Russia's Chechen Dilemma
A prestigious Russian General, Yakov Kulnev, who defeated the Turks,Swedes and Napoleon, once joked. "Mother Russia is so good because someone isalways fighting in one of her corners."1 After losing a campaign in Afghanistan andsuffering massive casualties during two wars in Chechnya, Russian Generals andPoliticians are hardly in the mood for joking. A tainted history, militant leadership,crime, and finally Russian intervention are all factors contributing to the ongoing conflict. A conflict that will most likely continue until the entire Chechen male population is deadBefore the current issues can be addressed, a brief understanding of thesituation must be learned. Ever since 1722 the small Republic of Chechnya has beenfighting the influences of Russian Colonialism. The result has been appalling, inparticular, a bloody campaign fought between 1817-64 in which Chechen tribesmanforced the Czar's troops out of the region. In fact, it is not surprising that this smallregion has faced centuries of quarrel. Nestled deep inside the Causcaus Mountains,Chechnya is officially, part of the Russian Federation and the home of ethnic Russians,traditional Chechens and over a dozen other
Furthermore, Chechnya hasalso become an attractive location for drug smuggling from Iran, Turkmenistan, Pakistan,Turkey, Afghanistan, to the UK, Baltic countries and Western Europe. Shamil Basayev is more radical than the Chechen President and enjoys theterrifying image he has in Russia. Russian commanderssaid they had no plans to invade Grozny and it looked as though the strategy was todemolish Grozny and declare a new capital afterwards. According to the Russian Ministry of the Interior,from 1991-00, 46,000 people were abducted and imprisoned; the result from 62 gangsand over 2,600 outlaws involved in the "business"3. Yet, it soon becameevident that the Generals and politicians were more intent on reversing the shamefuldefeat they suffered in 1996. A soft-spoken man, Maskhadov was elected as Presidentin 1997, however his weakness was illustrated by a series of high-profile kidnappings in1998 and 1999. Thepopulation of the capital had dwindled from 300,000 before the previous invasion, tolevels estimated at 4,000 and 40,000. During World War Two, Soviet Dictator, JosefStalin, deported the entire Chechen population to the bleak Asian Steppes under thesuspicion that they were collaborating with the Nazis. "Russia is the last empire: it is built on blood. In 1957 the Soviet Government allowed them to return to their homeland, yet thestate imposed tight laws and ruled the district with an iron fist. One in the capital, Grozny, in the town of Shali, anda place known only as the "Zorka" childrens camp. Threemain figures have control over the Republic. The airstrikes had killed hundreds ofcivilians and forced 100,000 Chechens to flee their homes. Historically, urban combat has been a brutal styleof warfare in which buildings and urban terrain absorb large amounts of troops.
Common topics in this essay:
October Russian,
President Putin,
Chechnya February,
Islamic Republic,
Aslan Maskhadov,
Soviet Government,
Chechen Republic,
Vedeno January,
Generals Politicians,
Western Europe,
capital grozny,
01 october 1999,
person chechnya,
russian forces,
october 1999,
february 2000,
01 october,
1999 russian,
male population,
generals politicians,
hiding mountains,
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Acceptance Essays
