The first Chechen states appeared in the Middle Ages. In the 19th century, after a long Caucasian war, the country became part of Russian Empire. But even in the future, the history of Chechnya was full of contradictory and tragic pages.
Ethnogenesis
The Chechen people were formed over a long period of time. The Caucasus has always been distinguished by ethnic diversity, therefore, even in the scientific community, there has not yet been a unified theory about the origin of this nation. The Chechen language belongs to the Nakh branch of the Nakh-Dagestan language family. It is also called East Caucasian, according to the settlement of the ancient tribes that became the first carriers of these dialects.
The history of Chechnya began with the appearance of the Vainakhs (today this term refers to the ancestors of the Ingush and Chechens). A variety of nomadic peoples took part in its ethnogenesis: Scythians, Indo-Iranians, Sarmatians, etc. Archaeologists attribute the carriers of the Colchis and Koban cultures to the ancestors of the Chechens. Their traces are scattered throughout the Caucasus.
Ancient history
Due to the fact that the history of ancient Chechnya passed in the absence of a centralized state, it is extremely difficult to judge the events until the Middle Ages. It is only known for certain that in the 9th century the Vainakhs were subjugated by their neighbors, who created the Alanian kingdom, as well as the mountain Avars. The latter in the 6th-11th centuries lived in the state of Sarire with its capital in Tanusi. It is noteworthy that both Islam and Christianity were widespread there. However, the history of Chechnya developed in such a way that the Chechens became Muslims (unlike, for example, their Georgian neighbors).
In the XIII century, the Mongol invasions began. Since then, the Chechens have not left the mountains, fearing numerous hordes. According to one of the hypotheses (it also has opponents), the first early feudal state of the Vainakhs was created at the same time. This formation did not last long and was destroyed during the invasion of Tamerlane at the end of the XIV century.
Teips
For a long time, the plains at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains were controlled by Turkic-speaking tribes. Therefore, the history of Chechnya has always been associated with mountains. The way of life of its inhabitants was also formed in accordance with the conditions of the landscape. In isolated villages, where sometimes only one pass led, teips arose. These were territorial entities created according to tribal affiliation.
Having emerged in the Middle Ages, teips still exist and remain an important phenomenon for the entire Chechen society. These alliances were created to protect against aggressive neighbors. The history of Chechnya is replete with wars and conflicts. In teips, the custom of blood feud was born. This tradition brought its own peculiarities to the relations between teips. If a conflict flared up between several people, it necessarily developed into a tribal war up to the complete destruction of the enemy. Such has been the history of Chechnya since ancient times. there was a very long time, since the teip system largely replaced the state in the usual sense of the word.
Religion
information about what was ancient history Chechnya, has practically not survived to this day. Some archaeological finds suggest that the Vainakhs were pagans until the 11th century. They worshiped the local pantheon of deities. The Chechens had a cult of nature with all its characteristic features: sacred groves, mountains, trees, etc. Witchcraft, magic and other esoteric practices were widespread.
In the XI-XII centuries. in this region of the Caucasus began the spread of Christianity, which came from Georgia and Byzantium. However, the empire of Constantinople soon collapsed. Sunni Islam replaced Christianity. The Chechens adopted it from their Kumyk neighbors and the Golden Horde. The Ingush became Muslims in the 16th century, and the inhabitants of remote mountain villages - in the 17th century. But for a long time, Islam could not influence social customs, which were much more based on national traditions. And only in late XVIII century, Sunnism in Chechnya took approximately the same positions as in Arab countries. This was due to the fact that religion has become an important tool in the fight against Russian Orthodox intervention. Hatred of strangers was kindled not only on national, but also on confessional grounds.
XVI century
In the 16th century, the Chechens began to occupy the deserted plains in the valley of the Terek River. At the same time, most of these people remained to live in the mountains, adapting to their natural conditions. Those who went to the north were looking for a better life there. The population grew naturally, and scarce resources became scarce. Crowding and hunger forced many teips to settle in new lands. The colonists built small villages, which they called by the name of their kind. Part of this toponymy has survived to this day.
The history of Chechnya since ancient times has been associated with danger from nomads. But in the sixteenth century they became much less powerful. Golden Horde broke up. Numerous uluses were constantly at war with each other, which is why they could not establish control over their neighbors. In addition, it was then that the expansion of the Russian kingdom began. In 1560 Kazan and Astrakhan khanates were conquered. Ivan the Terrible began to control the entire course of the Volga, thus gaining access to the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus. Russia in the mountains had faithful allies in the person of the Kabardian princes (Ivan the Terrible even married the daughter of the Kabardian ruler Temryuk).
First contacts with Russia
In 1567, the Russians founded the Tersky prison. Ivan the Terrible was asked about this by Temryuk, who hoped for the help of the tsar in the conflict with the Crimean Khan, a vassal of the Ottoman Sultan. The place where the fortress was built was the mouth of the Sunzha River, a tributary of the Terek. It was the first Russian settlement that arose in the immediate vicinity of the Chechen lands. For a long time, it was the Terek prison that was the springboard for Moscow expansion in the Caucasus.
The Grebensky Cossacks acted as colonists, who were not afraid of life in a distant foreign land and defended the interests of the sovereign with their service. It was they who established direct contact with local natives. Grozny was interested in the history of the people of Chechnya, and he received the first Chechen embassy, which was sent by the influential prince Shikh-Murza Okotsky. He asked for patronage from Moscow. Consent to this was already given by the son of Ivan the Terrible. However, this union did not last long. In 1610, Shikh-Murza was killed, his heir was overthrown, and the principality was captured by the neighboring Kumyk tribe.
