Il 13 Dicembre scorso, due giorni dopo l’uscita del secondo volume di “Libertà o Morte! Storia della Repubblica Cecena di Ichkeria, Adriano Sofri ha presentato il libro sulle colonne de Il Foglio, nella sua rubrica Piccola Posta. Riportiamo di seguito le sue parole, pubblicate anche su Facebook, su Conversazione con Adriano Sofri.
Adriano Sofri
Il singolare caso del giovane uomo che sa tutto della Cecenia e non si è mosso da Firenze
Segnalo oggi un caso culturale e umano piuttosto straordinario. Riguarda la Cecenia, e un giovane fiorentino che non ci è mai stato, non ne conosce la lingua, non conosce (ancora) il russo, ed è diventato lo studioso più autorevole della storia contemporanea di quel piccolo paese dai destini fatali. Francesco Benedetti è nato nel 1987, si è laureato in storia, ha una famiglia, una sua professione, una pratica musicale metal, e si appassionò presto alla vicenda di quel territorio grande, cioè piccolo, come una minore regione italiana, e popolato da poco più di un milione di persone, che si è ribellato per secoli all’impero russo e che, alla fine della versione imperiale sovietica, ha preteso l’indipendenza, ha sconfitto l’esercito russo in una devastante guerra aperta tra il 1994 e il 1996, e ne è stato sconfitto in una seconda guerra di sterminio nel decennio tra 1999 e 2009. Al costo della falcidie di un quinto della sua gente, dell’esilio di migliaia, della sottomissione dei rimasti alla corte di Putin, di cui sono diventati i pretoriani esosi ed efferati. Benedetti ha deciso di ricostruire su giornali, trasmissioni e memorie la cronaca quotidiana di questa vicissitudine, e di raccoglierne direttamente tutte le voci ancora disponibili, in ogni parte di mondo in cui si sono disseminate. Mette così insieme una mole impressionante di racconti, che va diventando il riferimento internazionale principale per chi voglia conoscere il conflitto fra Cecenia e Russia dopo il 1991, e per gli stessi protagonisti. Se ne è fatto editore, stampando (e vendendo, in volume, 15 euro, o kindle, 5,99) attraverso Amazon, e intanto mettendo in rete una profluvie di interviste e fonti su Facebook, al suo nome e a quello di Ichkeria.net – il nome della repubblica cecena.
Solo in certi bambini speciali o in certi inquietanti concorrenti al rischiatutto sorge e dura il proposito di sapere tutto di qualcosa. Un pezzo leggendario del Caucaso, Pushkin e Tolstoi e Lermontov – e Anna Politkovskaya – chi non vorrebbe? Senza una simpatia intima per il suo tema una simile ambizione non potrebbe esistere, e tuttavia nell’opera di Benedetti ai valori dell’audacia, della tenacia e della fiera tradizione montanara sono congiunti il disonore, la rivalità, il fanatismo e la violenza che nel corso di una lotta così strenua, impari e spietata si sono fatte strada. La Cecenia del ’91 aveva il suo passato tragico da vendicare, e lo rivendicò più presto che altri paesi, compresa l’Ucraina: dopo alla grande carestia del Holodomor ucraino negli anni ‘30, che aveva infierito anche nel Caucaso, venne la brutale deportazione del 1944 in Siberia e in Kazakistan: nessun ceceno dei nati fra il 1944 e il 1956 (e oltre) nacque in Cecenia. Il primo volume, “Libertà o morte. Storia della repubblica cecena di Ichkeria (1991-1994)”, 425 pagine, era uscito in italiano e in inglese (c’è una versione cecena in corso) nel febbraio 2020. Il secondo, “La prima guerra russo-cecena. 1994-1996”, 373 pagine, è uscito l’altroieri (in inglese a marzo). L’autore lo presenta così, in un modo che raccomando energicamente:
“La guerra in Ucraina è iniziata in Cecenia. Può sembrare una provocazione. Eppure, è la realtà che rivelano le pagine di questo secondo volume, interamente dedicato alla Prima Guerra Russo–Cecena. Genesi, sviluppo e svolgimento di questo sanguinoso conflitto sembrano la bozza del copione cui il mondo sta assistendo in questi mesi tra il Donbass e la Crimea. Anche allora, come oggi, la Russia invase uno stato libero, mascherando la guerra che stava scatenando dietro alla definizione di ‘operazione speciale’. Anche allora, come oggi, il nemico dello stato russo era stato etichettato e demonizzato: se Zelensky ed il suo governo sono chiamati oggi ‘nazisti’, Dudaev ed i suoi ministri furono chiamati allora ‘banditi’. Anche allora, come oggi, convinti della loro superiorità, i comandi militari marciarono sulla capitale, pretendendo di piegare un popolo alla loro volontà, come avevano fatto più volte in epoca sovietica. Ma anche allora, come oggi, furono costretti a ritirarsi, per poi scatenare una sanguinosa guerra totale, la più devastante guerra europea dal 1945.
La Prima Guerra Russo–Cecena fu il primo tragico prodotto del revanscismo russo: il ‘punto zero’ di una parabola che da Grozny porta a Kiev, passando dalla Georgia, dalla Crimea, dalla Bielorussia e dal Donbass. Con una differenza sostanziale: che quella prima guerra contro la Cecenia, i russi, la persero. Le loro ambizioni, poggiate sulle fondamenta logore di un impero fatiscente, finirono frustrate dalla caparbietà di una nazione immensamente inferiore, per numero e per mezzi, a quella ucraina, che oggi difende la sua terra dalla guerra scatenata da Putin.
Questa storia può impartire a chi avrà la pazienza di leggerla due importanti lezioni: cosa succede quando si assecondano le ambizioni di un impero, e come si fa a sconfiggerlo. Se è già tardi per mettere in pratica la prima, per la seconda siamo ancora in tempo”.
The war in Ukraine started in Chechnya. It may seem like a provocation. Yet, this is the reality that the pages of this second volume reveal, entirely dedicated to the First Russo-Chechen War. The genesis, development and unfolding of this bloody conflict seem to be the draft of the script that the world has been witnessing in recent months between the Donbass and the Crimea.
Even then, as now, Russia invaded a free state, disguising the war it was waging behind the label of a “special operation.”
Even then, as now, the enemy of the Russian state had been labeled and demonized: if Zelensky and his government are called “Nazis” today, Dudayev and his ministers were then called “bandits”.
Even then, as today, convinced of their superiority, the military commands marched on the capital, claiming to bend a people to their will, as they had done several times in Soviet times. But even then, as now, they were forced to withdraw, only to unleash a bloody all-out war, the most devastating European war since 1945.
The First Russo-Chechen War was the first tragic product of Russian revanchism: the “zero point” of a parable that from Grozny leads to Kiev, passing through Georgia, Crimea, Belarus and Donbass. With one substantial difference: that the Russians lost that first war against Chechnya. Their imperial ambitions, resting on the worn foundations of a crumbling empire, ended up frustrated by the stubbornness of a nation immensely inferior in number and means, to that of Ukraine, which today defends its land from the war unleashed by Putin.
