The rich and very complex history of our country contributed to the emergence of modern individual regions of the Russian Federation. Some peoples, under the protection of Russia in the Middle Ages, fled from constant raids and robberies, others fell into the sphere of expansion and “voluntarily” became part of the Russian state. Few offered fierce resistance and became Russian only after bloody clashes. But there were also regions that were very difficult to be part of Russia. For example, Chechnya is the most freedom-loving and, perhaps, the most obstinate part of the Caucasus.
General data
Chechnya (Chechen Republic) is currently a relatively small North Caucasian region of the Russian Federation with an area, according to various sources, of 15-17 square meters. km. The city of Grozny (Chechen Republic) is the administrative center. The official languages in the region are Chechen and Russian.
Chechnya borders on various regions of the Russian Federation:
- onwestern side - with Ingushetia;
- in the northwest - with North Ossetia and the Stavropol Territory;
- in the east there is a large border with Dagestan;
- in the south, the border partially coincides with the state border, going to the line of contact with hostile Georgia at times.
In administrative terms, Chechnya consists of seventeen municipal associations and two cities. R. A. Kadyrov became the head of the republic after the 2007 elections.
The official Chechen flag is a rectangular panel of three unequal horizontal stripes: the top green stripe (standard) is sixty-five centimeters, the middle white stripe is ten centimeters wide and the bottom red stripe is thirty-five centimeters; near the flagstaff there is a vertical white stripe with a beautiful Chechen national ornament fifteen centimeters in size. The flag of the Chechen Republic is trimmed with gold fringe around the entire edge. The ratio of the width of the national flag to its length is 2:3.
Population
The population of Chechnya is within one and a half million people. Almost three hundred thousand people live in the largest city of Grozny. The population density in our time is more than 90 people. per 1 sq. km.
The age distribution of residents is as follows: more than half of the population is of working age, approximately 35% are children, and only 8% are elderly people.
In terms of ethnic composition at the beginning of the nineties, Chechnya is a multinationala republic dominated by Chechens and Russians. But over the past twenty-five years, Chechens have become predominant in the national composition. In the course of many conflicts, the large Russian and Russian-speaking population in the region had to flee to other regions. Many died in the ethnic cleansing carried out by the militants.
Religion
What is the official religion in Chechnya? Chechnya is historically a Muslim region. The main religion is Sunni Islam. Here he received the form of Sufism, spreading through various religious organizations, which consist of Muslim groups - vird brotherhoods. The total number of such organizations today exceeded three dozen. Those who believe in Sufism in the Chechen Republic are Sunnis, relying on the main provisions of Islam, but at the same time guided by Sufi customs, believing in their ustazes.
The history and culture of Chechnya are largely based on Islam. Oral Muslim prayers, holy rites, ceremonial trips to holy places, religious rituals, and so on play a large role in the traditional faith.
From the beginning of 1992, a new religious trend for the region (Wahhabism) began to spread in Chechnya, acting as a religious and political counterbalance to local Islam. The Wahhabis carried out frankly expressed ideological activity, which was aimed against Russian society and the state.
Now the activity of Muslim extremists, as well as religious terrorists, is not allowed. There is a rapid developmenttraditional Islam, which can be seen not only in the creation of mosques, Muslim schools, but also in the religious education of modern youth and even in the appearance of the Chechen flag. Traditionalists in their regular calls and prayers to Muslims call for a common union, spiritual growth, oppose drug addiction and other bad deeds.
Geographic location
The geographical position of Chechnya is determined primarily by mountainous terrain. There are several separate mountainous structures on the territory of the region. This is a significant part of the Tersko-Sunzhenskaya mountainous area, which consists of two ancient folds of small ridges lying in the latitudinal current. The eastern section of the Tersky Range is another range - the Bragunsky, to the east lies the Gudermes Range. The eastern territory of the Sunzha Range is occupied by a kind of Grozny Range. All mountain structures are not sharp outlines.
The southern part of the region, called mountainous Chechnya, is located on the territory of the Greater Caucasus. All four leading ridges pass here (except for a large number of local mountain linear formations), which are located parallel to the north of the mountainous expanses of the Greater Caucasus Range. Here is the highest mountain of the Eastern Caucasus. Mountain lines are often cut by large gorges with mountain rivers.