Chechens and Terek Cossacks
Back in 1577, the basis of which was formed by the Cossacks who moved from the Don, Khopra and Volga, as well as Orthodox Circassians, Ossetians, Georgians and Armenians. The latter fled from Persian and Turkish expansion. Many of them became Russified. The growth of the Cossack mass was significant. Chechnya could not fail to notice this. The history of the origin of the first conflicts between the highlanders and the Cossacks is not recorded, but over time, skirmishes became more and more frequent and commonplace.
Chechens and other natives of the Caucasus staged raids to seize livestock and other useful production. Quite often, civilians were taken into captivity and later returned for ransom or made into slaves. In response to this, the Cossacks also raided the mountains and robbed villages. Nevertheless, such cases were the exception rather than the rule. Often there were long periods of peace, when neighbors traded among themselves and acquired family ties. Over time, the Chechens even adopted some features of housekeeping from the Cossacks, and the Cossacks, in turn, began to wear clothes very similar to the mountain ones.
18th century
The second half of the 18th century in the North Caucasus was marked by the construction of a new Russian fortified line. It consisted of several fortresses, where all the new colonists came. In 1763 Mozdok was founded, then Ekaterinograd, Pavlovskaya, Maryinskaya, Georgievskaya.
These forts replaced the Terek prison, which the Chechens once even managed to plunder. Meanwhile, in the 1980s, the Sharia movement began to spread in Chechnya. Slogans about ghazawat - the war for the Islamic faith - became popular.
Caucasian war
In 1829, the North Caucasian Imamat was created - an Islamic theocratic state on the territory of Chechnya. At the same time, the country had its own national hero, Shamil. In 1834 he became an imam. Dagestan and Chechnya obeyed him. The history of the emergence and spread of his power is connected with the struggle against Russian expansion in the North Caucasus.
The fight against the Chechens continued for several decades. At a certain stage, the Caucasian War intertwined with the war against Persia, as well as the Crimean War, when the Western countries of Europe came out against Russia. Whose help could Chechnya count on? The history of the Nokhchi state in the 19th century would not have been so long if it were not for the support Ottoman Empire. And yet, despite the fact that the Sultan helped the highlanders, Chechnya was finally conquered in 1859. Shamil was first captured and then lived in honorary exile in Kaluga.
After the February Revolution, Chechen gangs began to attack the environs of Grozny and the Vladikavkaz railway. In the autumn of 1917, the so-called "native division" returned home from the front of the First World War. It consisted of Chechens. The division staged a real battle with the Terek Cossacks.
Soon the Bolsheviks came to power in Petrograd. Their Red Guard entered Grozny already in January 1918. Some of the Chechens supported the Soviet government, others went to the mountains, others helped the whites. From February 1919, Grozny was under the control of the troops of Pyotr Wrangel and his British allies. And only in March 1920 did the Red Army finally establish itself in
Deportation
In 1936, a new Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed. Meanwhile, partisans remained in the mountains, who opposed the Bolsheviks. The last such gangs were destroyed in 1938. However, separatist sentiments remained among some of the inhabitants of the republic.
Soon the Great Patriotic War, from which both Chechnya and Russia suffered. History of fighting German offensive in the Caucasus, as well as on all other fronts, it was difficult for the Soviet troops. Heavy losses were aggravated by the appearance of Chechen formations that acted against the Red Army or even colluded with the Nazis.
This gave the Soviet leadership an excuse to start repressions against the entire people. On February 23, 1944, all Chechens and neighboring Ingush, regardless of their attitude towards the USSR, were deported to Central Asia.
Ichkeria
The Chechens were able to return to their homeland only in 1957. After the collapse Soviet Union separatist sentiments reawakened in the republic. In 1991, Grozny proclaimed Chechen Republic Ichkeria. For some time, its conflict with the federal center was in a frozen state. In 1994, Russian President Boris Yeltsin decided to send troops into Chechnya to restore Moscow's power there. Officially, the operation was called "measures to maintain constitutional order."
First Chechen War ended on August 31, 1996, when the Khasavyurt agreements were signed. In fact, this agreement meant the withdrawal of federal troops from Ichkeria. The parties agreed to determine the status of Chechnya by December 31, 2001. With the advent of peace, Ichkeria became independent, although this was not legally recognized by Moscow.
Modernity
Even after the signing of the Khasavyurt agreements, the situation on the border with Chechnya remained extremely turbulent. The republic has become a hiding place for extremists, Islamists, mercenaries and just criminals. On August 7, a brigade of militants Shamil Basayev and Khattab invaded neighboring Dagestan. The extremists wanted to create an independent Islamist state on its territory.
The history of Chechnya and Dagestan is very similar, and not only because of the geographical proximity, but also in connection with the similarity of the ethnic and confessional composition of the population. Federal troops launched a counter-terrorist operation. First, the militants were ejected from the territory of Dagestan. Then Russian army re-entered Chechnya. The active combat phase of the campaign ended in the summer of 2000, when Grozny was cleared. After that, the regime of the counter-terrorist operation was officially maintained for another 9 years. Today Chechnya is one of the full-fledged subjects of the Russian Federation.
On February 23, 1944, Operation "Lentil" began: the deportation of Chechens and Ingush "for aiding the fascist invaders" from the territory of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ChIASSR) to Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The CHIASSR was abolished, 4 districts were transferred from its composition to the Dagestan ASSR, one district was transferred to the North Ossetian ASSR, and the Grozny region was created on the rest of the territory.
Operation () was carried out under the leadership of the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR Lavrenty Beria. The eviction of the Chechen-Ingush population was carried out without any problems. During the operation, 780 people were killed, in 2016 an "anti-Soviet element" was arrested, more than 20 thousand firearms were seized. 180 echelons were sent to Central Asia with a total of 493,269 people resettled. The operation was carried out very effectively and showed the high skill of the administrative apparatus of the Soviet Union.
