Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Чеченская Республика Ичкерия Noxçiyn Respublika Noxçiyçö Нохчийн Республика Нохчийчоь | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–2000 | |||||||||
| Anthem: Anthem of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria | |||||||||
 The Chechen Republic in the Caucasus region | |||||||||
| Status | In exile since 2000 | ||||||||
| Capital | Dzokhar-Ghala, known as Grozny before 1996 | ||||||||
| Common languages | Chechen Russian (de facto) | ||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||
| Government | Republic | ||||||||
| President of Ichkeria | |||||||||
• 1991 – 1996 | Dzokhar Dudayev | ||||||||
• 1996 – 1997 | Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev | ||||||||
• 1997 – 2005 | Aslan Maskhadov | ||||||||
• 2005 – 2006 | Abdul Halim Sadulayev | ||||||||
• 2006 – 2007 | Doku Umarov | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 7 February, 1990 | |||||||||
| 1 November, 1991 1991 | |||||||||
| 11 December, 1994 – 31 August, 1996 | |||||||||
| 7 August, 1999 – 14 September, 1999 | |||||||||
| 26 August, 1999 2000 | |||||||||
| 6 February, 2000 – present | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 15,300 km2 (5,900 sq mi) | |||||||||
| Currency | Russian ruble¹ | ||||||||
| |||||||||
¹ Plans to introduce Chechnya's own currency, the Nahar, were abandoned when the Second Chechen War broke out. | |||||||||
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria IPA: [ɪʧˈkɛriə] (Chechen Latin: Noxçiyn Respublika Noxçiyçö, Chechen Cyrillic: Нохчийн Республика Нохчийчоь) (Russian: Чеченская Республика Ичкерия) is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. Bordering Stavropol Krai to the northwest, the republic of Dagestan to the northeast and east, Georgia to the south, and the republics of Ingushetia and North Ossetia to the west. Chechnya is located in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation, which denounced secession. On October 31st 2007, the Chechen President Doku Umarov declared that he was abolishing the republic and establishing the Caucasus Emirate, with himself as Emir. This change of status has been rejected by many members of the Chechen government and armed groups who assert the continued existence of the republic.
History
1991-1994
In November 1990, Dzhokhar Dudaev was elected head of the Executive Committee of the unofficial opposition All-National Congress of the Chechen People, which advocated sovereignty for Chechnya as a separate republic within the Soviet Union. This vote was reaffirmed by a referendum in October 1991, during the fall of the Soviet Union.
Dudayev, in his new position as president of Ichkeria, unilaterally declared the republic's sovereignty and its secession from the Soviet Union and Russia. Not recognized by any government except Georgia under Zviad Gamsakhurdia, the country has maintained an unstable existence, due in part to constant threats of invasions from Russian Federation.
The rule of Dudayev in early 1990s was marked by crime and many kidnappings happening throughout de-facto independent Chechnya. There was also discrimination towards ethnic minorities which resulted in thousands of the republic's non-Chechen residents (mainly, but not limited to, citizens of Slavic origin) fleeing to mainland Russia or Russia's North Ossetia region.
1994-1996
1996-1999
After the war, parliamentary and presidential elections took place in January 1997 and brought to power Aslan Maskhadov, chief of staff and prime minister in the Chechen coalition government, for a five-year term. The Islamic Republic of Ichkeria was proclaimed in 1998 and the sharia system of justice was introduced.
Aslan Maskhadov tried to concentrate power in his hands to establish authority, but failed to create an effective state or a functioning economy. The situation proved out of the control of the government, and the republic remained chaotic. The war ravages and lack of economic opportunities left numbers of heavily armed former guerillas with no occupation but further violence. Kidnappings, robberies, and murders of fellow Chechens and outsiders, most notably the beheading of four employees of British Granger Telecom in 1998[1], weakened the possibilities of outside investment and Maskhadov's efforts to gain international recognition of its independence effort. Maskhadov proved unable to guarantee the security of the oil pipeline running across Chechnya from the Caspian Sea, and illegal oil tapping and acts of sabotage deprived his regime of crucial revenues and exasperated his allies in Moscow.
In lieu of the devastated economic structure, kidnappings became common in Chechnya, procuring over $200 million during the three year independence of the chaotic fledgling state, [2] but victims were rarely killed. In 1998, 176 people had been kidnapped, and 90 of them had been released in the same year, according to official accounts. Maskhadov blamed the rash of abductions in Chechnya on unidentified "outside forces" and their Chechen henchmen.
Political violence was rife as well. On June 21 the Chechen security chief, Lecha Khulygov, and a guerrilla commander, Vakha Dzhafarov, fatally shot each other in an argument. The internal violence in Chechnya peaked on July 16 1998, when fighting broke out between Maskhadov's National Guard force led by Sulim Yamadayev and radical Wahhabi-sect militants in the town of Gudermes; over 50 people were reported killed and the state of emergency was declared in Chechnya.[3] In 1998 and 1999 President Maskhadov survived several assassination attempts, blamed on the Russian intelligence services.
Since 1999
Politics
Since the declaration of independence in 1991, there has been an ongoing battle between secessionist officials and federally appointed officials. Both claim authority over the same territory.
Since the fall of Grozny in 2000 some of the Ichkerian government was based in exile, including in the Arab countries, Poland, United States and United Kingdom.
On October 31, 2007, the separatist news agency Chechenpress reported that Doku Umarov had proclaimed the Caucasus Emirate and declared himself its Emir, thereby abolishing the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. Within the Caucasus Emirate, Chechnya is known as the Vilayat Nohchiycho (Ichkeria) of the Caucasus Emirate.[4] This change of status has been rejected by many Chechen politicians and military leaders who continue to support the existence of the republic.
See also
References
- ^ Four Western hostages beheaded in Chechnya
- ^ Tishkov, Valery. Chechnya: Life in a War-Torn Society. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. Page 114.
- ^ Further emergency measures in Chechnya
- ^ http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2007/12/11/9167.shtml
External links
- 10 years ago Russian special forces killed Chechnya's self-proclaimed president, Dzhokhar Dudayev Moscow News
- EP:The Background of Chechen Independence Movement V: The Dagestan Provocation
- FMSO: A Tale of Two Theaters: Russian Actions in Chechnya in 1994 and 1999
- Text of the Peace Treaty
- ASF, Edvard Kline, Chechen History
- The North Caucasus Conflict and its Implications for Russia, Kennan Institute, Mikhail Aleseev,
- [1] Global Politician, David Storobin, The Chechen fight for independence
- The Time's cover on Chechnya, 2003