Separate People

• The Chechens have been recognized as an individual people since the 17th century. They have their own language, with culture, religion and traditions that set them off from surrounding Russia. They were first conquered in the 19th century as a part of the Caucasus, which is the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Even then, they launched a violent 25-year revolt that cost many Russian lives to suppress. Historically, they have continued to resist Russian authority. They simply cannot submit easily to the restrictions of life under communist rule.
  
  

Abuse

• Chechnya has suffered a great deal at the hands of Russian rulers, before, during and after the Soviet Union. Their attempts to assert themselves have been brutally put down. Between the years 1900 and 1926, the population of the region went from an estimated 1,500,000 to just 400,000. In 1944, Stalin caused the Chechens to be deported to Kazakhstan and Central Asia, abolishing the republic of Chechnya completely. Approximately a quarter of those deported did not survive the experience; many were murdered.
  
  

Post-Exile

• By 1957, Chechens were given permission to return to their homeland, mostly because they were already doing so in uncontrollable numbers anyway. They remained second-class citizens in the USSR, treated badly and kept poor. When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, many republics, such as Georgia, Moldova and Belarus, gained automatic independence, but while Chechnya declared independence, its legal status at the time was as an autonomous republic within Russia, which did not give it the sovereignty to be recognized as a nation.
  
  

Most Recently

• As Russia denied the legitimacy of their elections, Chechnya revolted again. In 1994, shelling of their capital city, Grozny, began, reaching a height of 4,000 shells an hour. Violence spread and continued until 1996, when Chechen forces retook Grozny and drove the Russians out. A cease-fire agreement was reached, allowing Chechnya partial sovereignty, but in 1999 fighting began again. Since then, there has been increasing resistance using terrorist methods. In 2009, Russia announced the end of counter-insurgency operations, but regional violence and unrest continue.