People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR Lavrenty Beria. He approved the "Instruction on the procedure for the eviction of Chechens and Ingush", arrived in Grozny and personally supervised the operation
Preconditions and reasons for punishment
It must be said that the situation in Chechnya was already complicated during the revolution and civil war. The Caucasus during this period was seized by a real bloody turmoil. The highlanders got the opportunity to return to their usual "craft" - robbery and banditry. Whites and Reds, busy at war with each other, could not restore order during this period.
The situation was also difficult in the 1920s. So, " Short review banditry in the North Caucasian Military District, as of September 1, 1925" reports: "The Chechen Autonomous Region is a hotbed of criminal banditry... For the most part, Chechens are prone to banditry as the main source of easy money, which is facilitated by the large presence of weapons. Highland Chechnya is a refuge for the most inveterate enemies of Soviet power. Cases of banditry on the part of Chechen gangs cannot be accurately accounted for ”(Pykhalov I. For what Stalin evicted peoples. M., 2013).
In other documents, similar characteristics can be found. “A brief overview and characteristics of the existing banditry on the territory of the IXth Rifle Corps” dated May 28, 1924: “The Ingush and Chechens are most prone to banditry. They are less loyal to the Soviet government; strongly developed national feeling - brought up by religious teachings, especially hostile to Russians - giaours. The conclusions of the authors of the review were correct. In their opinion, the main reasons for the development of banditry among the highlanders were: 1) cultural backwardness; 2) semi-wild customs of the highlanders, prone to easy money; 3) economic backwardness of the mountain economy; 4) lack of firm local authority and political and educational work.
An informational review of the headquarters of the IXth Rifle Corps on the development of banditry in the areas where the corps is located in the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Region, the Mountain SSR, the Chechen Autonomous District, the Grozny Province and the Dagestan SSR in July-September 1924: “Chechnya is a bouquet of banditry. The number of leaders and fickle bandit gangs committing robberies, mainly in the territories adjacent to the Chechen region, cannot be counted.
To fight the bandits in 1923, they conducted a local military operation, but it was not enough. The situation became especially aggravated in 1925. At the same time, it should be noted that banditry in Chechnya during this period was purely criminal in nature, and there was no ideological confrontation under the slogans of radical Islam. The victims of the robbers were the Russian population from the regions adjacent to Chechnya. Suffered from the Chechen bandits and Dagestanis. But, unlike the Russian Cossacks, the Soviet authorities did not take away their weapons, so the Dagestanis could repel predatory raids. By old tradition Georgia was also subjected to predatory raids.
In August 1925, a new large-scale operation began to clean up Chechnya from gangs and seize weapons from the local population. Accustomed to the weakness and softness of the Soviet authorities, the Chechens initially prepared for stubborn resistance. However, this time the authorities acted harshly and decisively. The Chechens were shocked when numerous military columns entered their territory, reinforced with artillery and aircraft. The operation was carried out according to a typical scheme: hostile villages surrounded, handed over a demand to extradite bandits and weapons. In case of refusal, machine-gun and artillery shelling and even air strikes began. Sappers destroyed the houses of gang leaders. This caused a change in the mood of the local population. Resistance, even passive resistance, was no longer thought of. The inhabitants of the villages handed over their weapons. Therefore, casualties among the population were small. The operation was successful: they captured all the major bandit leaders (309 bandits were arrested in total, 105 of them were shot), seized a large number of weapons, ammunition - more than 25 thousand rifles, more than 4 thousand revolvers, etc. (It should be noted that now all these bandits have been rehabilitated as "innocent victims" of Stalinism.) Chechnya was calmed for a while. Residents continued to hand over their weapons even after the operation was completed. However, the success of the 1925 operation was not consolidated. On the key positions obvious Russophobes with connections with foreign countries continued to sit in the country: Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin, etc. The policy of combating “Great Russian chauvinism” continued until the early 1930s. Suffice it to say that the Small Soviet Encyclopedia praised Shamil's "exploits". The Cossacks were deprived of their rights, the "rehabilitation" of the Cossacks began only in 1936, when Stalin was able to remove the main groups of "Trotskyist-internationalists" from power (the then "fifth column" in the USSR).
In 1929, such purely Russian territories as the Sunzha District and the city of Grozny were included in Chechnya. According to the 1926 census, only about 2% of Chechens lived in Grozny, the rest of the inhabitants of the city were Russians, Little Russians and Armenians. There were even more Tatars in the city than Chechens - 3.2%.
Therefore, it is not surprising that as soon as pockets of instability arose in the USSR associated with “excesses” during collectivization (the local apparatus that carried out collectivization consisted largely of “Trotskyists” and deliberately fomented unrest in the USSR), in 1929 Chechnya broke out big uprising. In the report of the commander of the North Caucasian Military District, Belov, and a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the District, Kozhevnikov, it was emphasized that they had to deal not with individual bandit actions, but with "a direct uprising of entire regions, in which almost the entire population took part in an armed uprising." The uprising was put down. However, its roots were not eliminated, so in 1930 another military operation was carried out.
Chechnya did not calm down in the 1930s either. In the spring of 1932, another major uprising broke out. The gangs were able to block several garrisons, but were soon defeated and dispersed by the approaching units of the Red Army. The next aggravation of the situation occurred in 1937. From this, it was necessary to intensify the fight against bandit and terrorist groups in the republic. In the period from October 1937 to February 1939, 80 groups with a total number of 400 people operated on the territory of the republic, and more than 1 thousand bandits were in an illegal position. In the course of the measures taken, the gangster underground was cleared. More than 1,000 people were arrested and convicted, 5 machine guns, more than 8,000 rifles and other weapons and ammunition were confiscated.