This story can teach those who have the patience to read it two important lessons: what happens when you indulge the ambitions of an empire, and how do you defeat it. If it is already too late to put the first into practice, we still have time for the second.
Another year of our life fades into the past, a year of great tests of the Chechen people’s endurance and steadfastness in defense of their won freedom. This year we celebrated the second anniversary of our bloodless revolution and independence. Having passed all the tests with dignity in the fight against internal and external enemies, we entered the third year, more stabilizing the political and economic situation, spiritually and morally strengthening, becoming more confident in an independent path of development of our statehood.
Looking back, summing up another year, we can say without a doubt that it was not in vain to strive for political independence. Our centuries-old history tells us that only political freedom and independence from anyone else is the guarantor of the peaceful life and prosperity of the nation. The vilest of all phenomena in the history of mankind is slavery and humility, against which our ancestors fought for centuries and bequeathed to their offspring not to abandon the freedom-loving spirit of the Vaynakh people.
We are well aware of the repeated attempts to destroy the gene pool of the Vaynakh nation under the Tsarist and then the Soviet-Communist empire. After centuries of persecutions and tragedies of the 19th century, 1944-1957, after the bloody massacre of Khaibach and after the hundreds of thousands of victims of the Soviet genocide, the Chechen people has nevertheless recovered, revived, preserving their national dignity, language and culture, although the Soviet totalitarian regime did everything to suppress his spirit, intimidate him and keep him in constant fear. The current generation skillfully uses the historical opportunity that has come their way to fulfill the dreams and aspirations of their ancestors.
The events that occurred after the collapse of the Soviet empire also show that sovereignty and independence are the only correct path chosen by the Chechen people. The intentions of the GKChP (if this coup succeeded) to repeat the 1944 public broadcast on television about the attack on our own parliament by large-caliber guns gives us another reason to reflect on whether we have done well, when we have decided two years ago to separate us from fascist Russia where it is not the laws that rule, but the attempts of each political group at the top of power, under the guise of a new “democracy”, to consolidate racism and fascism. For two years we have resisted a global blockade by the Russian authorities, their military invasion, internal confrontation of all kinds: sabotage, provocations, espionage. The whole world watches us with admiration. We are in his eyes an example and a model of courage, fortitude and love of freedom. And this spirit will never dry up among the Chechens. Yes, it’s hard for us. We have suffered setbacks, difficulties related to power structures that have not yet taken shape, lack of discipline, lack of organization, internal confrontation between destructive forces, criminal groups and mafias.
Many see only negative aspects in what is happening in Chechnya; disintegration, destruction, extremism, nationalism, etc. All this is actually a fiction. Is life easier in the CIS countries? Do those republics that have not separated from Russia feel calmer? Let’s remember the fate of our Ingush brothers, let’s look at what is happening in the neighboring republics and in Russia itself. There is an endless crisis: political, economic. The collapse of the economy, the impoverishment of a significant part of the population, rising prices, corruption and street crime, terrorism, the outflow of qualified personnel abroad. All branches of power are degrading, none of them are ready to cooperate with each other, none of them control the situation in the country. And with all this, seeing only our failures is, to put it mildly, simply not serious.
Despite all the obstacles posed, many positive steps were taken during the two years of independence to improve the political and economic situation of the republic. The people have breathed deeply for centuries the desired freedom. Fear and hypocrisy are gone forever. Many laws and resolutions have been passed to help stabilize the situation in Chechnya. Many practical steps are being taken to implement the government’s foreign and domestic policy agenda. Clear guidelines were outlined for the further development of the economy, for bringing the republic out of the crisis. We have no problem choosing the way to overcome the crisis. This path is clearly defined. The problem is only in our unity and harmony.
The stage of independent development has arrived, the main task of which is production and economic transformations, in which important structural and investment changes are expected to ensure the necessary market balance: rational use of our oil; urgent restructuring of all oil refineries to ensure a significant increase in oil refining, their technological re-equipment; solve the problem of creating new machine-building industries; make the rich reserves of raw materials productive for the production of building materials, use the enormous reserves of mountain fodder (for the production of livestock products), the development of which will allow to maintain 200 thousand heads of cattle and one million heads of sheep . Much attention will be paid to the construction of roads, residential buildings and stables, the laying of power and communication lines. A state program has been developed to improve soil fertility in the republic. The reconstruction and creation of enterprises for the processing of agricultural products, the introduction of technologies and the importation of equipment, the creation of a tourist and health complex are envisaged.
The chronic insolvability of many economic and social issues arouses feelings of dissatisfaction and pessimism in the population. This is a natural phenomenon and there is nothing to worry about. We have chosen a difficult road to freedom and we have no right to interrupt it. In the memory of the Chechen people, from generation to generation, the words spoken by their ancestors more than a hundred years ago are tenaciously preserved: “We plead guilty only before God and the Chechen people for not being able to restore the freedom granted to us by God”. And now the current generation of Chechens has managed to restore this freedom, to fulfill the precepts of their ancestors. And he’s determined to defend it until the end of his life, whatever the cost. These temporary hardships that have developed for all peoples on the territory of the former Soviet Empire are nothing compared to the shame and humiliation that the Chechen people have experienced for decades: sabotage of local authorities, violations of all kinds, policy of cruel staff that has provoked periodic protests, demonstrations demanding that the Ingush and Chechen be evicted again; refusal to hire Chechens to work in industrial enterprises and objects of strategic importance, in administrative bodies, prohibition of celebrating national and religious holidays; persecution and pressure on the intelligentsia; Gradual annihilation of the mother tongue in daily life; ban on studying the real history of the Vaynakhs. Here is a far from complete list of phenomena that have dishonored and humiliated this people.
Our goal of freedom and independence has been achieved. This should be appreciated and we should be proud of it. We are now building a sovereign democratic state based on the rule of law. There is no doubt that we will be able to accomplish this task too: unlike the Russian “democratic” state, where representatives of Caucasian nationalities are persecuted at every step, Chechens are terrorized, shot, deported from their homes, the authorities of the Chechen Republic will never allow anyone the slightest violation of the rights of a single person, no matter what nation he belongs to and no matter what god he prays to. All peoples inhabiting the republic are equal and worthy of respect and a better life.
The Chechen people have nothing to complain about or regret the previous regime, which left them with the highest infant mortality, unhealthiness and environmental pollution, the lowest life expectancy and the lowest standard of living. We don’t ask anyone for help. We ask and demand not to be disturbed.
DEAR CITIZENS OF THE CHECHEN REPUBLIC!
Our people are optimistic about their future, despite the intrigues of external and internal opponents against our sovereignty. We believe that sooner or later reason and wisdom will prevail in Russian leadership circles. We believe that the state flag of the Chechen Republic, which flies in front of the headquarters of the Unrepresented Peoples Organization, will soon be hoisted in front of the UN headquarters. We believe that PEACE, HEALTH and PROSPERITY will reign in long-suffering Chechnya. The Chechen state already has not only a history, but also a more real future. Vitality and strength, the ability to create and live with reason and talent – we confirmed ourselves in the most difficult tests of strength, building our state in the “mouth of a boa constrictor”.