But Chechnya is not only mountains. On the territory of the republic there are several plains and lowlands. Particularly prominent in this regard is the Chechen plain with good soils - an area with the mosthigh population density in the region. On the flat part of Chechnya, the lands are mostly ennobled, in the valleys there are many relatively small rivers. In the valleys of these rivers lie small patches of woodland.
So when asked where Chechnya is, we can say that it is the Caucasus, mountains and a bit of flat terrain.
Climatic features
The climate of Chechnya today is directly dependent on the mountainous terrain and warm temperatures. A relatively small republic in terms of territory is distinguished by a significant number of natural areas: from north to south, the terrain changes from a deserted semi-desert to steppes, forest-steppes with plant diversity are already appearing near the mountains; a little to the south there is a zone of mountain forests, which gradually develops into a mountain-meadow territory, and higher there are high- altitude mountain ranges lying above the beginning of a strip of permanent snow. The mountain peaks here are occupied by large glaciers and eternal snows. A clear vertical mountainous zonality, which manifests itself in the form of a change in mountain landscapes on the slopes from the base to the peaks, is a common feature for such mountainous areas.
However, as we have already said, Chechnya is not only mountains. The local semi-desert covers the relatively small Tersko-Kuma lowland. The climate, as it should be for such places, is quite arid, the summer season is characterized by high temperatures, dry winds are common. But the winter is short, with little snow, for a period of no more than four months.
A significant area of the flat part of Chechnya adjoins the forest-steppe zone. Precipitation here is not verya lot - about 500-600 mm per year.
In the mountains part of the territory is occupied by wooded and meadow areas, which allow nomadic pastoralism. At the very tops of the mountains of the Side Range there is a zone of eternal snow and glaciation, the weather here is frosty, strong winds with snow often rush through. Precipitation is mainly in the form of snow.
Economy of modern Chechnya
In Soviet times, the economic sphere of Chechnya has come a long way of development. Even today, although the hostilities of the past years have brought great ruin, the region has good economic opportunities and sufficient potential. Now the economy of Chechnya is going up. The GNP of the republic today reaches over one hundred and fifty billion rubles.
The gross domestic product of the Republic is 23% provided by trade, 20% by social insurance, public administration and security, 10% by agriculture, fisheries, forestry, 14% by construction. The leading branch of agriculture in Chechnya is animal husbandry, only 30% falls on agriculture. Of the industry, 32% of the production volume is provided by the extractive sector, 60% - by the production and distribution of gas, water, and electricity. The fuel and energy complex of Chechnya is dominated by the oil and gas sector.
Unemployment remains an acute problem in Chechnya. In 2010, 235 thousand inhabitants of the region, or 43%, remained without a permanent place of work. At the same time, there is an annual increase in employment. Average salary inChechnya is just over twenty-two thousand rubles, the pension is ten and a half thousand rubles.
During the military campaigns, the economy of the region suffered significantly. In 2015, Chechnya asked the state to write off a debt of more than 16 billion rubles to the region for electricity and gas for 1999-2009.
The significance of the Chechen Republic in the economy of our country is determined by its complex natural resource conditions: nature, the diversity of the agricultural sector, the available volumes of raw materials, forestry and other resources. The geo-economic position, the growth of labor potential and the basic traditions of the local population make it possible to talk about the preparedness of the region for serious economic modernization, based on serious financing and innovation. The Government of the Chechen Republic strives to further develop the economy of the region.
Chechnya of the nineties
The population of Chechnya experienced a particularly difficult time in the nineties. First, against the backdrop of the collapse of the Soviet Union, an independent Chechnya was created, and radical sentiments spread more and more quickly here. Then two Chechen wars took place in a row.
In the early nineties, with the formation of an independent Russia, Chechnya became a de facto independent republic. In practice, however, the new state structure proved to be very inefficient. The economy was criminalized in almost all areas, criminal structures carried out business by working with hostages, drug trafficking, oil theft, the slave trade was openly conducted in the republic.
Everything went to war. The conflict began with the fact that in the fallIn 1994, there was an unsuccessful assault on the capital of the then Chechnya. A significant part of the Russian military personnel who were in the city were taken prisoner. A poorly organized assault became the prologue to the beginning of a big conflict. A bloody war began, killing thousands of people on both sides of the barricades.