However, the calm did not last long. In 1940, banditry in the republic became more active again. Most of the gangs were replenished at the expense of fugitive criminals and deserters of the Red Army. So, from the autumn of 1939 to the beginning of February 1941, 797 Chechens and Ingush deserted from the Red Army.
During the Great Patriotic War, Chechens and Ingush "distinguished themselves" by mass desertion and evasion of military service. So, in a memorandum addressed to the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Lavrenty Beria "On the situation in the regions of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic", compiled by the Deputy People's Commissar of State Security, Commissar of State Security of the 2nd rank Bogdan Kobulov dated November 9, 1943, it was reported that in January 1942, when recruiting the national division managed to call up only 50% of its personnel. Due to the stubborn unwillingness of the indigenous people of the Chechen Republic of Ingushetia to go to the front, the formation of the Chechen-Ingush cavalry division was never completed, those who were able to be called up were sent to spare and training units.
In March 1942, out of 14,576 people, 13,560 deserted and evaded service. They went underground, went to the mountains, joined gangs. In 1943, out of 3,000 volunteers, 1,870 deserted. To understand the enormity of this figure, it is worth saying that while in the ranks of the Red Army, during the war years, 2.3 thousand Chechens and Ingush died and went missing.
At the same time, during the war, banditry flourished in the republic. From June 22, 1941 to December 31, 1944, 421 bandit manifestations were noted on the territory of the republic: attacks and murders on soldiers and commanders of the Red Army, the NKVD, Soviet and party workers, attacks and robberies of state and collective farm institutions and enterprises, murders and robberies of ordinary citizens. In terms of the number of attacks and murders of commanders and soldiers of the Red Army, organs and troops of the NKVD, the CHIASSR during this period was slightly inferior only to Lithuania.
During the same period of time, as a result of bandit manifestations, 116 people were killed, and 147 people died during operations against bandits. At the same time, 197 gangs were liquidated, 657 bandits were killed, 2762 were captured, 1113 turned themselves in. Thus, in the ranks of the gangs that fought against the Soviet regime, much more Chechens and Ingush died and were arrested than those who died and went missing at the front. We must also not forget the fact that under the North Caucasus banditry was impossible without the support of the local population. Therefore, the accomplices of the bandits were a significant part of the population of the republic.
Interestingly, during this period, Soviet power had to fight mainly with young gangsters - graduates of Soviet schools and universities, Komsomol members and communists. By this time, the OGPU-NKVD had already knocked out the old cadres of bandits brought up in the Russian Empire. However, young people followed in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers. One of these "young wolves" was Khasan Israilov (Terloev). In 1929 he joined the CPSU (b), entered the Komvuz in Rostov-on-Don. In 1933 he was sent to Moscow to the Communist University of the Workers of the East. Stalin. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, Israilov, together with his brother Hussein, went underground and began preparing a general uprising. The beginning of the uprising was planned for 1941, but then it was postponed to the beginning of 1942. However, due to the low level of discipline and the lack of good communication between the rebel cells, the situation got out of control. A coordinated, simultaneous uprising did not take place, resulting in speeches by separate groups. Scattered speeches were suppressed.
Israilov did not give up and began work on party building. The main link in the organization was the aulkoms or troc-five, which carried out anti-Soviet and insurgent work in the field. On January 28, 1942, Israilov held an illegal meeting in Ordzhonikidze (Vladikavkaz), which established the "Special Party of Caucasian Brothers." The program provided for the establishment of "a free fraternal Federal Republic of the states of the fraternal peoples of the Caucasus under the mandate of the German Empire." The party was supposed to fight "Bolshevik barbarism and Russian despotism." Later, in order to adapt to the Nazis, Israilov transformed the OPKB into the National Socialist Party of Caucasian Brothers. Its number reached 5 thousand people.
In addition, in November 1941, the Chechen-Mountain National Socialist Underground Organization was established. Mayrbek Sheripov was its leader. The son of a tsarist officer and the younger brother of the Civil War hero Aslanbek Sheripov, Mairbek joined the CPSU (b), and in 1938 was arrested for anti-Soviet propaganda, but in 1939 he was released for lack of evidence of guilt. In the fall of 1941, the Chairman of the Forestry Council of the Chechen Republic of Ingushetia went into hiding and began to unite the leaders of gangs, deserters, fugitive criminals around him, and also established ties with religious and teip leaders, inciting them to revolt. Sheripov's main base was in the Shatoevsky district. After the front approached the borders of the republic, in August 1942 Sheripov raised a major uprising in the Itum-Kalinsky and Shatoevsky regions. On August 20, the rebels surrounded Itum-Kale, but they could not take the village. A small garrison repulsed the attacks of the bandits, and the reinforcements that came up put the Chechens to flight. Sheripov tried to connect with Israilov, but was destroyed during a special operation.
In October 1942, the uprising was raised by the German non-commissioned officer Reckert, who was abandoned in Chechnya in August at the head of a reconnaissance and sabotage group. He established contact with the Sakhabov gang and, with the assistance of religious authorities, recruited up to 400 people. The detachment was supplied with weapons dropped from German aircraft. The saboteurs were able to raise some auls of the Vedensky and Cheberloevsky districts to rebellion. However, the authorities quickly suppressed this performance. Reckert was destroyed.