Today we can proudly say that the desecrated honor has been restored and from yesterday’s homeless population, in the times of the USSR, today we are a free NATION.
LET THE END OF THE YEAR BRING WITH IT ALL OUR FRICTIONS, ALL OUR PROBLEMS!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU, DEAR COMPATRIOTS! WITH NEW HAPPINESS, WITH NEW SUCCESS AND GOOD HEALTH! MAY GOD HELP YOU!
Dzhokhar DUDAEV.
VERSIONE ITALIANA
“Oggi siamo una nazione libera!” Il Discorso di Dudaev alla nazione (31/12/1993)
Un altro anno della nostra vita sta svanendo nel passato, un anno di grandi prove di resistenza e fermezza del popolo ceceno in difesa della libertà conquistata. Quest’anno abbiamo celebrato il secondo anniversario della nostra rivoluzione e indipendenza senza sangue. Avendo resistito con dignità a tutte le prove nella lotta contro i nemici interni ed esterni, siamo entrati nel terzo anno, stabilizzando maggiormente la situazione politica ed economica, rafforzando spiritualmente e moralmente, diventando più fiduciosi su un percorso indipendente di sviluppo della nostra statualità.
Guardando indietro, riassumendo un altro anno, possiamo affermare senza ombra di dubbio che non è stato vano aspirare all’indipendenza politica. La nostra storia secolare ci dice che solo la libertà politica e l’indipendenza da chiunque altro è garante della vita pacifica e della prosperità della nazione. Il più vile di tutti i fenomeni nella storia dell’umanità è la schiavitù e l’umiltà, contro le quali i nostri antenati hanno combattuto per secoli e hanno lasciato in eredità alla loro progenie di non abbandonare lo spirito amante della libertà del popolo Vaynakh.
Siamo ben consapevoli dei ripetuti tentativi di distruggere il patrimonio genetico della nazione Vaynakh sotto l’impero zarista e poi sovietico-comunista. Dopo secoli di persecuzioni e tragedie del XIX secolo, 1944-1957, dopo il sanguinoso massacro di Khaibach e dopo le centinaia di migliaia di vittime del genocidio sovietico, il popolo ceceno si è comunque risollevato, ravvivato, conservando la propria dignità nazionale, lingua e cultura, sebbene il regime totalitario sovietico abbia fatto di tutto per sopprimere il suo spirito, intimidirlo e tenerlo in costante paura. L’attuale generazione usa abilmente l’occasione storica che le è capitata per realizzare i sogni e le aspirazioni dei suoi antenati.
Gli eventi occorsi dopo il crollo dell’impero sovietico mostrano anche che la sovranità e l’indipendenza sono l’unica strada corretta scelta dal popolo ceceno. Le intenzioni del GKChP (se questo colpo di stato fosse riuscito) di ripetere il 1944, la trasmissione pubblica in televisione riguardo l’attacco al nostro stesso parlamento da cannoni di grosso calibro ci danno un altro motivo per riflettere se abbiamo fatto bene, quando abbiamo deciso due anni fa di separarci dalla Russia fascista dove non comandano le leggi, ma i tentativi di ogni gruppo politico che si trova al vertice del potere, sotto le spoglie di una nuova “democrazia”, di consolidare razzismo e fascismo. Per due anni abbiamo resistito a un blocco globale da parte delle autorità russe, alla loro invasione militare, al confronto interno di ogni genere: sabotaggio, provocazioni, spionaggio. Il mondo intero ci guarda con ammirazione. Siamo ai suoi occhi un esempio e un modello di coraggio, fortezza e amore per la libertà. E questo spirito non si inaridirà mai tra i ceceni.Sì, è difficile per noi. Abbiamo subito battute d’arresto, difficoltà legate a strutture di potere che non hanno ancora preso forma, mancanza di disciplina, mancanza di organizzazione, confronto interno tra forze distruttive, gruppi criminali e mafiosi.
Molti vedono solo aspetti negativi in ciò che sta accadendo in Cecenia; disintegrazione, distruzione, estremismo, nazionalismo, ecc. Tutto questo è in realtà una finzione. La vita è forse più facile nei paesi della CSI? Quelle repubbliche che non si sono separate dalla Russia si sentono più tranquille? Ricordiamo il destino dei nostri fratelli ingusci, guardiamo cosa sta succedendo nelle repubbliche vicine e nella stessa Russia. C’è una crisi senza fine: politica, economica. Il collasso dell’economia, l’impoverimento di una parte significativa della popolazione, l’aumento dei prezzi, la corruzione e la criminalità di strada, il terrorismo, il deflusso di personale qualificato all’estero. Tutti i rami del potere si stanno degradando, nessuno di essi è pronto a collaborare con gli altri, nessuno di loro controlla la situazione nel Paese. E con tutto questo, vedere solo i nostri fallimenti è, per usare un eufemismo, semplicemente non serio.
Nonostante tutti gli ostacoli posti, durante i due anni di indipendenza sono stati fatti molti passi positivi per migliorare la situazione politica ed economica della repubblica. Il popolo ha respirato a pieni polmoni per secoli la libertà desiderata. La paura e l’ipocrisia sono sparite per sempre. Molte leggi e risoluzioni sono state adottate per aiutare a stabilizzare la situazione in Cecenia. Si stanno compiendo molti passi pratici per attuare il programma di politica estera e interna del governo. Sono state delineate chiare linee guida per l’ulteriore sviluppo dell’economia, per far uscire la repubblica dalla crisi. Non abbiamo problemi a scegliere il modo per superare la crisi. Questo percorso è chiaramente definito. Il problema è solo nella nostra unità e armonia.
È arrivata la fase dello sviluppo indipendente, il cui compito principale è la produzione e le trasformazioni economiche, in cui sono attesi importanti cambiamenti strutturali e di investimenti per garantire il necessario equilibrio del mercato: uso razionale del nostro petrolio; ristrutturazione urgente di tutte le raffinerie di petrolio per garantire un significativo aumento della raffinazione del petrolio, il loro riequipaggiamento tecnologico; risolvere il problema della creazione di nuove industrie per la costruzione di macchinari; rendere produttive le ricche riserve di materie prime per la produzione di materiali da costruzione, utilizzare le enormi riserve di foraggi di montagna (per la produzione di prodotti zootecnici), il cui sviluppo consentirà di mantenere 200mila capi di bestiame e un milione di capi di pecore. Molta attenzione sarà dedicata alla realizzazione di strade, edifici residenziali e stalle, alla posa di linee elettriche e di comunicazione. È stato sviluppato un programma statale per migliorare la fertilità del suolo nella repubblica. Sono previste la ricostruzione e la realizzazione di imprese per la lavorazione dei prodotti agricoli, l’introduzione di tecnologie e l’importazione di attrezzature, la creazione di un complesso turistico e sanitario.