Bad Start
Especially complex hostilities in Chechnya took place in the period from 1995 to 1996. Although the city of Grozny (Chechen Republic) was nevertheless taken by Russian troops. But then the terrorists inflicted several blows on, in fact, Russian territory. For example, on June 14, 1995, Sh. Basayev's gang occupied a local hospital in the nearby city of Budennovsk (in the neighboring Stavropol Territory) demanding that Russian units be removed from Chechnya and end the war. As a result of negotiations, the terrorists returned the captured hostages to the authorities and withdrew to Chechnya without any interference.
In early 1996, the militants of another odious leader, Salman Raduev, attacked the Russian city of Kizlyar. At first, the terrorists wanted to destroy the helipad and the structures adjacent to it, then put forward a demand to end the war in a short time and remove Russian units from Chechnya. Under the protection of a “human cover” of civilian militants, they retreated from Kizlyar to Pervomaiskoye, where they were blocked by approaching Russian structures. Soon the assault on the city of Pervomaisky began, but the terrorists managed to escape to Chechnya under cover of night.
As a result of these actions, the Chechens drove out the Russianunits from Chechnya. All this was completed by the Khasavyurt agreements, according to which Chechnya became independent. President Maskhadov sought to improve the situation by establishing purely Muslim rule in the country, but this only turned into new open protests against the authorities.
Second Chechen War
In the autumn of 1999, when it was already difficult to understand where Chechnya was and where the Russian territory was, the Second Chechen War came, during which it was necessary not only to solve the problems of the first, but also to sort out the accumulated difficulties of recent years. Before the New Year there was another assault on Grozny. By its nature, it was very different from the previous operation. Tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, sensitive to losses in street battles, did not enter the capital of Chechnya; instead, large artillery and air attacks were used. Much better trained Russian units defeated the bandits quickly and effectively.
On January 13, 2000, bloodless militants left Grozny right through the minefields, losing a lot of manpower. In early February, the city was completely liberated by Russian troops. At the end of the month, a fierce battle took place for the last large base of terrorists. The positions of the terrorists were partially destroyed, and the militants themselves were forced out of the territory of Chechnya into the Republic of Georgia.
In March of the same year, open battles ended.
Activity of A. Kadyrov
With the intensification of hostilities in Chechnya in the late nineties, apro-Russian leadership of Chechnya. The government of the republic was headed by the then mufti A. Kadyrov, who went over to the side of the Russian Federation. He managed to somewhat normalize the station in the region. In 2003, a new Constitution of the region appeared, according to which Chechnya became a subject of the Russian Federation. In the same year, presidential elections were held, during which Akhmat Kadyrov won. Chechnya was seething. The first officially elected head of the republic managed to prove to the population that a normal life in Russia is the only possible solution to the conflict. A. Kadyrov took responsibility for the development of his own people. At that time, terrorism dominated the region. Akhmat was at the center of events. He managed to be the true leader of his republic and win the love of the people. Kadyrov worked not for the sake of valor, authority or religion, but exclusively for his own people. All his activities were aimed at the successful development of the Chechen Republic within the Russian Federation. On May 9, 2004, Akhmat Kadyrov was killed in the city of Grozny, he died as a result of a terrorist act.
Chechnya at the beginning of the twenty-first century
In 2007, after a short reign of A. Alkhanov, Ramzan Kadyrov became the president of the region. Chechnya became calm. Largely due to this, in 2009, in connection with the cessation of hostilities, the Russian authorities terminated the regime of the antiterrorist operation in the region.
Already then, almost all the settlements of the republic were revived. In the practically destroyed Grozny, new residential buildings were being built,religious buildings, sports stadiums, national museums, monuments were recreated. In 2010, a number of high-rise multifunctional buildings (up to forty-five floors) Grozny City were built. In the second largest city of Chechnya, Gudermes, an extensive reconstruction was carried out, a large number of high-rise buildings were rebuilt. The government of the Chechen Republic, headed by R. Kadyrov, was able to achieve the almost impossible, namely to calm the region and restore the economy of Chechnya.