The highlanders also made a feasible contribution to the military power of the Third Reich. In September 1942, the first three battalions of the North Caucasian Legion were formed in Poland - the 800th, 801st and 802nd. At the same time, there was a Chechen company in the 800th battalion, and two companies in the 802nd. The number of Chechens in the German armed forces was small due to mass desertion and evasion from service, the number of Chechens and Ingush in the ranks of the Red Army was small. Therefore, there were few captured highlanders. Already at the end of 1942, the 800th and 802nd battalions were sent to the front.
Almost simultaneously in Mirgorod, Poltava region, the 842nd, 843rd and 844th battalions of the North Caucasian Legion began to form. In February 1943 they were sent to the Leningrad region to fight the partisans. At the same time, a battalion 836-A was formed in the town of Vesola (the letter "A" meant "Einsatz" - destruction). The battalion specialized in punitive operations and left a long trail of blood in the Kirovograd, Kyiv regions and in France. In May 1945, the remnants of the battalion were captured by the British in Denmark. The highlanders asked for British citizenship, but were extradited to the USSR. Of the 214 Chechens of the 1st company, 97 were prosecuted.
As the front approached the borders of the republic, the Germans began to throw intelligence officers and saboteurs into the territory of the Chechen Republic of Ingushetia, who were supposed to pave the way for a large-scale uprising, to commit sabotage and terrorist attacks. However, only Rekker's group achieved the greatest success. The Chekists and the army acted promptly and prevented the uprising. In particular, the group of Lieutenant Lange, abandoned on August 25, 1942, suffered a setback. Pursued by Soviet units, the chief lieutenant with the remnants of his group, with the help of Chechen guides, was forced to cross the front line back to his own. In total, the Germans abandoned 77 saboteurs. Of these, 43 were neutralized.
The Germans even prepared “the governor of the North Caucasus - Osman Gube (Osman Saydnurov). Osman fought on the side of the Whites during the Civil War, deserted, lived in Georgia, after its liberation by the Red Army, fled to Turkey. After the outbreak of the war, he took a course in a German intelligence school and entered the disposal of naval intelligence. Guba-Saidnurov, in order to increase his authority among the local population, was even allowed to call himself a colonel. However, plans to foment an uprising among the highlanders failed - the Chekists seized Gube's group. During the interrogation, the failed Caucasian Gauleiter made a very interesting confession: “Among the Chechens and Ingush, I easily found the right people who were ready to betray, go over to the side of the Germans and serve them.”
It is also interesting that the local leadership of the internal affairs actually sabotaged the fight against banditry and went over to the side of the bandits. Head of the NKVD of the CHIASSR, State Security Captain Sultan Albogachiev, an Ingush by nationality, sabotaged the activities of local Chekists. Albogachiev acted in conjunction with Terloev (Israilov). Many other local Chekists also turned out to be traitors. So, the heads of the NKVD district departments were traitors: Staro-Yurtovsky - Elmurzaev, Sharoevsky - Pashaev, Itum-Kalinsky - Mezhiev, Shatoevsky - Isaev, etc. Many traitors turned out to be among the rank and file employees of the NKVD.
A similar picture was in the environment of the local party leadership. So, when the front approached, 16 leaders of the district committees of the CPSU (b) (there were 24 districts and the city of Grozny), 8 executives of district executive committees, 14 chairmen of collective farms and other party members left their jobs and fled. Apparently, those who remained in their places were simply Russians or “Russian speakers”. Particularly "famous" was the party organization of the Itum-Kalinsky district, where the entire leadership staff went into bandits.
As a result, during the years of the most difficult war, an epidemic of mass betrayal swept the republic. Chechens and Ingush have fully deserved their punishment. Moreover, it should be noted that according to the laws of wartime, Moscow could punish many thousands of bandits, traitors and their accomplices much more severely, up to execution and long prison terms. However, we once again see an example of humanism and generosity of the Stalinist government. Chechens and Ingush were evicted and sent for re-education.
Psychological feature of the problem
Many current citizens of the Western world, and indeed of Russia, are not able to understand how an entire people can be punished for the crimes of its individual groups and "individual representatives." They proceed from their ideas about the world around them when they are surrounded by the whole world of individualists, atomized personalities.
The Western world, and then Russia, after industrialization, lost the structure of a traditional society (essentially, a peasant, agrarian), connected by communal ties, mutual responsibility. The West and Russia have moved to a different level of civilization, when each person is responsible only for his own crimes. However, at the same time, Europeans forget that there are still areas and regions on the planet where traditional, tribal relations prevail. Such a region is both the Caucasus and middle Asia.
There, people are connected by family (including large patriarchal families), clan, tribal relations, as well as community relations. Accordingly, if a person commits a crime, the local community is responsible for him and punishes him. In particular, this is why rape of local girls is rare in the North Caucasus; relatives, with the support of the local community, will simply “bury” the offender. The police will turn a blind eye to this, as it consists of "their own people." However, this does not mean that “foreign” girls, behind whom there is no strong clan, community, are safe. "Dzhigits" can freely behave on "foreign" territory.
Mutual responsibility is a striking feature of any society that is at the tribal stage of development. In such a society, there is no case that the entire local population would not know about. There is no bandit in hiding, no killer whose whereabouts the locals don't know. Responsibility for the offender lies with the entire family and generation. Such views are very strong and persist from century to century.
Such relations were characteristic of the era of tribal relations. During the period of the Russian Empire, and even more strongly during the years of the Soviet Union, the Caucasus and Central Asia were subjected to a strong civilizational, cultural influence of the Russian people. Urban culture, industrialization, a powerful system of upbringing and education had a strong influence on these regions, they began the transition from tribal relations to a more advanced society of an urban industrial type. If the USSR had existed for a few more decades, the transition would have been completed. However, the USSR was destroyed. The North Caucasus and Central Asia did not have time to complete the transition to a more developed society, and a rapid rollback to the past began, archaization social relations. All this happened against the background of the degradation of the system of education, upbringing, science and the national economy. As a result, we have received whole generations of “new barbarians”, soldered together by family, tribal traditions, the waves of which are gradually overwhelming Russian cities. Moreover, they merge with the local "new barbarians" who are spawned by the degraded (deliberately simplified) Russian education system.
