation.
1944 — Mass deportation of Chechens to Soviet Central Asia, along with other Caucasus peoples accused of supporting Nazi Germany.
1957 — Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev allows Chechens to return home.
1991 — Soviet Union collapses; Dzhokhar Dudayev proclaims Chechnya's independence. (Reeves, 2002)

When these events are woven into the history and culture of a determined and self-sufficient people, only two outcomes are possible: either the people surrender and become part of the prevailing social order, or they continue to fight and ultimately develop a cultural identity defined by militancy. The latter has become the identity of the Chechens. This people refused, at the cost of their personal heritage, to become part of an oppressive imperial system once again. The ongoing military conflict has left much of the country's infrastructure in ruins. As a result, Russia has a small, roughly 200-mile-wide region near its southern border that has become an increasing thorn in the side of Russian progress — and may be on its way to becoming a breeding ground for hostility across the wider world.

Post-Soviet Independence and the First Chechen War

The current condition of Chechnya must be understood in three stages. The abbreviated history detailed above constitutes the first stage. The people of Chechnya have lived under revolution and the threat of it for almost ten centuries. They have earned a reputation for resilience, as described by Boris Yeltsin: "Chechnya can only solve its problems through the use of force" (Charlton, 2002). The following popular Chechen folk song further illustrates that culture from the people's own perspective:

We're the children of the mountains,
We have been here for years.
The wind frightens the heart of any stranger here.
Nobody understands us,
The mountains will protect us,
The wind frightens the heart of any stranger here. (Isaenko and Petschauer, 2000)

The more recent history has unfolded like the next movement of a symphony. When the Soviet Empire fell in 1991, Dudayev proclaimed the nation's independence once again. However, while the rest of the Soviet republics were permitted to secede, this small territory was treated differently. Perhaps it was the long history of conflict between Moscow and the Chechens that led Russia to refuse recognition of the nation's identity. Perhaps it was because Chechnya is one of the smallest territories and closest to Moscow. It is also possible that the Russian military, in an attempt to save face, chose to make an example of this resistant province and keep it under the iron boot of centralized rule. Whatever the reason, the conflict that has evolved in Chechnya since 1991 has become increasingly volatile and dangerous for the wider world.

In 1991, Chechen general Dzhokhar Dudayev renounced the Communist government in Chechnya's capital, Grozny. Presidential elections were held in October of that year, and Dudayev was elected by a wide margin. Although he established a government in Grozny, he was unable to persuade any former Soviet republic or neighboring country to recognize Chechnya's independence or to invest in its economy. This lack of strategic allies left the country weak and vulnerable.

Political skirmishes continued over the next three years until, in December 1994, the Russian government under President Boris Yeltsin launched a full-scale invasion of Chechnya with the aim of halting the republic's move toward independence. The capital of Grozny was almost completely destroyed before it was taken by Russian forces in February 1995. Thousands were killed, the Russians ousted the rebel leaders, and a puppet government was installed in Grozny. Russian Federation troops were stationed throughout the area, and the elected Dudayev was forced into hiding until he was killed in a rocket attack in April 1996.

In late May 1996, President Yeltsin installed an acting president, Yandarbiyev, who was subsequently defeated by the chief of staff of the allied rebel Chechen forces, Aslan Maskhadov. In May 1997, Maskhadov and Yeltsin signed a peace treaty that formalized the terms of a ceasefire. However, as the political and social environment continued to deteriorate, Maskhadov soon lost authority to more radical rebel commanders as the republic descended into a state of near-total anarchy.

Conclusion: The Challenge of Self-Governance

The presence of military Islamic fundamentalists is the most recent and most troubling change in the makeup of the Chechen population. These militants have little desire to balance their goals with the goals of other tribes that have lived in the area for centuries. The new radical fundamentalist Islamists have documented ties to Al-Qaeda, further complicating any path toward regional stability.

These elements — an ongoing generational war for Chechen independence and the current struggle against terrorist infiltration — make Chechnya's political situation more volatile than that of the surrounding Russian republics. The process by which a former territory becomes a self-sustaining nation is inherently difficult, requiring the transfer of military, social, political, and economic power from a central government to local regional authorities. New governments must have both the capacity and the resources to establish orderly governance, formulate economic policy, and begin energizing local business and industry.

These steps are challenging for any people. However, when a small nation like Chechnya has demonstrated an inability to achieve these steps — and has instead devoted its energies to revolutionary and destabilizing activities in neighboring republics — it is not surprising that Moscow has chosen to maintain firm control over the region until its people demonstrate the self-restraint necessary to govern themselves. The question of Chechnya's political future remains unresolved, caught between the aspirations of a fiercely independent people and the geopolitical constraints imposed by a powerful neighbor unwilling to relinquish control.