L’irrisolvibilità cronica di molte questioni economiche e sociali suscita nella popolazione sentimenti di insoddisfazione e pessimismo. Questo è un fenomeno naturale e non c’è nulla di cui preoccuparsi. Abbiamo scelto una strada difficile verso la libertà e non abbiamo il diritto di interromperla. Nella memoria del popolo ceceno, di generazione in generazione, si conservano tenacemente le parole pronunciate dai loro antenati più di cento anni fa: «Ci dichiariamo colpevoli solo davanti a Dio e al popolo ceceno per non aver saputo restituire la libertà concessaci da Dio”. E ora l’attuale generazione di ceceni è riuscita a ripristinare questa libertà, ad adempiere ai precetti dei loro antenati. Ed è determinato a difenderlo fino alla fine della sua vita, a qualunque costo. Queste difficoltà temporanee che si sono sviluppate per tutti i popoli sul territorio dell’ex impero sovietico non sono nulla in confronto alla vergogna e all’umiliazione che il popolo ceceno ha vissuto per decenni: sabotaggio delle autorità locali, violazioni di ogni tipo, politica del personale crudele che ha provocato proteste periodiche, manifestazioni nelle quali si è chiesto che ingusci e ceceni fossero sfrattati di nuovo; rifiuto di assumere ceceni per lavorare presso imprese industriali e oggetti di importanza strategica, negli organi amministrativi, divieto di celebrare feste nazionali e religiose; persecuzione e pressioni sull’’intellighenzia; Annientamento graduale della lingua madre nella vita quotidiana; divieto di studiare la vera storia dei Vaynakh. Ecco un elenco tutt’altro che completo di fenomeni che hanno disonorato e umiliato questo popolo.
Il nostro obiettivo di libertà e indipendenza è stato raggiunto. Questo dovrebbe essere apprezzato e di questo dovremmo essere orgogliosi. Ora stiamo costruendo uno stato democratico sovrano e di diritto. Non c’è dubbio che saremo in grado di portare a termine anche questo compito: a differenza dello Stato “democratico” russo, dove i rappresentanti delle nazionalità caucasiche sono perseguitati a ogni passo, i ceceni sono terrorizzati, fucilati, deportati dalle loro case, le autorità della Repubblica cecena non permetteranno mai a nessuno la minima violazione dei diritti di una singola persona, non importa a quale nazione appartenga e non importa quale dio preghi. Tutti i popoli che abitano la repubblica sono uguali e degni di rispetto e di una vita migliore.
Il popolo ceceno non ha nulla di cui lamentarsi o rimpiangere il precedente regime, il quale ha lasciato loro la più alta mortalità infantile, insalubrità e inquinamento ambientale, la più bassa aspettativa di vita e il più basso tenore di vita. Non chiediamo aiuto a nessuno. Chiediamo ed esigiamo di non essere disturbati.
CARI CITTADINI DELLA REPUBBLICA CECENA!
Il nostro popolo è ottimista riguardo al proprio futuro, nonostante gli intrighi degli oppositori esterni e interni contro la nostra sovranità. Crediamo che prima o poi la ragione e la saggezza prevarranno nei circoli della leadership russa. Crediamo che la bandiera di stato della Repubblica Cecena, che sventola davanti alla sede dell’Organizzazione dei Popoli Non Rappresentati, sarà presto issata davanti alla sede delle Nazioni Unite. Crediamo che PACE, SALUTE e PROSPERITÀ regneranno nella longanime Cecenia. Lo Stato ceceno ha già non solo una storia, ma anche un futuro più reale. Vitalità e forza, capacità di creare e vivere con ragione e talento: ci siamo confermati nelle più difficili prove di forza, costruendo il nostro stato nella “bocca di un boa constrictor”.
Oggi possiamo affermare con orgoglio che l’onore profanato è stato ripristinato e dalla popolazione senzatetto di ieri, ai tempi dell’URSS, oggi siamo una NAZIONE libera.
LASCIATE CHE L’ANNO CHE FINISCE PORTI CON SE TUTTI I NOSTRI ATTRITI, TUTTI I NOSTRI PROBLEMI!
BUON ANNO A VOI, CARI COMPATRIOTI! CON NUOVA FELICITÀ, CON NUOVO SUCCESSO E BUONA SALUTE! CHE DIO VI AIUTI!
Dr. Ikhvan Gerikhanov has served the Chechen Republic since 1991. Doctor in law and specialist in comparative studies in international law, with the statute od judge of the highest category, Gerikhanov was Member of the Executive Committee of the National Congress of the Chechen People, Deputy of Parliament on first convocation, and President of the Constitutional Court from 1993 to 1998. He was one of the main authors of the Constitution of 1992, which still today represents the Basic Law of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
Today Gerikhanov is the head of the national war crimes tribunal in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. About this activity, he said: “The objective of our trinbunal is the collection and evaluation of evidence for the assessment of the presence of signs of genocide and ethnocide of the chechen people, starting from the the time of the Tsar’s autocracy, the communist regime and the modern russian invasion on our territory”.
He currently resides in France. The French government refused him and his family a few weeks ago, political refugee status.
We had a long conversation with him about the Constitution, the legitimacy of ChRI governments, as well as some of the most controversial laws, not forgetting his work as President of the Constitutional Court.
Ikhvan Gerikhanov in front of the text of the newly approved Constitution
Dr. Gerikhanov, when talk about a constitution started?
The first debates regarding the writing of the Constitution began at the moment of the creation of the Provisional Supreme Soviet, on September 7, 1991. This body was attended by former deputies of the Chechen-Ingush Supreme Soviet and popular representatives, and was headed by the future Speaker of the Parliament of the Chechen Republic, Hussein Akhmadov. Joint commissions were created, including a juridical commission for the elaboration of legislative projects concerning the election of the President and the Parliament of the Republic. As a member of the National Congress of the Chechen People (OKChN) and as the only legal scholar (at that time I was a district court judge of the Leninsky district of Grozny, and had recently defended a dissertation on international law at the University of Kiev) I was included in this legal commission, chaired by the former Second Secretary of the regional party committee, Lechi Magomadov. A wonderful person. Many people from all professional backgrounds participated in the discussion of these projects. The discussion was publicized in the media, including through television. Every citizen of the Republic was able to participate.
In 1994, when the war broke out, Magomadov would have been among the main exponents of the unionist government. Don’t you think that the work he did in the legal commission contradicts the choice to take the side of Russia during the First World War?
Magomadov was first of all a worthy and loyal person. Secondly, he fully supported the decisions of the Chechen People’s Congress. At that time he supported the reasons of the people, and did not participate in any opposition. From his work the Chechen nation only benefited. He died in Mecca during the pilgrimage.
If we had to judge people by the episodes, keep in mind that between 2010 and 2012 I directed the Arbitration Tribunal of the Chechen Republic, which is not part of the power system, but helps all those who turn to it in the resolution of civil cases . Due to conflicts with the local authorities, as well as the fact that I refused to pay the “tribute”, they tried to initiate a criminal case against me. And for this reason I was forced to leave my fatherland and my father’s house once again.
Therefore, one cannot judge people by episodes, as life makes its own adjustments, and sometimes a person is forced to live side by side with the enemy. Some supporters of independence still work in various structures today, while in the republic the protégés of the Kremlin rule. This does not mean that they have betrayed the idea of \u200b\u200bfreedom!
