History of the Chechen people

The Chechens are the descendents of Caucasian tribes. In ancient times they were nomads devoted to livestock production and were split into patriarchal clans known as teips.

Chechen social organisation

Traditionally, Chechnya was governed by a council of elders on the basis of consensus. In times of peace the Chechens do not acknowledge any sovereign authority and may be split into hundreds of rival clans. However, in times of danger, in the face of aggression, the clans unite and choose a military leader.

History explains that…

In the 11^th and 12^th centuries the area remained under the control of Islam while in the 13^th century it passed into the hands of the Mongol Empire, whose power in the area began to wane in the 14^th and 15^th centuries.

At the end of the 18^th century Russia made its intention to conquer Chechnya clear and occupied the territory in 1864. The Tsarist Empire imposed draconian living conditions on the indigenous population.

In 1917, with the triumph of the Russian Revolution, a new resistance movement arose and the North Caucasus was declared an independent state. During the civil war that followed the Revolution, the Red Army was sent to the area and imposed Soviet rule.

In 1936 the Chechen-Ingush ASSR (Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) was created only to be abolished in 1944 when Stalin accused the Chechens and Ingushetians of collaborating with the Nazis.

With no objective reason provided to justify this accusation, most of the population was forcibly deported. 496,460 Chechens, of which 40% were children, were deported in cattle trains to Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan and Siberia. More than a third of the deportees (some 200,000 people) died during the journey, which took a month.

Thirteen years later, the de-Stalinization process undertaken by Khrushchev enabled survivors to return to Chechnya and the Chechen-Ingush ASSR was re-established. However, upon their return they found their houses occupied by colonists from Russia and neighbouring republics.

From 1988, under the auspices of Perestroika, new movements and political forces appeared in Chechnya. In 1990 the All-National Congress of the Chechen People was created, led by Dudayev.

1991 was a particularly turbulent year for the USSR, which was falling apart. It was amid this instability that elections for the Chechen Parliament were held in October. Dudayev, a former general of the Soviet army, was elected President and the following month unilaterally proclaimed Chechnya’s independence.