Recent Events in Washington, DC

Beslan , Chechnya and Search for Stability in the Caucasus

October 12, 2005
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Presentation of Aslan Dukayev – Northern Caucasus Service, RFE/RL

According to Mr. Dukayev, Russia ’s focus on military campaign is proving counterproductive. Event then, detention of Muslims and police brutality in the North Caucasus is rampant. Chechnya is a new hub of insurgency where financial and logistical activities are planned. Chechen rebels are the most organized in the region. Gaining access to ammunition does not seem to be a problem these days. After the September 11 th attacks, foreign funding to Chechnya has been cut. Financing of insurgent activities in Chechnya is mainly accomplished with the sale of stolen oil. Chechnya produced $2mln worth of oil last year. Military campaign and resistance in Chechnya are likely to continue for years to come. Meanwhile, the poverty is growing and unemployment rate constitutes about 80% in the region.

Cracking down on terrorist groups in the North Caucasus is difficult because they are extremely secretive. A common objective of such groups is to rule the region with a shariah-based law. Underground Islamic groups are able to attract the youth because the official Islam is openly pro-Russian and does not provide spiritual guidance.

Chechnya is heavily religious (only 1% of the surveyed population said they never pray). In the North Caucasus , only Karachaevo-Cherkessia seems least religious, according to a Russian survey report. Answering to a question of whether there is a link between al Qaeda and Chechen rebels, Mr. Dukayev noted that there might be some exchange of information between the two, but Chechens do not take orders from al Qaeda since both pursue different goals. Chechens see the conflict as an internal matter. Aslan Maskhadov, a slain Chechen President and a former rebel, also denied the link.

The speakers of the panel noted that the West has bigger stakes in the North Caucasus because the instability there has a potential to spill over to the South Caucasus , which will negatively affect its ability to extract oil from the Caspian Sea and transport it. The U.S. has given a lot of financial assistance to the North Caucasus and it is up to Russia to decide how it is used.

Presentation of Anna Politkovskaya, Correspondent, Novaya Gazeta

Ramzan Kadyrov, former rebel and Chechnya ’s first deputy prime minister, and Shamil Basayev, one of Chechnya ’s most notorious terrorists, are the two main players in the breakaway republic. Kadyrov is Putin’s favorite. Chechen citizens fear Kadyrov and his gang the most; those disloyal to him often risk their lives. Chechen parliamentary elections set for mid-November will probably not go well due to unfavorable conditions. Against the backdrop of complete confusion in Chechnya , there are people such as Ichkeria’s former Minister of Defense, Mogamed Hambiev, who is running to parliament through a liberal party, which is an insult to liberalism and Chechens. Moreover, there is an absolute lack of rule of law under Kadyrov’s rule. For instance, recently there was a beheading of Kadyrov’s opponent, whose head was hung on a pole and children were forced from classes to go watch it instead of studying. Not a single prosecutor, and there many of them, opened a criminal investigation on this case.

This makes one wonder if Maskhadov’s death was intentional because his peace initiatives were outplaying those of Putin. Russian special services knew the exact location of Maskhadov before his liquidation. Four people were arrested for killing Maskhadov, who were charged for Islamic terrorism. Many such charges are fabricated in Chechnya , providing statistics for Putin to brag that he is fighting international terror. Glaring examples of fabricated criminal cases are those of two young students who were recently arrested late at night, introduced to each other and told that they were part of a jamaat (a gang). Both were savagely tortured. One of them admitted to all the charges, another did not. These are the only cases where all the tortures and the names of torturers were recorded. It was an exceptional case in which the court acquitted the detainees, who are paralyzed and had no choice but to move to Europe . Usually, those who are charged and sentenced for Islamic terrorism are sent off to special camps. After the Beslan events, the convicts often face a death sentence, although there is a moratorium on execution. One can say that instead of Stalinist gulag there is an anti-terrorist gulag, which applies to North Ossetia and not just Ingushetia and Chechnya . This situation only strengthened underground Islamic extremism.