Have the Chechens’ Independence Claims Been Legitimate During the First and Second Russo-Chechen Wars?
MARMARA UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
A STUDY OF
HAVE THE CHECHENS’ INDEPENDENCE CLAIMS BEEN LEGITIMATE DURING THE FIRST AND SECOND RUSSO-CHECHEN WARS?
SPRING 2010
İçindekiler
INTRODUCTION1
LEGITIMACY8
THE FIRST RUSSO-CHECHEN WAR9
THE SECOND RUSSO-CHECHEN WAR14
SELF-DETERMINATION16
CONCLUSION16
INTRODUCTION
A GENERAL VIEW OF CHECHENYA AND RUSSIA IN EASTERN EUROPE
Chechnya
Chechnya is a landlocked region in southern Russia bordered by Dagestan to the east and north, Stavropol krai and Northern Ossetia to the northwest, Ingushetia to the west, the republic of Georgia to the south.1 It is located in the eastern part of the north Caucasus Mountains, between the Caspian and Black seas. The capital and largest city of Chechnya, Grozny, is in the centre of the region.
FIGURE 1: MAP OF CHECHNYA2
The Russian Republic of Chechnya started a small, localized revolution on 21 August 1991, two days after the August coup in the former Soviet Union,and declared its independence from Russia on 6 September 1991. This independence movement is led by ex-Soviet Air Force general Dzhokhar Dudayev. He became the president of Chechnya. Then, in 1992, Chechnya adopts a constitution defining it as an independent, secular state governed by a president and parliament.
From 1994 to 2009, Checehnya have faced with two war: the first and second Chechen-Russia Wars. Those wars destroyed both huge swaths and the infrastructure of Checehnya.3 The population before the start of the latest war was approximately 1.05 million, but it has shrunk during the war to around 700,000 (one thirty-fifth the size of Iraq) because 40,000 to 45,000 civilians have been killed, 50,000 are living as internally displaced persons, tens of thousands are external refugees, and a vast number have moved permanently elsewhere (to Moscow, other Russian cities or
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
A STUDY OF
HAVE THE CHECHENS’ INDEPENDENCE CLAIMS BEEN LEGITIMATE DURING THE FIRST AND SECOND RUSSO-CHECHEN WARS?
SPRING 2010
İçindekiler
INTRODUCTION1
LEGITIMACY8
THE FIRST RUSSO-CHECHEN WAR9
THE SECOND RUSSO-CHECHEN WAR14
SELF-DETERMINATION16
CONCLUSION16
INTRODUCTION
A GENERAL VIEW OF CHECHENYA AND RUSSIA IN EASTERN EUROPE
Chechnya
Chechnya is a landlocked region in southern Russia bordered by Dagestan to the east and north, Stavropol krai and Northern Ossetia to the northwest, Ingushetia to the west, the republic of Georgia to the south.1 It is located in the eastern part of the north Caucasus Mountains, between the Caspian and Black seas. The capital and largest city of Chechnya, Grozny, is in the centre of the region.
FIGURE 1: MAP OF CHECHNYA2
The Russian Republic of Chechnya started a small, localized revolution on 21 August 1991, two days after the August coup in the former Soviet Union,and declared its independence from Russia on 6 September 1991. This independence movement is led by ex-Soviet Air Force general Dzhokhar Dudayev. He became the president of Chechnya. Then, in 1992, Chechnya adopts a constitution defining it as an independent, secular state governed by a president and parliament.
From 1994 to 2009, Checehnya have faced with two war: the first and second Chechen-Russia Wars. Those wars destroyed both huge swaths and the infrastructure of Checehnya.3 The population before the start of the latest war was approximately 1.05 million, but it has shrunk during the war to around 700,000 (one thirty-fifth the size of Iraq) because 40,000 to 45,000 civilians have been killed, 50,000 are living as internally displaced persons, tens of thousands are external refugees, and a vast number have moved permanently elsewhere (to Moscow, other Russian cities or