Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
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| Official language | Chechen | ||||||
| Capital | Grozny (Dzhokharabad, after 1996) | ||||||
| President | Doku Umarov | ||||||
| Independence – Declared – Recognition |
From Russia – November 1, 1991 – Georgian Republic |
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| National anthem | Death or Freedom | ||||||
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria IPA: [ɪtʃkɚˈiːə] (Нохчийн Республика Нохчийчоь) is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. Bordering Stavropol Krai to the northwest, the republic of Dagestan to the northeast and east, Georgia to the south, and the republics of Ingushetia and North Ossetia to the west, Chechnya is located in the Northern Caucasus mountains.
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[edit] 1991-1994
In November 1990, Dzhokhar Dudaev was elected head of the Executive Committee of the unofficial opposition All-National Congress of the Chechen People, which advocated sovereignity for Chechnya as a separate republic within the Soviet Union. This vote was reaffirmed by a referendum in October 1991, after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Dudayev, in his new position as president of "Ichkeria", unilaterally declared the republic's sovereignty and its secession from Russia. Not recognized by any government except Georgia under Zviad Gamsakhurdia, this entity has maintained an unstable existence, due in part to constant threats of invasions from Russia.
[edit] 1994-1996
[edit] 1996-1999
After the war, parliamentary and presidential elections took place in January 1997 and brought to power Aslan Maskhadov, chief of staff and prime minister in the Chechen coalition government, for a five-year term. The Islamic Republic of Ichkeria was proclaimed in 1998 and the sharia system of justice was introduced.
Aslan Maskhadov tried to concentrate power in his hands to establish authority, but failed to create an effective state or a functioning economy. The situation gradually slid out of the control of the government, and the republic descended into chaos. The war ravages and lack of economic opportunities left large numbers of heavily armed and brutalized former guerillas with no occupation but further violence. A growing epidemic of kidnappings, robberies, and murders of fellow Chechens and outsiders, most notably the beheading of four employees of British Granger Telecom in 1998, put an end to possibilities of outside investment. Maskhadov proved unable to guarantee the security of the oil pipeline running across Chechnya from the Caspian Sea, and illegal oil tapping and acts of sabotage deprived his regime of crucial revenues and exasperated his allies in Moscow.
[edit] Since 1999
[edit] Politics
Since the declaration of independence in 1991, there has been an ongoing battle between secessionist officials and federally appointed officials. Both claim authority over the same territory.
Since the fall of Grozny in 2000 some of the Ichkerian government is based in exile, including in the Arab countries, Poland, United States and United Kingdom.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- 10 years ago Russian special forces killed Chechnya's self-proclaimed president, Dzhokhar Dudayev Moscow News
- EP:The Background of Chechen Independence Movement V: The Dagestan Provocation
- FMSO: A Tale of Two Theaters: Russian Actions in Chechnya in 1994 and 1999
- Text of the Peace Treaty
- ASF, Edvard Kline, Chechen History
- Kennan Institute, Mikhail Alexseev, The North Caucasus Conflict and its Implications for Russia
- Global Politician, David Storobin, The Chechen fight for independence
- The Time's cover on Chechnya, 2003
