Chechnya The Case for Independence

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ChechnyaThe Case for Independence
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CHECHNYAcapitol--Grozny
Caucasus Region
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Russia
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Anticipatory
Why do you think Russia considers this area to be
so important that they will not allow a certain
region to have their independence despite
granting independence to others?
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Crude oil infrastructure in Central Asia
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Background Information

• The Soviet Union was formed after the Russian
  Revolution in 1917
• In 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved into several
  independent states
• The largest of these was Russia
• Within Russia today there are still several
  ethnic minorities such as the Chechens

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What is Chechnya?

• Chechens live in the Caucasus region (the
  southern Caucasus Mountains).
• Chechnya is one of the Russian Republics located
  between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
• Chechnya is dependent on oil and its exportation
• The region wants their independence from Russia.

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Chechens vs. Russians

• Russians
• Religion Christianity
• Language Russian
• Average Age 37.6

• Chechens
• Sunni Muslim
• Chechen and Russian
• 22.7

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Independence?Chechens Viewpoint

• Have their own language and traditions
• Have a long history of fighting against foreign
  rule
• Population is over 1 million
• Most are Muslims (practice Islam)

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Independence?Chechens Viewpoint

• Accuse the Russian Army of committing human
  rights violations against them
• Thousands of Chechens have been killed or have
  lost homes under brutal Russian treatment
• Believe gaining independence will protect them
  from Russias brutality

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Independence?Russians Viewpoint

• Russia does not want to grant independence to the
  Chechens.
• Worried that other ethnic groups will want
  independence if Chechnya gets theirs (which could
  lead to the break up of Russia)
• Fear that ethnic Russians in an independent
  Chechnya would be abused.

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Independence?Russians Viewpoint

• Do not trust Chechens due to terrorism used
  against Russians and links to Al Qaeda.

Chechen Terrorists
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Independence?Russians Viewpoint

• Other reasons for not granting independence
  center mainly around the important natural
  resources located in Chechnya.
• Chechnya has oil deposits and natural gas
• A major oil pipeline runs through Chechnya
  (important to Russias infrastructure)
• As long as Chechnya is still a part of Russia,
  they can control the flow of oil

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As you view the timeline of events and watch
clips over the conflict,complete the questions
on the handoutImages and information from
Wide Angle.
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Fall of the Soviet Union

• The Chechens were the most active opponents of
  Russia's nineteenth century conquest of the
  Caucasus -- and have resisted foreign occupation
  ever since.
• The demise of the Soviet Union gave Chechens
  another opportunity to assert their independence
  from Russia.
• Here, a demonstrator sledges away at the Berlin
  Wall while East German guards look on from above
  November 11, 1989.

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First Chechen War

• Russian troops invaded Chechnya in late-1994,
  destroying much of its
• capital city, Grozny. Some 25,000 people were
  killed in Grozny during a week-long air raid in
  January 1995. The picture below shows the
  destroyed capital city.
• In the top photo a woman from the Chechen city of
  Gudermes mourns her dead son in front of their
  home on December 27, 1995.
• Hundreds of civilians were killed in Gudermesover
  the course of eleven days of heavy fighting
  between Russian soldiers and separatist Chechen
  rebels (nationalists).

• .

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Dzhokhar Dudayev

• Dzhokhar Dudayev, a former general of the Soviet
  air force, was elected leader of the Chechen
  Republic in 1991, and quickly issued a unilateral
  declaration of independence from Russia.
• Tensions between Dudayev and the Russian
  government led to war in 1994. He was killed in
  1996 by a Russian air attack.
• At right, standing behind Dudayev, is Dudayev's
  successor, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who in 2004 was
  assassinated by a car bomb in Qatar, where he was
  trying to rouse Muslim support for the Chechen
  cause
• Watch Video Chechens War for Independence

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Death of a Dream

• Show video The War on Chechnya
• (list the impacts on the worksheet)
• With casualties mounting and presidential
  elections on the horizon, Russian President Boris
  Yeltsin's government finally agreed to a
  cease-fire in August 1996.
• The First Chechen war ended
• Here, a Chechen refugee walks through the
  bombed-out capital of Chechnya on August 26. The
  woman had fled fighting the week prior and was
  returning to Grozny to find out whether her home
  had survived the battle.

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Second Chechen War

• Began in late August 1999 and ended in 2002
• Over 50,000 civilians killed (most were Chechens)
• 7,000 members of the Russian military and over
  14,000 Chechen rebels were killed
• Russia accused of murdering thousands of innocent
  civilians (accused of genocide)
• Chechens killed hundreds of Russians in a series
  of suicide terrorist bombings

A mass grave discovered in Chechnya from the
Second Chechen War
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Conflict Continues

• Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the
  Chechen war to be over in 2002.
• Since then federal forces have continued to
  regularly battle Chechen rebels, and numerous
  acts of violence have been committed by
  separatists, including the Moscow theatre hostage
  crisis of 2002 and the siege of School No. 1 in
  2004.

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Acts of TerrorismHospital Raid

• In June 1995, Chechen nationalists raided a
  hospital in Budyonnovsk in southern Russia
• took more than 1,500 hostages
• demanded a cease-fire and the withdrawal of
  Russian troops from Chechnya.
• Russian federal forces attempted to storm the
  hospital but were unsuccessful
• 166 civilians were killed

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Acts of TerrorismRussian Apartment Bombings

• Rescue workers clean up the rubble of an
  eight-story building that exploded in Moscow on
  September 13, 1999. The explosion killed 94
  people inside and injuring 150 outside the
  apartment.
• The bombing was one of several that took place in
  Russia between August 31 and September 22, and
  which were supposedly organized by Chechen
  nationalists.
• Created a wave of anti-Chechen sentiment
  throughout Russia
• Over 300 people were killed by the bombs,
  triggering the the full scale Second Chechen War.

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Acts of TerrorismMoscow Theatre Hostage Crisis

• October 23, 2002
• Over 40 men and women Chechen nationalists raided
  a Moscow theatre and took over 850 people hostage
• The attackers demanded independence for Chechnya
  and Russian military out of Chechnya
• 130 hostages and 39 militants were killed
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vDb_LK6wyAHY
• (2 MIN)
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vcsr9TPGPoxs
• (long video)

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Acts of TerrorismBeslan

• On September 1, 2004 Chechen nationalists took
  siege of a school in Beslan, Russia
• 331 people died including 186 children
• Beslan Video Clip

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A Timeline of Terrorism in Russia

• View a timeline of terrorism in Russia

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Chechnya Today Putins Approach

• . After Putin became president in 2000, Russia
  installed a government of pro-federal Chechens in
  local Chechen government offices.
• Putin has lobbied for a stronger Kremlin
  (national government) and less autonomy (freedom
  and ability to make decisions) for local leaders.

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Chechnya Today

• No official war going on
• Russian troops still in control and are stationed
  there
• Poor area with lots of violence
• Chechen rebels could have ties to al-Qaeda
• Chechens want full independence

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Closure

• Do you believe Chechens should be given their
  independence?
• Why or why not?