Thus, it is necessary to be clearly aware of the fact that Stalin, who knew very well the peculiarities of the ethnopsychology of the mountain peoples with its principles of mutual responsibility and collective responsibility of the whole clan for the crime committed by its member, since he himself was from the Caucasus, quite rightly punished an entire people (several peoples). If the local society did not support Hitler's accomplices and bandits, then the first collaborators would have been handed over by themselves locals(or handed over to the authorities). However, the Chechens deliberately went into conflict with the authorities, and Moscow punished them. Everything is reasonable and logical - it is necessary to answer for crimes. The decision was fair and even mild in some respects.
The highlanders themselves then knew what they were being punished for. So, among the local population then there were the following rumors: “The Soviet government will not forgive us. We don’t serve in the army, we don’t work on collective farms, we don’t help the front, we don’t pay taxes, banditry is all around. Karachays were evicted for this - and we will be evicted.”
Soviet power brought new orders to the North Caucasus, and not all of them were perceived with hostility. During the years of the USSR, the image of a Caucasian was not only friendly, but also symbolic of Soviet power.
New country, new rules
In the early years of Soviet rule, Sharia courts existed throughout the North Caucasus. Depending on the autonomy, they had different powers.
So, for example, in Chechnya and Ingushetia, only the Supreme Court of the RSFSR could challenge the decision of the Sharia court.
Starting from the second half of the 1920s, the Soviet government began a gradual offensive against sharsuds and Islamic traditions in general, since they did not fit into the new concept. social structure, and already in 1928, the chapter “On crimes constituting remnants of tribal life” was added to the criminal code of the RSFSR.
Under the new law, most of the mountain traditions were equated with serious criminal offenses and were punished for a year in the camp. This led to uprisings, which were brutally suppressed by the soldiers of the Red Army throughout the North Caucasus. The persecution of "Shariatists" and supporters of Muslim customs continued until the mid-1940s. Then the war began.
Fathers and Sons
If we do not take into account collaborationism and deportation processes, we can say that the Great Patriotic War became the factor that allowed Caucasians to organically fit into the friendly family of Soviet peoples. First of all, this is noticeable in the changes in relation to fathers and children.
Before the war, in Caucasian families, fathers tried to keep a distance from their children, especially their sons.
They never took them in their arms and did not say words of approval to them. Even when the child was in danger, the father would call his mother or other women. But the war, according to Soviet ethnographers, radically changed the psychology of Caucasian men.
The book “Culture and Life of the Peoples of the North Caucasus” says the following about this: “the action of these processes was a significant factor in the death of outdated views and customs ... In many families, house-building orders were softened.”
In the 70s, a new generation of Caucasian men walked without embarrassment with their children in parks and escorted them to schools. But this did not mean that the highlanders began to lisp with their offspring. Publicly praising your child was still considered indecent. Even very young boys were taught to behave like adults. To this day, the attitude within the Caucasian family and in public are two different behaviors.
New face of the Caucasus
The second half of the 40s and the beginning of the 50s were marked for the highlanders by the appearance of a new detail of the urban landscape - four- and five-story houses, and large administrative buildings in the neoclassical style.
Communication houses, hotels, universities - all this was supposed to show the Caucasians the inviolability of the new social order.
In the early 60s, there was a setting for the standardization of life. Uninhabited territories were transformed into residential areas with a mandatory set of buildings: a department store, a cinema, a park, Kindergarten, stadium, school, club. All this also provided jobs.
All the cities of the North Caucasus have got water supply, paved roads, sewerage, centralized heating, etc. The villages have also changed. Along central roads Trees have been planted and roads have been levelled. Pompous buildings of village councils, pharmacies, hairdressers, clubs, libraries and shops appeared. The new houses were built of brick and had wooden floors, glass windows and a roof covered with sheet slate.
Since the late 60s, the interior of the new mountain houses consisted of purchased furniture. The walls were decorated with family photographs and carpets, which were laid on the floor only when guests arrived.
In the period from the 70s to the 80s, imported walls became part of the typical interior, in which clothes, dishes and books were stored. The home library was a separate pride of the owners of the apartment. Reading books was not necessary, but having them was a very important element. During the period of standardization of life, the dwellings of the highlanders were not much different from the apartments of any other inhabitant of the USSR. This was another milestone on the path of integration of the highlanders into Soviet society.
Wedding
The Caucasian wedding is probably one of the few traditions that the Soviet government could not completely eradicate. The first Komsomol marriage took place here only in the late 50s. But, despite all the efforts of the activists, the newlyweds after the "Soviet" wedding left for the house of their relatives and held another ceremony there - the traditional one.
There were also precedents when newlyweds from remote villages signed in the registry office a few years after the wedding.
In the 60s, for the first time at weddings, they began to give flowers to the bride. Such an act for the Caucasus was a truly revolutionary innovation. A wedding procession decorated with greenery and a red ribbon, as well as the registration of a marriage by some local official, for example, a deputy of the village council, were also considered special chic in these years.
A man must be an athlete
Combat sports sections are probably the most beloved innovation of the Soviet regime for the highlanders. Dzhigits showed interest in wrestling back in the 20s, and after the mass opening of sports sections in the 50s, only a bad father did not take his son there.
For Caucasian parents, sports became an excellent counterbalance to the bad influence of the streets, and he brought up those qualities that in the Caucasus have always been considered truly masculine.
