Some Basic Facts About Chechnya

Some Basic Facts About Chechnya

AP

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2013/04/some-basic-facts-about-chechnya/64385/

 

 

 

J.K. Trotter 11:45 AM ET

 

Chechnya found itself at the center of the Boston bombings as soon the

quickly transpiring events on Friday morning revealed the two suspects,

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, are ethnic Chechens. The

president of Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, has already released a

statement (via Instagram, by the way) condemning anyone who would blame

Chechnya, a war-torn nation whose nationalists have been connected to

terrorism in Russia for years, for the Tsarnaevs actions:

 

    Any attempt to draw a connection between Chechnya and Tsarnaevs - if

they are guilty - is futile. They were raised in the United States, and

their attitudes and beliefs were formed there. It is necessary to seek the

roots of this evil in America. The whole world must struggle against

terrorism - that we know better than anyone else. We hope for the recovery

of all the victims, and we mourn with the Americans.

 

His point is well-taken, but for those who are just brushing up on Chechnya,

here are some facts about the country.

Basic Info

 

Location: The Chechen Republic is nestled in the North Caucasus Mountains in

southeast Europe.

 

Nicknames: Chechnya; Ichkeria (Land of Minerals)

 

Population: 1,268,989 per a 2010 census

 

Predominant Religion: Islam

 

Capital: Grozny

Government

 

Chechnya, a federal republic, operates under a constitution drafted in 2003

that recognizes the region as a constituent entity of the Russian

Federation, placing it under the rule of Moscow. The highest office of

government, called the Head of the Chechen Republic, is currently occupied

by Ramzan Kadyrov, a former rebel leader who defected to the Russian side

during the Second Chechen War.

Culture

 

Chechnya's culture is dominated by its citizens' widespread adherence to

Sunni Islam, a form of Islam that emphasizes strict fidelity to the

religious practices taught in the Quran.

Refugees

 

 

 

Since 1990, residents of Chechnya have settled throughout the world,

particularly in the European Union and throughout Russia itself. The

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, which monitors refugee populations,

believes hundreds of thousands of Chechens were displaced by the First and

Second Chechen Wars.

Conflicts

 

First Chechen War

 

The region attempted to establish (and eventually maintain) independence

from Russia, beginning with the First Chechen War, which lasted from 1994 to

1996. () The war ended with a short-lived peace treaty struck between Moscow

and Chechen leaders, who demanded reparations for the many lives lost (an

estimated 100,000 civilians) during the conflict.

 

Second Chechen War

 

In 1999, Russia invaded Dagestan, the capital of Chechnya, in an attempt to

reclaim power over the country. The ensuing Second Chechen War lasted for

nearly a decade, ending only in August 2009, when Russian troops effectively

disabled Chechen resistance, once again establishing the region as a federal

subject of Moscow. Civilian casualties of the ten-year-long war range

between 20,000 and 200,000.

Relationship with Russia

 

 

 

Historically, Chechnya's relationship with Russia has been tense. The

origins of the region's conflicts with Russia, a predominantly Russian

Orthodox state, stretch back to the 18th century, when Russia annexed

Chechnya. Shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Chechnya tried

- and failed - to establish official independence from Russia, leading into

two major wars over the next twenty years.

 

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