Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects of the war in Ukraine has been
the images of Chechen paramilitaries fighting alongside Russian forces.
To many outside observers, it seems truly remarkable to see such footage
given that just a couple of decades ago Chechnya
was fighting its own bitter conflict for survival against Russian troops.
So, how did it go from being a rebel republic to being at the forefront
of Russia's invasion of Ukraine?
Hello and welcome. If you're new to the channel, my name is James Ker-Lindsay and
here I take an informed look at international relations, conflicts, security, and statehood.
How do wars of independence end?
In some cases, although surprisingly rarely in
modern times, the secessionist forces will win and a new state will emerge.
At other times, the sides might reach a stalemate and a de facto state is
created - a territory that's essentially independent, but internationally unrecognised.
More usually, though, the breakaway forces are defeated and the separatist region is reintegrated
back into the state; perhaps with some form of political, economic, or cultural autonomy.
But what happens when the war is over and the parent states - as the country
the territory tried to break away from is usually known - reasserts its authority.
There's a tendency to think that the roots of resentment will linger
only to re-emerge when the time is right.
But can a former separatist region learn to accept its fate and become loyal to the parent state.
One of the most brutal and bloody independence conflicts of modern
times was bought by the Russian Federation in the breakaway region
of Chechnya in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In the end, Russia succeeded in putting down the rebellion.
But, more to the point, it seems to have been remarkably successful
in reasserting its sovereignty over the territory since then.
So much so that we now see Chechen forces fighting for Russia on the front lines in Ukraine.
So, how did this happen?
Officially one of the 20 republics of the Russian Federation, Chechnya lies in the North Caucasus.
At 17,300 square kilometers, or 6,700 square miles,
it represents just one tenth of one percent of the entire Russian landmass.
As an independent state, it would be 154th largest of the 193 members of the United Nations.
The population is currently around one and a half million,
or approximately one percent of Russia's 144 million inhabitants.
Around 95 percent are ethnic Chechens.
Speaking in Northeast Caucasian language, most ethnic Chechens are sunni muslim ethnic.
Russians are the next largest group in the republic,
making up around one and a half percent of the population.
Chechnya has a long and interesting history.
Having been conquered by the Mongols in the 13th and 14th centuries,
the region adopted islam in the 16th and 17th centuries,
when the Persian and Ottoman Empires fought for influence over the area.
However, our story really begins in the 19th century with Russian expansion into the Caucasus.
Following a series of conflicts, Chechnya was finally conquered by imperial Russia in 1859.
In November 1920, following the establishment of the Soviet Union, it became an autonomous
oblast - or region - within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
However, 14 years later, in 1934, it was merged with the neighbouring Ingush oblast
to form the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, again within Soviet Russia.
During the Second World War, Stalin, believing that the Chechens were Nazi collaborators,
dissolved the republic and deported the population to Central Asia and Siberia.
This lasted until 1957,
when Khrushchev allowed them to return and the republic was re-established.
As the Soviet Union collapsed, so Chechnya began its descent into conflict.
In 1991, the Republic's communist leader was overthrown and Dzokhar Dudayev,
a former Soviet air force general who openly called for secession, was elected president.
On 1 November that year, Chechnya unilaterally declared independence
as the Chechen Republic of Ikcheria.
While Russia immediately rejected the move it
made little direct effort to end the attempted secession.
However, over the following three years tensions increased.
As Chechnya voiced ever more nationalist and anti-Russian sentiment,
and began building up its own armed forces, calls grew within Russia for Moscow to respond.
With Russia's President, Boris Yeltsin, vowing to use all available means to
subdue Chechnya's quest for independence, Russian forces invaded on 11 December 1994.
But instead of securing a quick victory, Moscow soon ran into problems.
As Chechen forces inflicted heavy losses, Russian troops resorted to ever more brutal tactics.
The capital, Grozny, was levelled and tens of thousands of civilians were killed.
After 20 months of fighting, and against a backdrop of widespread international condemnation,
Moscow was essentially forced to admit defeat.
On 31 August 1996, representatives of Russia and Chechnya reached a ceasefire.
This was followed, in May 1997, by a formal peace agreement.
Made up of just five provisions, it was carefully crafted to allow both sides to proclaim victory.
While Russia publicly insisted that Chechnya remained a part of the Federation,
it seemed to tacitly acknowledge the republic's all but independent existence.
At the same time, both sides rejected the use of force to settle their dispute in future.
While Russia had suffered a significant loss against a small breakaway territory, it
nevertheless put a brave face on the situation.
As Yeltsin put it at the time, "we have signed a peace deal of historic dimensions,
putting a full stop to 400 years of history."
In truth, though, the First Chechen War, as it's now known, would have a huge effect on both sides.
Despite having won its effective independence from Russia, the devastation caused by
the conflict led to the emergence of factionalism and lawlessness in Chechnya.
As for Russia, it would mark the beginning at the end of the
country's brief experiment with liberal democracy.
Having been humiliated on the world stage, hardline security factions now sought to
strengthen the country's international standing - starting with righting the defeat in Chechnya.
In the end, the sides would resume fighting just two years later.
In July 1999, tensions began to grow again as Chechen fighters
launched incursions into neighbouring Dagestan, sparking renewed clashes with Russian forces.