In the elections of 27 October 1991 you were elected deputy. Do you remember how Parliament developed the work on the Constitution?
I was elected in the Nadterechny constituency. Once formed, the Parliament adopted as a basis the draft already developed by the legal commission of the Provisional Supreme Soviet and, after a general discussion which also took place through the media, in the presence of journalists, jurists and simple interested parties, the Parliament adopted the Constitution of the Republic Chechen on March 12, 1991, a year and a half before Russia adopted its own. Personally, I was one of the main co-authors of the Constitution. The deputies did not have much time to adopt the Basic Law, since Russia had already declared the election of the President and Parliament illegal, and it was urgent to consolidate sovereignty by law, as promised to the Chechen National People’s Congress. Within the walls of the parliament of the Chechen Republic, in the body of lawyers’ deputies, there were very few lawyers, only four people out of 41 deputies, and it was not easy to adopt the Constitution when the body of deputies consisted of former farm workers and builders. But we all faced this task, and the Constitution of the Chechen Republic was adopted by the Parliament of the Chechen Republic, and we all rejoiced this holiday, regardless of profession and religion!
There were many opposition supporters in Nadterechny District. They declared that the elections were a farce and that they did not take place in their controlled areas. How do you respond to these accusations?
During the election period, there were opposition supporters in Nadterechny District, but only in one place, not everywhere. The population still did not realize what was happening, and was rather neutral. I have personally met with voters in two large settlements, where they know me well, and the electoral commission received the ballots and prepared the elections. Two representatives were elected in this constituency. Unfortunately my colleague died heroically in the First War!
After the promulgation of the constitution, the institutions foreseen by the Basic Law began to be established. One of these was the Constitutional Court, of which you were elected president in March 1993. How did this constitution process take place?
In early 1992, the Parliament of the Chechen Republic adopted the law “On the activities of the Constitutional Court of the Chechen Republic” and, according to it, the number of judges was determined at seven people. Well-known lawyers from the Republic, from the Ministry of Justice, from the Public Prosecutor’s Office and from the Supreme Court of the Republic took part in the election of the President of the Constitutional Court. Usman Imaev was nominated by the President of the Chechen Republic, while my fellow deputies convinced me to participate in these elections. I can say that all the judges of the Constitutional Court of the Chechen Republic were highly qualified specialists and experienced lawyers. I can be proud of all my colleagues who have had the opportunity to work with them, especially Judge Seda Khalidova, who went through a very difficult path with us and did not become a defector from another government, as some judges have done.
The three leaders of the first call parliament: from left to right, Bektimar Mezhidov (Vice-President), Hussein Akhmadov (President), Magomed Gushakayev (Vice-President)
Why did Dudayev want Imaev in that role?
Usman Imaev was a very knowledgeable lawyer and an excellent executor of all orders of Dzhokhar Dudayev. I would have been happy and satisfied if he had been elected head of the Constitutional Court, but the Parliament saw me, probably, not as an executor of someone else’s orders, but as a learned lawyer, and a person of principle. For example, once elected I was the first of the chechen leaders to meet V. Zorkin, President of the Russian Constitutional Court. On that occasion we prepared a joint agreement ready to be signed, but this was not possible due to the current crisis of power in the Republic.
What activities did the Constitutional Court perform?
The Constitutional Court of the Chechen Republic fulfilled its direct duties of protection of the constitutional order and in strict compliance with the provisions of the Constitution, regardless of the origin of the legislative acts, be it the President or the Parliament.
We have repeatedly made decisions on the inconsistency of our Constitution with the Decrees of the President and the Parliament of the Chechen Republic, which at first were taken for granted. Then, when the confrontation between the legislative and executive bodies became an open conflict, the intervention of our court, and that of its president were not fully received correctly and each side wanted to see the Constitutional Court of the Chechen Republic as “partisan ”, which was impossible, because the court was established to protect the constitutional order and not the branches of power.
The Constitution establishes that Parliament holds the legislative power, and this has the right to approve presidential appointments and to control the work of civil servants. President Dudayev’s reluctance to follow these instructions has led to serious tensions between the president and parliament. What was the origin of these tensions?
The main reason for the confrontation between the legislature and the executive was the misunderstanding or non-acceptance of the fact that the Republic was parliamentary. Many members of the government, including the President, could not bear it. At the very beginning of the confrontation between these branches of power, the Constitutional Court and its chairman issued dozens of official statements on the need to follow the requirements of the Constitution of the Chechen Republic and on the fact that such an escalation of tension could lead to consequences unpredictable.
I don’t know the reason behind this non-acceptance of the parliamentary nature of the Republic, but I can say that around Dudayev there were many sycophants who could influence his decision. I myself was dumbfounded by his behavior, when he sent a late night messenger asking me or advice on key legal matters. After agreeing on these matters, Dzhokhar publicly stated the opposite, and when I asked him why he did this, he referred to unknown people who convinced him against our agreement!
Many members of the entourage of the President of the Chechen Republic literally influenced Dzhokhar Dudayev about the negative influence of the parliament of the Chechen Republic in state building, having their own personal and mercantile interests. Issues of a legislative nature were resolved at the household level, ignoring the requirements of the Constitution and other regulatory acts. First of all, it was a confrontation between the forces of order: the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Each of them resolved the issue from the point of view of his participation in the process of declaring sovereignty, and not from the legal point of view of fulfilling his direct duties. All this led to chaos and mutual misunderstanding, while those who could not be authorized to manage state bodies also very actively intervened: various parties, organizations of the elderly, athletes and cultural figures, who were assigned positions in based on their popularity in their business field.
On April 10 and 17, 1993, President Dudayev issued a series of decrees establishing direct presidential rule and dissolving parliament, decrees which were declared illegal by the Constitutional Court. Do you remember exactly what these decrees contained and why he declared them illegal?
The Constitutional Court has recognized the President’s Decrees regarding the dissolution of the supreme legislative body as illegitimate, as they grossly contradict the provisions of the Constitution. The content of the decree of the President of the Chechen Republic on the dissolution of the supreme legislative body of the country stated that, in order to preserve the sovereignty and political system, and due to the loss of confidence in it, in accordance with Art. 73 of the Constitution of the Chechen Republic the Parliament of the Chechen Republic should have been dissolved. In truth, the art. 73 of the Constitution of the CRI does not guarantee the President these powers, not even in times of war. He could suspend the activities of all authorities by imposing martial law, but this was not done at the time, since there was no reason to do so. The action exercised by Dudayev, in legal language is called “seizure of power”. which is prohibited by art. 2 of the Constitution.
As mentioned above, the Constitutional Court has applied all means to resolve this conflict and, as the head of the highest legislative body, I have personally asked and spoken to the President of the Parliament and almost all the deputies, as well as the President of the Republic, so that this confrontation would not result in a violation of the Constitution of the Chechen Republic and in an armed conflict. However, each side considered itself on the right side, and we are all witnesses and eyewitnesses of what happened next. The Constitutional Court of the Chechen Republic, on the basis of the obligation to control and safeguard the state system, has correctly pronounced the illegitimacy of the acts of dissolution of the supreme legislative body, not being able otherwise by the judicial body, called to respond to violations of the Constitution of the Chechen Republic.