In any even the most provincial aul there was one or two sections of the struggle. For mountain boys, engaging in martial arts was comparable to initiation into men. This gave a specific goal, disciplined and taught how to protect yourself and your loved ones. For Soviet society as a whole, this also had positive effects. In addition to the fact that the sections of the North Caucasus brought up a number of Olympic medalists, they also made the streets safer. After all, now young people could splash out their hot temper in the ring or tatami, and not on a random passerby.
In November 1920, the Congress of the Peoples of the Terek Region proclaimed the creation of the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic with its capital in Vladikavkaz as part of six administrative districts, one of which was the Chechen National District.
The Sunzhensky Cossack District was also formed as part of the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.During the Civil War in Russia, several Russian settlements in large Chechen villages, as well as Cossack villages on the Sunzha, were destroyed by Chechens and Ingush, their inhabitants were killed. The Soviet government, needing the support of the mountain peoples against the Volunteer Army of Denikin and the Cossacks allied to it, “rewarded” the Chechens by giving them part of the Terek-Sunzha interfluve
In September 1920, an anti-Soviet uprising began in the mountainous regions of Chechnya and Northern Dagestan, led by Nazhmudin Gotsinsky and the grandson of Imam Shamil, Said Bey. The rebels in a few weeks were able to establish control over many areas. Soviet troops managed to liberate Chechnya from the rebels only in March 1921.
On November 30, 1922, the Chechen NO was transformed into the Chechen Autonomous Region. In early 1929, the Sunzhensky Cossack District and the city of Grozny, which previously had a special status, were annexed to the Chechen Autonomous Okrug.
In the spring of 1923, the Chechens boycotted the elections to local councils and smashed polling stations in some settlements, protesting against the desire of the central authorities to impose their representatives on them in the elections. An NKVD division, reinforced by detachments of local activists, was sent to suppress the unrest.
The unrest was suppressed, but there were continuous attacks on the border areas with Chechnya with the aim of robbery and cattle rustling. This was accompanied by hostage-taking and shelling of the Shatoi fortress. Therefore, in August-September 1925, another, larger-scale military operation was carried out to disarm the population. During this operation, Gotsinsky was arrested.
In 1929, many Chechens refused to supply bread to the state. They demanded the cessation of grain procurement, disarmament and the removal of all grain producers from the territory of Chechnya. In this regard, the operational group of troops and units of the OGPU in the period from December 8 to 28, 1929 carried out a military operation, as a result of which armed groups were neutralized in the villages of Goyty, Shali, Sambi, Benoy, Tsontoroy and others.
But the opponents of Soviet power intensified the terror against the party-Soviet activists and launched the anti-Soviet movement on a larger scale. In this regard, in March-April 1930, a new military operation was carried out, which weakened the activity of opponents of Soviet power, but not for long.
At the beginning of 1932, in connection with collectivization, a large-scale uprising broke out in Chechnya, in which this time a significant part of the Russian population of the Nadterechny Cossack villages also took part. It was suppressed in March 1932, while entire villages were deported outside the North Caucasus.
On January 15, 1934, the Chechen Autonomous Region was merged with the Ingush Autonomous Region into the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Region. Russians prevailed in the authorities of the CHI ASSR due to the existence of large cities with a predominantly Russian population (the cities of Grozny, Gudermes, etc.).
P.S. According to Big Soviet Encyclopedia in 1920, among Chechens there were 0.8% of literates, and by 1940, literacy among Chechens was 85%
From time immemorial, Chechens have been famous as hardy, strong, dexterous, inventive, severe and skillful warriors. The main features of the representatives of this nation have always been: pride, fearlessness, the ability to cope with any life difficulties, as well as high reverence for consanguinity. Representatives of the Chechen people: Ramzan Kadyrov, Dzhokhar Dudayev.
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Origin of the Chechens
There are several versions of the origin of the name of the Chechen nation:
- Most scientists are inclined to believe that in this way the people began to be called around the 13th century, after the name of the village of Big Chechen. Later, not only the inhabitants of this settlement, but also all neighboring villages of a similar type, began to be called this way.
- According to another opinion, the name "Chechens" appeared thanks to the Kabardians, who called this people "Shashan". And, allegedly, the representatives of Russia simply changed this name a little, making it more convenient and harmonious for our language, and over time it took root and this people began to be called Chechens not only in Russia, but also in other states.
- There is a third version - according to it, other Caucasian peoples initially called the inhabitants of modern Chechnya Chechens.
By the way, the very word “Vainakh” translated from Nakh into Russian sounds like “our people” or “our people”.
If we talk about the origin of the nation itself, then it is generally accepted that the Chechens have never been a nomadic people and their history is closely connected with the Caucasian lands. True, some scholars argue that in ancient times, representatives of this nation occupied more large territories in the northeastern Caucasus, and only then massively migrated to the north of Kazvkaz. The very fact of such a relocation of the people does not raise any special doubts, but the motives for the move are not known to scientists.
According to one version, which is partly confirmed by Georgian sources, the Chechens at a certain moment simply decided to occupy the North Caucasian space, where no one lived at that time. Moreover, there is an opinion that the very name of the Caucasus is also of Vainakh origin. Allegedly in old times that was the name of the Chechen ruler, and the territory got its name from his name "Caucasus".
Having settled in the North Caucasus, the Chechens led a settled way of life and did not leave their native places without extreme necessity. They lived in this territory for more than one hundred years (from about the 13th century).
Even when in 1944 almost the entire indigenous population was deported in connection with the unfair accusation of supporting the fascists, the Chechens did not remain in the “foreign” land and returned to their homeland.
