Historical Fate of Chechens Inside Russia

By V. N. Chechensev, Northstar Compass, March 2000

The civil war in the Caucasus in the last while has focused attention on this part of Russia. This has become the central theme of the Russian media daily. Therefore it is necessary to analyze the situation and history of these problems for the readers of NSC.

The Chechen people are first people on the territory of the North Caucasus. Before joining Russia with Ingush people they were pastoral. At the beginning of the XVIII century the roots of the Pakhu people, the ethnic name came in to use of Chechens (named after the aul abode Chechen) and during the second half of the XIX century they were named after the ethnic tribe Galgay—Ingush people (from the aul Angush).

The Chechen people took a very active part in the war of 1817-1864 against the colonization of the Caucasus by Tsarist Russia. The Chechens fought hard against numerous odds that the Tsarist regime threw at them. Only after the capitulation of the fighters of the mountaineer Shamilya in 1859 did the Chechen people come within the borders of Russia. Even though there was progress economically to some extent, until the Great October Revolution this whole region remained the most backward part of Russia. The land was in the hands of the war chieftains and immigration of Cossacks was sent here to colonize this region. In the rugged mountainous of Chechnya, for each male member of the population there was only 0.3 acre of land. It is no wonder that the economic situation was bad. In 1920 only 0.8% of the Chechen people knew how to read or write.

At the end of the XIX century there starts to appear their local bourgeoisie. It is well to note. that after rich oil was discovered near the city of Grozny, and the building of the Vladikavkaz railroad, this region started to become very industrialized with workers coming from all regions of Russia to work here… mostly Russian workers.

The workers of Chechnya took part in the revolution of 1905-1907—and also to a certain extent in the Great October Revolution of 1917.

The civil war in Chechnya took on a terrible blood-shedding nightmare with the force of attacks by Western powers wanting the great fields of rich reserves… and while fighting a life and death struggle, unfortunately the Soviet forces, struggling all over Russia, could not send all the help that was needed to the Chechen people… to save and defend the Soviet government in Chechnya.

Soviet rule in Chechnya only came into being in March of 1920.

During Soviet rule, tremendous economic construction, plus cultural and educational achievements were made here. The region was industrialized and the collectivization was a success story. This was done in spite of the religious and Kulak opposition who utilized the backwardness of the life of its illiterate people in their overall majority.

A Chechen-language alphabet was then formed as was also the Ingush alphabet, since they did not have their own alphabet. By 1940 the literacy rate had risen to 85% of the population. There was very great work done in order to eliminate the last vestiges of blood ownership of land, the terrible conditions of women, who were practically slaves, the influence of the mullahs and other ills of a feudalistic mentality. The local Chechen intelligencia grew.

The success of the industrialization and all of the cultural growth gave rise to the birth of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Republic.

During the Great Patriotic War with German fascism, a substantial part of the Chechen people were actively supporting the front. The non-stop production of oil from the oil fields helped the front with gas and also oil while the collective farms gave produce.

During the course of the war, the German fascists occupied a large part of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR, but then were stopped at the gates of Grozny.

Chechens, as Soviet patriots, were part of the Soviet Army and 36 Chechens-Ingush soldiers became Heroes of the Soviet Union. But, it must be admitted that a large part of the Chechen population very actively fought on the German fascist side. After the capture of the leader of the many battalions of Chechen fighters in German uniforms, Colonel O. Gube. said: “Amongst the Chechen people and also Ingush people I had no trouble finding willing volunteers to serve the Germans!”

The German command was able to organize very many battalions from the Chechen volunteers who fought to the death against the Red Army.

The Soviet government, fighting a horrible life and death struggle with German fascists and their allies, could not but be aware that a large section of the Chechen people were willingly killing the Red Army soldiers. At the beginning of the year 1944, the people in Chechnya and others who helped the Fascists were resettled in the northern regions of the country. The territory was made empty in order to prevent further deaths of the heroic Soviet Army fighting the Nazis. Only in 1957 was this part of the Soviet territory again declared autonomous.

A couple of years after the ending of World War II, all the Chechen people returned to their historic homeland and were helped in all manner by the Soviet people. In 1965 the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Republic was awarded with the Order of Lenin and in 1972 with the Order of the Red Banner. By the end of 1977 over 13,060 people there were awarded different high medals and 32 people became Heroes of Socialist Labour.

In the last few years (after the traitorous dismemberment of the USSR) there took place many conflicts and terrorist acts by the Chechen reactionary forces, which brought on the death of thousands of people. The present temporary dismemberment of the U.S.S.R. gave the signal to the national separatist elements to become active.

The territory of Chechnya is rich with gas and oil deposits, all the way from the Caspian to Novorossisk on the Black Sea, and this vital region became a the scene of many conflicts amongst the multinational corporations and competition on the world market of the oil barons. The oil interests of the present Russian regime's growing monopolistic capital is at odds with the present Chechen bourgeoisie, who are supported by Western powers—this is the real cause of armed conflicts in Chechnya!