In the same period, the parliament called a referendum on trust in President Dudayev and in Parliament itself, which the Constitutional Court deemed acceptable. Was this referendum legitimate?
When the confrontation between legislative and executive authority reached a critical point, the Parliament made use of its constitutional right, provided for by paragraph 24 of art. 64 of the Constitution of the Chechen Republic on the popular vote, to hold a referendum on the issue of trust in the authorities and regarding the form of government of the state.This decision is the prerogative of the Parliament of the Chechen Republic and only it can take such a decision, if it deems it necessary, without the consent of any branch of power. These days the crisis of power, with the exception of the judiciary, was in full swing and turned into an open confrontation, with the subsequent armed intervention of the police forces during the dissolution of the Parliament of the Chechen Republic.
Dzhokhar Dudaev votes in the elections of 27 October 1991
On June 3, 1993, Dudayev rejected the opinion of the Constitutional Court regarding the legitimacy of the referendum, declaring it a “perversion of the law”. Why, in your opinion, was Dudayev so against the referendum?
We have tried to solve this process with all diplomatic methods, up to involving respected people and elders. A conciliation group was created headed by the president of the Academy of Sciences, doctor of physical and mathematical sciences Khamzat Ibragimov, in which I was also included. I spoke to Dzhokhar repeatedly on this matter, but after every conversation he did not operate as required by the Constitution. He believed, like everyone in his entourage, that the parliament of the Chechen Republic acts in favor of the opposition, and that the parliamentarians themselves are on several “barricades” of this crisis.
After the coup d’état of 4 June 1993, the Constitutional Court remained the only institution recognized by the Constitution on a permanent basis. On 18 June it issued a statement on the illegality of the government’s actions. Do you remember the contents of this court statement? What reactions has it elicited?
The Constitutional Court of the Chechen Republic suspended work on the administration of justice on my initiative, because after the court decision on the illegality of dissolving the Parliament of the Chechen Republic, our judges and staff began to fear retribution from the radicals , who saw in this decision only an opposition to the President of the Chechen Republic and nothing else. In this regard, this opinion still remains rooted in some supporters of sovereignty today, although there was and could not be any conflict between the Constitutional Court and the President, neither at an institutional level, nor at a personal level. The highest judicial body, within its powers, performed the duties assigned to it to protect the Constitution and the constitutional order, revealing violations that ignored the requirements of the Basic Law of the land, regardless of grades and degrees, and the position held in power and in this society.
How did relations develop between you and Dudayev, and between you and the government in general, after June 1993? Are you under pressure, threats or attempts on your life?
There was no, and there could be no public persecution and threats, since even to my detractors it was clear that I was fulfilling my duties, regardless of the roles and positions of violators of the requirements of the Constitution of the Chechen Republic.
With the outbreak of the First Russo-Chechen War the authorities of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria were placed under martial law. As a lawman, and a senior state official, how did you serve the cause of independence?
Since the beginning of the first war in December 1994, I have been at the forefront of opponents of armed conflict and have organized national and international conferences, as well as roundtables on the cessation of hostilities in my Motherland, condemning Russia’s military and political leadership. Having the moral and institutional responsibility to preserve sovereignty, as well as to stop hostilities on our territory, as president of the Constitutional Court, I have adopted all the methods and means at my disposal to inform the world and the Russian public opinion about the crime of this war and about the existence of the ongoing genocide against my people. To do this, I involved Russian government officials, as well as personally holding press conferences and organizing international conferences, with the participation of world-renowned scientists, conflict specialists and experts from the United Nations.
A number of conferences were held in the building of the international organization “Federation of Peace and Accord”, which has an advisory office at the United Nations. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the leadership of this organization, especially to the deputy chairman of the Society, MGIMO professor Andrey Melvil, who impartially helped me and provided every opportunity for the world to hear the voice of the Chechen people, who was being exterminated under carpet bombing by the Russian military forces.
Gerikhanov (right) participates in the negotiations for the release of hostages during the Budennovsk crisis
One of the events that saw you protagonist in the period 1994 – 1996 were the negotiations following the Budennovsk hostage crisis. Why were you involved in these negotiations, and how did they unfold?
During this time I was in Moscow and was approached by the Minister of Nationalities of Russia V. Mikhailov, who asked me for help in freeing the hostages, as I was one of the highest officials of the republic. Naturally I could not refuse this request, knowing that the hostages were women and children. Considering myself morally responsible and in general, as a lawyer and also as a simple person, not accepting this way of making war, I went to the place. Upon arrival in Budennovsk, I went to the headquarters for the release of hostages, where N. Yegorov, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation, Stepashin, the director of the FSB and other officials of the Russian side were. Then I went to the hospital, and finally participated in the negotiations and drafting of the documents relating to the conditions for the release of the hostages. At the same time, I had to involve the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation V. Chernomyrdin in this process through Mikhailov in order to have guarantees that the conditions set by Shamil Basaev were met.
My participation in the release of the hostages was decisive, because knowing the situation, I assumed responsibility as an official and as a Chechen: without this happening it would have been impossible to complete this negotiation. I was helped in this by two other compatriots of mine, whom I thank for the courage shown in this situation, in which we were all risking our lives. The important thing was that the result was positive: the hostages were released (over 1200 hostages, mostly women and children) and hostilities on the territory of the republic were stopped, which saved tens and hundreds of civilian lives, and started a dialogue between the warring parties which ended with negotiations peacemakers of Khasavyurt.
Besides that, you worked for the establishment of an international tribunal for Chechnya.
In 1995-1996 I was one of the organizers of the Public International Tribunal for crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Chechen Republic. The presiding judge was Galina Starovoitova, who was killed for her civilian activity by war supporters. The books have been published for some time and are directly accessible via the Internet. The court worked in accordance with the current Russian Criminal Procedure Code, and the collection of materials and evidence took place in the court. The members of the court were former and current deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, as well as well-known world-famous lawyers, both Russian and foreign. Among the observers were well-known specialists and distinguished diplomats. By the way, one of the experts was Olof Palme’s brother Klaus Palme, and among the diplomats – the last USSR Foreign Minister Pankin. We have conducted several phases of the judicial investigation both inside and outside Russia and have examined evidence bordering on the genocide of the Chechen people. These judicial investigation materials are published in three printed books and are available on the Internet.
I believe I am not mistaken when I say that one of the tragedies of the Chechen people originated on the day when Chechnya proclaimed itself an independent state. After choosing the first president, the Chechens naively believed that Russia would respect their choice. After all, Yeltsin said “take all the freedom you can swallow!” The Chechens did not know that “Swallowing freedom” they would regurgitate their blood.