Caucasian war
In the winter of 1781, Chechnya officially became part of Russia. The corresponding document was signed by many respectable elders of the largest Chechen villages, who not only put their signature on paper, but also swore on the Koran that they would accept Russian citizenship.
But at the same time, the majority of representatives of the nation considered this document a mere formality and, in fact, were going to continue their autonomous existence. One of the most ardent opponents of the entry of Chechnya into Russia was Sheikh Mansur, who had a huge influence on his fellow tribesmen, since he was not only a preacher of Islam, but was also the first imam of the North Caucasus. Many Chechens supported Mansur, which later helped him become a leader freedom movement and unite all the discontented highlanders into one force.
Thus began the Caucasian War, which lasted nearly fifty years. In the end, the Russian military forces managed to suppress the resistance of the highlanders, however, extremely tough measures were taken for this, up to the burning of hostile auls. Also during that period, the Sunzhinskaya (named after the Sunzha River) line of fortifications was built.
However, the end of the war was very conditional. The established peace was extremely shaky. The situation was complicated by the fact that oil deposits were discovered in Chechnya, from which the Chechens received practically no income. Another difficulty was the local mentality, which was very different from the Russian one.
Chechens and then repeatedly staged various uprisings. But despite all the difficulties, Russia greatly appreciated the representatives of this nationality. The fact is that the men of Chechen nationality were wonderful warriors and were distinguished not only by physical strength, but also by courage, as well as an unbending fighting spirit. During the First World War, an elite regiment was created, consisting of only Chechens and called the "Wild Division".
Chechens have indeed always been considered remarkable warriors, in which composure is surprisingly combined with courage and the will to win. The physical data of representatives of this nationality are also impeccable. Chechen men are characterized by: strength, endurance, dexterity, etc.
On the one hand, this is explained by the fact that they lived in rather harsh conditions, where it was extremely difficult for a physically weak person to exist, and on the other hand, by the fact that almost the entire history of this people is associated with constant struggle and the need to defend their interests with arms in hand. After all, if we look at the events that took place in the Caucasus, both in ancient times and in our time, we will see that the Chechen people have always remained quite autonomous and, in case of dissatisfaction with certain circumstances, easily went into a state of war.
At the same time, the combat science of the Chechens has always been very developed, and fathers from early childhood taught their sons how to use weapons and ride a horse. The ancient Chechens managed to do the almost impossible and create their own invincible mountain cavalry. Also, it is they who are considered the founders of such military techniques as nomadic batteries, the technique of blocking the enemy or the withdrawal of "crawling" troops into battle. From time immemorial, their military tactics have been based on surprise, followed by a massive attack on the enemy. Moreover, many experts agree that it is the Chechens, and not the Cossacks, who are the founders of the partisan method of warfare.
National Features
The Chechen language belongs to the Nakh-Dagestan branch and has more than nine dialects that are used in speech and writing. But the main dialect is considered flat, which in the 20th century formed the basis of the literary dialect of this people.
As for religious views, the vast majority of Chechens profess Islam.
Chechens also attach great importance to the observance of the national code of honor "Konakhalla". These ethical rules of conduct were developed in ancient times. And this moral code, to put it very simply, tells how a man should behave in order to be considered worthy of his people and his ancestors.
By the way, Chechens are also characterized by a very strong relationship. Initially, the culture of this people developed in such a way that society was divided into various teips (kinds), belonging to which was of great importance for the Vainakhs. The relation to this or that genus was always determined by the father. Moreover, to this day, representatives of this people, getting to know a new person, often ask where he comes from and from which teip.
Another type of association is "tukhum". This was the name of teip communities created for one purpose or another: joint hunting, farming, protection of territories, repelling enemy attacks, etc.
Chechen. Lezginka.
Special attention should be paid to the national Chechen cuisine, which is rightfully considered one of the most ancient in the Caucasus. From time immemorial, the main products used by the Chechens for cooking were: meat, cheese, cottage cheese, as well as pumpkin, wild garlic and corn. Special meaning it is also attached to spices, which are usually used in huge quantities.
Chechen traditions
Living in the harsh conditions of the mountainous area left its mark on the culture of the Chechens, their traditions. Life here was many times harder than on the plain.
For example, the highlanders often worked the land on the slopes of the peaks, and in order to avoid accidents, they had to work in large groups, obliging themselves with one rope. Otherwise, one of them could easily fall into the abyss and die. Often, half of the aul gathered to carry out such work. Therefore, for a true Chechen, respectable neighborly relations are sacred. And if grief happened in the family of people living nearby, then this grief is the grief of the whole village. If a breadwinner was lost in a neighboring house, then his widow or mother was supported by the whole aul, sharing food or other necessary things with her.
Due to the fact that work in the mountains is usually very hard, the Chechens have always tried to protect the older generation from it. And even the usual greeting here is based on the fact that with old man first they say hello, and then they ask if he needs help with something. Also in Chechnya, it is considered bad form if a young man walks past an elderly man doing hard work and does not offer his help.
Hospitality also plays a huge role for the Chechens. In ancient times, a person could easily get lost in the mountains and die from hunger or an attack by a wolf or a bear. That is why it has always been unthinkable for Chechens not to let a stranger into the house who asks for help. It does not matter what the name of the guest is and whether he is familiar with the hosts, if he is in trouble, then he will be provided with food and lodging for the night.
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Mutual respect is also of particular importance in Chechen culture. In ancient times, the highlanders moved mainly along thin paths encircling peaks and gorges. Because of this, it was sometimes difficult for people to disperse on such paths. And the slightest inaccurate movement could cause a fall from the mountain and the death of a person. That is why Chechens, from early childhood, were taught to respect other people, and especially women and the elderly.
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