Chechnya

CHECHNYA IS A constituent republic of the Russian Federation, situated on the northern slopes of the CAUCASUS MOUNTAINS. Since the early 1990s it has been partially controlled by rebel groups who have attempted to proclaim a separate Chechen republic. The conflict between the Russian government and Chechen separatists has now lasted over a decade and has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives. Although the surface issue of the conflict is nationalist and religious identity, a more serious issue lies beneath and ensures that the conflict will continue: the presence of oil and the location of Chechnya in the middle of one of the region’s major pipelines.

The Chechen Republic occupies the middle portion of the Terek River Valley, which rises in the Caucasus Mountains and flows east into the CASPIAN SEA. The southern portion of the country rises sharply to the Front Range of the Caucasus, culminating at the area’s tallest peak, Tebulosmta (14,734 ft or 4,492 m), while the northern part of the country descends to the dry lowlands of the Nogay Steppe. Chechnya’s capital and main city is Grozny, located on the Sunzha River, in a narrow valley between two ridges that run parallel to the Caucasus. Much of the city is in ruins. Many of Chechnya’s oil fields are located right in Grozny, or close by. The city also has a number of mineral springs.

The other major river in Chechnya is the Argun, which flows down from the Caucasus heights and joins the Terek near the city of Gudermes, another major oilfield. Major pipelines run across the northern part of the country, following the Terek Valley. The Chechens were formerly linked with their neighbors to the west in the Chechen-Ingush A.S.S.R. Today, a separate Ingush republic borders Chechnya to the west, along with the autonomous republic of North Ossetia, the Russian kray (district) of Stavropol to the north, and the autonomous republic of Dagestan to the east. To the south, Chechnya shares a remote border with GEORGIA, high in the Caucasus Mountains. The republic covers about 6,747 square mi (17,300 square km) and contains roughly 1 million people, the largest ethnic group in the North Caucasus. They call themselves Nokhchi and share linguistic traits with other Caucasian peoples.

Most Chechens are Muslims, and much of their history is affected by their relationship with other Islamic peoples in the region. Traditional Chechen society was clan-based, similar to highland peoples in other parts of the world, but a common identity was forged through some of the longest colonial struggles in world history, defying incorporation into the Russian Empire for nearly a century. Fierce resistance continued after formal annexation in 1859, inspiring romantic visions of heroic mountain rebels in Russian literature and art.

The Soviets, too, had their struggles with the Chechens, culminating in the forced deportation of nearly the entire nation to Central Asia and Siberia after World War II. The Chechens were allowed to return home under the Khrushchev administration, which also attempted to bring technological and industrial advances to the region for the first time. The Chechen capital of Grozny soon became one of the centers of the Soviet oil industry. By the 1990s, it is estimated that Chechnya produced 4.2 million barrels of oil a year, and refined another 18 million, contributing up to 6 percent of the gross domestic product for the entire Soviet Union.