The conquest of freedom
The Russians did not recognize the presidential elections held on October 27, 1991 in Chechnya. Rejecting any possibility of peaceful separation from Chechnya, the Kremlin has focused on the definitive solution of the Chechen “problem”. In planning actions against Chechen sovereignty, it was obvious that the Russian government would prioritize provocative and subversive activities, and this was evident from the growing activity of pro-Russian provocateurs on the territory of Chechnya. Funded and armed by Moscow, the leaders of the “anti-Dudaevites” began to form criminal groups under the cover of political slogans, calling themselves “opposition of the Dudaev regime”. In reality, the ideologues of this movement were full-time agents of the Russian special services and, following the instructions of the Lubyanka , they caused a civil war in the Chechens. Through these ” Mankurts ” [1], in the first half of the 90s of the twentieth century, Chechnya was transformed into a land of internal contrasts and social instability. Having already gained political independence from Moscow, many officials who held high positions in the state did what they could to discredit the idea of independence. With their actions they compromised the government, corrupted it, doing everything to make the Chechens repent of their choice. Every day, these people desecrated the idea of a free and sovereign state, and achieved many successes in this action, furthering the premises of the 1994/1996 Russo-Chechen War.
However, one detail had not been taken into consideration: the war imposed by the Kremlin would have ignited the genetic memory of the Chechens. All the people, with rare exceptions, took up arms and stood up to defend that choice. Evidently, after receiving the order to intensify their activities, the Russian special services agents began to increase their efforts to destabilize the political, economic and social situation throughout the Ichkeria territory. By sowing discord among the leaders of the state, creating an atmosphere of mutual distrust and enmity in the relations between yesterday’s comrades, the Russian mercenaries achieved the objectives set by Moscow. Instead of rallying around the president, in this hard and difficult time for the fate of the Chechen nation, and exercising their authority to defend and strengthen the authority of Ichkeria, the leaders of the country faced each other in the political arena with every sort of intrigue, against each other, using their credit only for speculative and populist purposes. After withdrawing troops from Ichkeria in 1996, the Russians invaded it with their agents. Terrible times came for Ichkeria, banditry assumed the proportions of a national catastrophe, kidnapping and the slave trade became the profession of a significant part of the former freedom fighters, lack of work and poverty swelled the ranks of criminals.
Heroes yesterday, enemies today
Thus there was no effective authority in Ichkeria. The comrades in arms of the President of yesterday, having had the opportunity to strengthen it, did not do so, but rather, having become politicians, they were the real antagonists of the President, doing everything to weaken his power. On every occasion, and under various pretexts, his authority was undermined: not a day passed without some “emergency” directed against the President. At that time I was convinced that these antagonists wanted to break Maskhadov psychologically. Imagine the state in which a person subjected to daily torture can be, every day more sophisticated and insidious. One fine day, the President collapsed… all this turmoil around the presidency drove the people to despair, their faith in authority and yesterday’s heroes disappeared. Social inequality, the absence of any guarantee of security, corrupt authorities at all levels, poverty and devastation: the Chechen people faced the 1999 war in these conditions … With an economic blockade, political and information isolation in place, the Chechen leadership he had no way of adequately preparing for Russian aggression.
The signs that the Russians were preparing a new war against Ichkeria appeared as early as February – March 1999. In February 1999, a demonstration of many thousands of people was held in support of the President’s policy in the city of Dzhokhar [formerly Grozny, NDR ]. The participants in the demonstration approved and supported in unison Maskhadov, the foreign and internal policy he pursued, and expressed the desire and willingness to take up arms to restore order in the country. Two or three Russian journalists were present at this gathering, being able to work without any restrictions. They assured me that the Russian media would report the demonstration, but not a single TV channel mentioned it. On the other hand, Russian public opinion began to be influenced by the idea that Maskhadov was a weak and indecisive person, that he had lost the support of the people, that power in Ichkeria was in the hands of the field commanders, that banditry and the slave trade flourished in Ichkeria. Obviously it would be wrong to deny these claims, which were partly true, but that the people did not support Maskhadov, or that he was weak, that was an absolute lie. The Chechen people had responded to the President’s appeal, and were willing to defend him. But the Russian media hid this fact from their audience. As for the field commanders, most of them obeyed without question the President and Commander the Chief of the Armed Forces.
But, as they say, no family is without monsters. On the occasion of the second anniversary of the signing of the Peace Treaty between Ichkeria and Russia on May 12 , 1997, well-organized celebrations were held in the city of Dzhokhar: events were held in the city center, horse races were held on the outskirts of the capital, with prizes in prize money, including “VAZ” 6 car models. It was a bright and festive day, during which the Ichkeria leadership showed all its desire for peace with Russia. Once again, Russian TV reporters worked on the event, as always without restrictions. And once again the media did not say a single word about the fact that similar celebrations were held in the city of Dzhokhar. All of this suggested that there would be no celebration the following year.
After leaving Argun, we moved to a wooded mountainous area in the Nozhai – Yurt district. Here we organized our base, well hidden in a gorge near the village of Shuani. On the afternoon of March 25, a messenger arrived at the base: we were ordered to go in force to the village of Novogrozny, today Oyskhara. When we arrived Maskhadov gave me a brief report on the situation: “The Russians have left Gudermes, and are moving in the direction of Novogrozny. They crushed our defenses. We have to delay them at least for a few hours, until we evacuate the hospital and the documents. I have no one else to send except your battalion. I ask you to detain the Russians as much as possible: there are many wounded in the hospital, if the Russians find them they will shoot them all. ” Then Maskhadov told me that on the eastern outskirts of Ilaskhan – Yurt a unit of militiamen from nearby was gathering and they would give us a hand.
There were few people with me, about thirty in all, because after the retreat from Argun many of the militiamen, cold and tired, had dispersed to the surrounding villages to recover their strength. We immediately set off towards Ilaskhan – Yurt and, having reached the goal, we reunited with 70 militia men. The Russians advanced on the wooded ridge overlooking the village, traveling in the direction of Novogrozny. We settled in positions previously equipped, and then later abandoned. Their conditions were not the best: due to the heavy rains of those days they were full of water, and we guarded the positions with mud up to our knees. We tried to drain them, but the water returned to fill them in a few hours, due to the damp soil.
Soon our presence was noticed by the Russians, who began bombing our trenches from their high positions. Using mortars and field artillery. In that bombing we suffered the wounding of three or four men. However , they did not proceed to an attack, allowing us to hold them back for many more hours. Having left in a hurry, we had brought neither food nor water with us: we spent the next night hungry and cold in our damp trenches, under constant enemy bombardment. We were so starved that, when we managed to get our hands on a heifer the next day, we ate its almost raw meat, but not before getting permission from a local clergyman.
March 29 , the first Russian patrol reached our trenches. We managed to repel the assault: the enemy lost two men and retreated quickly. From the uniforms and weapons found in the possession of the fallen Russians, we understood that we had a paratrooper unit in front of us. As soon as the Russians were back in their trenches the artillery began a pounding bombardment on our positions with mortars and 120 mm artillery, causing many injuries among our units. After a long preparatory bombardment, the infantry moved on to the attack, and we began the unhooking maneuvers: some of us took the wounded away, others retreated into the woods, or returned to their homes. Only five of us remained in position: Vakha from Chishka, Khavazhi from Naurskaya, Yusup from Alpatovo, Mammad from Naursk station and myself. When we finally managed to get away we were exhausted: I came out with chronic pneumonia, which would accompany me in the years to follow.
