Chechen Terrorism

1. Where in the Russian Federation would you find Chechnya?

In the North Caucasus region.
2.

How are the Chechens different from the Russians?

They have resisted Russian rule. Also, they are Muslim and are a minority
3. Did the Chechens gain independence from tsarist Russia after the 1917 Russian
Revolution? Explain.
Yes they did gain back independence because four years after it, Chechnya joined
Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, and Ingushetia to form the
Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
4.

What did Stalin do to the Chechens during WWII? Why did he do this?

He deported them to Siberia and Kazakhstan. He did this because during this time
he accused them of cooperating with the Nazis. Many of them died because of this
and when Stalin died they were allowed to return home.
5.

Who changed their fate, and how was their fate changed?

A guy named Nikita Khrushchev and the Chechens fate was changed in 1957, when
Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushchev restored the province amid de-Stalinization.
6.

What was the first Chechen War? [Who started it? When? Why? Results?]

A war fought between the Chechens and the Russians. Boris Yeltsin started it
because he opposed their independence. This went on from 1994 to 1996 and tens
of thousands of civilians died but Russia failed to win control of Chechnya's
mountainous terrain, giving Chechnya their independence. Later, Yeltsin signed a
peace treaty between the two.
7.

When was the second Chechen War? [Who started it? When? Why? Results?]

In September 1999, the Chechens exploded 5 bombs in Russia killing around 300
people. Moscow blamed the Chechens for this so the second war started. In
February 2000, Russia took control of the Chechens capital and once again Tens of
thousands Russians and Chechens were killed. After the war, things seemed to cool
down with the Chechens. Around 2009 though increased terrorism activity has
been happening.
8. Prior to his death in 2006, the separatist Basayev was deemed to be
responsible for the most notorious event to that point in time. Identify this event.
How many deceased militants in this event were NOT Chechen? Why might this be
a significant change in the Chechen Wars?

This event was the attack on a school in Beslan. 28 out of the 32 were not
Chechen. This might be a change in the wars because now, the Chechen will be
more focused on bombings and quick terrorist attacks.
9. According to the American ambassador to Russia, what terrorist group is
assisting the Chechen rebels? How/why might Americans who were once
sympathetic to the Chechen cause for independence from the Russian Federation
have changed?
Al-Qaeda is the terrorist group helping the rebels. The American views might have
changed because al-Qaeda has been responsible for attacks against the U.S.

10. Do you believe the Russians should grant Chechnya their independence? Why
or why not? [Answer this question in paragraph format (minimum of six
sentences).]
In my opinion, I believe the answer is yes because Chechnya has really done
nothing wrong but ask for their independence. When the Russians said no though,
this started all kinds of wars and tons of killing that should have never taken place.
Take the first war for example, the Russians just said the Chechen land was an
integral part of Russia and they are not allowed their independence. They didnt
even care about the people really and because of this they went to war and lost.
They shouldve stopped there but they didnt. Finally, The Russians also blamed
Chechens for bombs in their area and that started another war. The Chechens may
have never been the cause of the bombs in the first place.

Bhattacharji, Preeti. "Chechen Terrorism (Russia, Chechnya, Separatist)." Council on

Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 08 Apr. 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.