In September 1999, the Russian government,
led by a newly appointed prime minister, Vladimir Putin, ordered Russian forces back into Chechnya.
This time, the campaign was far more successful.
By February 2000, Grozny was back under Russian control.
To cement its position, Moscow now appointed Akhmad Kadyrov - a former
pro-independence militia leader and the republic's chief mufti,
or highest religious leader - to head the new administration in the republic.
Although widespread armed opposition to Russian rule continued,
in the period that followed Moscow steadily strengthened its control over Chechnya.
In March 2003, it decided to end a discussion over the republic's status once and for all
by holding a referendum to approve a new constitution
that would confirm its place within the Russian Federation, albeit with extensive autonomy.
While many outside observers, including the United States and the European Union,
questioned the timing of the vote given the ongoing insurgency,
and the conduct of the referendum was widely seen to fall short of international standards,
the results appeared to show overwhelming support for the new system.
On an 89% turnout, 96% voted in favour of the new basic law for the republic.
But any thought that the insurgency was over was misplaced.
This was highlighted when, on 9 May 2004, Kadyrov was assassinated when a bomb exploded at the main
Grozny stadium while he was watching the annual Victory Day celebrations.
Although this was seen as a huge setback for Russia at the time,
it would in fact open the way for Moscow to cement its power in Chechnya.
Following the victory of pro-Russian parties in Republic's March 2006 parliamentary elections,
Kadyrov's 29-year-old son, Ramzan, became prime minister - becoming president the following year.
In April 2009, Russia finally declared that the decade-long conflict - the
Second Chechen War, as it's now known - was over.
Since then, Moscow appears to have been incredibly successful
in securing Chechnya's place in the Federation.
This seems to have been achieved by three broad methods.
First, it poured in money to reconstruct the republic.
The flattened Chechen capital, the scene of appalling images of devastation,
has been completely rebuilt.
Today, it's full of modern apartment blocks and high rises.
Secondly, Moscow has kept its word on autonomy.
It has allowed Chechnya to manage its own affairs.
In fact, it goes far further than this.
Kadyrov is essentially allowed to run Chechnya as he sees fit.
By all accounts, it's become his personal fiefdom.
Enforcing power through his own militia, and enforcing a strict adherence to islam, Kadyrov now
has seemingly complete control over the territory - a territory he runs with brutal efficiency.
As well as widespread allegations of corruption, the United States has in fact imposed sanctions
on Kadyrov over alleged human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial killings.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, Kadyrov has been embraced by Moscow and vice versa.
At the same time as the Chechen leader expresses his unswerving loyalty to Russia,
including its activities in Ukraine, so Russia has defended their man in Grozny.
Crucially for Moscow, all this seems to be working.
Chechnya's rebelliousness seems not only to have been contained,
but to have actually been harnessed to Moscow's benefit.
Although the exact number of Chechen fighters in Ukraine at the moment is unknown,
their presence is nevertheless highly symbolic.
Indeed, it has even been argued that they're being used as a tactic
of psychological warfare against Ukrainians.
Aside from the brutal reputation of Kadyrov's troops, it also sends a powerful message about
Russia's ability to subjugate its opponents - if not immediately, then at least eventually.
And for this the ties between Kadyrov and Moscow have been further strengthened with
reports that he's even been promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in the Russian Army.
All this represents an amazing turnaround for a province that just 20 years ago was
engaged in fighting Russian forces in its own battle for national survival.
But, of course, it begs the question of just how loyal ordinary Chechens
really are to Russian - and remembering, of course, that there
are in fact Chechens from the diaspora fighting with Ukraine at the moment.
In truth, it's hard to say.
But, for the meantime, it doesn't really seem to matter.
Under Kadyrov's rule, any talk of separatism,
let alone armed rebellion, has seemingly been shut down.
At the same time, Kadyrov has displayed absolute loyalty - not only to Russia,
but to Putin personally.
To this extent, for as long as the two remain in power, and barring any catastrophic rifts,
the current situation seems likely to last.
But should Putin fall, then the political calculations might well change.
His replacement might not be quite so willing to maintain
the current relationship and foster the same patron-client ties that exist at the moment.
And it's this realisation that may well be driving Kadyrov's decision to line up
so publicly behind Putin.
Armed campaigns for independence rarely succeed.
Most usually, the secessionist forces are defeated and the rebel territory
is reintegrated back into the parent state.
Not surprisingly, this very often leads to lingering resentment.
Sometimes, though, it does seem possible that such territories can accept their return to the fold.
But this is usually driven by a combination of lavish economic spending,
extensive political autonomy, and moves to co-opt the ruling elite.
One of the most interesting examples in modern politics is Chechnya.
Having fought an exceedingly brutal conflict against Russia in the 1990s, today it's seen
as a loyal province; so much so that Chechen fighters have been leading the attacks in Ukraine.
In this sense, it seems as though Russia has been truly successful
in securing its control over the territory - not least of all by ensuring the
seemingly unwavering loyalty of its authoritarian young leader.
The question, of course, is whether this seemingly unwavering loyalty will actually last.
I hope you found that interesting. If so, here are some more videos you might find useful.
Thanks so much for watching and see you in the next video