Combined Regiment Naursk
In April, if memory serves me well, on April 2, as he said, the head of the main headquarters of the armed forces of the CRI, General Maskhadov, came to my base. The Chief of Staff briefly introduced me to the latest events and changes on the lines of contact between us and the Russians: it was clear from his words that our situation was not good. Consequently he asked me to become subordinate to the commander of the Nozhai- Yurta leadership, Magomed Khambiev. The same day I went to Nozhai-Yurt, where I met the new commander. He assigned the battalion’s area of responsibility to a location not far from the village of Zamai-Yurt, southwest of this village. Once deployed, we dug trenches and equipped shooting points for the machine gun. Here at the base, we, in our Naur battalion, were joined by groups of militias from Gudermes and the Shelkovsky district, for a total of 200 people. As a result, our battalion became the “Combined Naur Regiment”. I was confirmed by Maskhadov himself as commander of this new unit.
The Regiment held the assigned position until the early days of 1995, fighting a war of position against Russian forces. These faced us mainly with artillery, throwing a hail of mortar rounds at us, and increasing the dose with incursions of combat helicopters MI – 42 and MI – 18. During this phase we mourned the death of one of us, Dzhamleila of Naurskaya , and the wounding of ten men. Finally, in the first days of June , we received the order to switch to guerrilla warfare.
VERSIONE ITALIANA
IL GENERALE DI NAUR – MEMORIE DI APTI BATALOV (PARTE 4)
Battaglia ad Ilaskhan – Yurt
Dopo aver lasciato Argun, ci trasferimmo in una zona montuosa coperta di boschi, nel distretto di Nozhai – Yurt. Qui organizzammo la nostra base, ben nascosta in una gola vicino al villaggio di Shuani. Nel pomeriggio del 25 Marzo giunse alla base un messaggero: ci era ordinato di dirigerci in forze al villaggio di Novogrozny, oggi Oyskhara. Quando arrivammo Maskhadov mi fece un breve rapporto sulla situazione: “I russi hanno lasciato Gudermes, e si stanno muovendo in direzione di Novogrozny. Hanno schiacciato le nostre difese. Dobbiamo ritardarli almeno per qualche ora, finchè non evacuiamo l’ospedale ed i documenti. Non ho nessun altro da inviare, tranne il tuo battaglione. Ti chiedo di trattenere i russi il più possibile: ci sono molti feriti nell’ospedale, se i russi li trovano li fucileranno tutti.” Poi Maskhadov mi disse che alla periferia orientale di Ilaskhan – Yurt si stava radunando un reparto di miliziani provenienti dalle vicinanze, i quali ci avrebbero dato man forte.
Insieme a me c’erano poche persone, una trentina in tutto, perché dopo la ritirata da Argun molti dei miliziani, infreddoliti e stanchi, si erano dispersi nei villaggi circostanti per recuperare le forze. Ci mettemmo subito in marcia verso Ilaskhan – Yurt e, raggiunto l’obiettivo, ci ricongiungemmo con 70 uomini della milizia. I russi avanzavano sulla cresta boscosa che dominava il villaggio, viaggiando in direzione di Novogrozny. Ci sistemammo in posizioni precedentemente attrezzate, e poi successivamente abbandonate. Le loro condizioni non erano delle migliori: a causa delle forti piogge di quei giorni erano piene d’acqua, e presidiavamo le posizioni con il fango fino alle ginocchia. Cercavamo di drenarle, ma l’acqua tornava a riempirle in poche ore, a causa del terreno umido.
Ben presto la nostra presenza fu notata dai russi, i quali iniziarono a bombardare le nostre trincee dalle loro posizioni elevate. Usando mortai ed artiglieria da campagna. In quel bombardamento patimmo il ferimento di tre o quattro uomini. Tuttavia non procedettero ad un attacco, permettendoci di trattenerli ancora per molte ore. Essendo partiti in fretta e furia, non avevamo portato con noi né cibo né acqua: trascorremmo la notte successiva affamati ed infreddoliti nelle nostre trincee umide, sotto il costante bombardamento nemico. Eravamo così provati dalla fame che, quando il giorno dopo riuscimmo a mettere le mani su una giovenca, ne mangiammo la carne quasi cruda, ma non prima di aver avuto il permesso da un religioso locale.
A mezzogiorno del 29 Marzo la prima pattuglia russa raggiunse le nostre trincee. Riuscimmo a respingere l’assalto: il nemico perse due uomini e si ritirò velocemente. Dalle divise e dalle armi trovate in possesso dei russi caduti capimmo di avere davanti un reparto di paracadutisti. Non appena i russi furono rientrati nelle loro trincee l’artiglieria iniziò un bombardamento martellante sulle nostre posizioni con mortai ed artiglieria da 120 mm, provocando molti ferimenti tra le nostre unità. Dopo un lungo bombardamento preparatorio, la fanteria passò all’attacco, e noi iniziammo le manovre di sganciamento: alcuni di noi portarono via i feriti, altri si ritirarono tra i boschi, o tornarono alle loro case. In posizione rimanemmo soltanto in cinque: Vakha da Chishka, Khavazhi da Naurskaya, Yusup da Alpatovo, Mammad dalla stazione di Naursk ed io. Quando finalmente riuscimmo ad allontanarci eravamo esausti: io ne uscii con una polmonite cronica, che mi avrebbe accompagnato negli anni a seguire.
Reggimento Combinato Naursk
Ad aprile, se la memoria mi serve bene, il due aprile, come ha detto, il capo del quartier generale principale delle forze armate della CRI, il generale Maskhadov, è venuto alla mia base. Il capo di stato maggiore mi ha brevemente presentato gli ultimi eventi e i cambiamenti sulle linee di contatto tra noi e i russi: era chiaro dalle sue parole che la nostra situazione non era buona. Di conseguenza mi chiese di diventare subordinato al comandante di la direzione Nozhai-Yurta, Magomed Khambiev. Lo stesso giorno mi recai a Nozhai-Yurt, dove incontrai il nuovo comandante. Egli assegnò l’area di responsabilità del battaglione ad una posizione non lontana dal villaggio di Zamai-Yurt, a sud-ovest di questo villaggio. Una volta schierati, abbiamo scavato trincee e attrezzato punti di tiro per la mitragliatrice. Qui alla base, noi, nel nostro battaglione Naur, siamo stati raggiunti da gruppi di milizie di Gudermes e del distretto di Shelkovsky, per un totale di 200 persone. Di conseguenza, il nostro battaglione divenne il “Reggimento Combinato Naur”. Fui confermato dallo stesso Maskhadov comandante di questa nuova unità.
Il Reggimento tenne la posizione assegnata fino ai primi di giorni del 1995, combattendo una guerra di posizione contro le forze russe. Queste ci affrontavano principalmente con l’artiglieria, lanciandoci contro una grandine di colpi di mortaio, e rincarando la dose con incursioni di elicotteri da combattimento MI – 42 e MI – 18. Durante questa fase piangemmo la morte di uno di noi, Dzhamleila di Naurskaya, ed il ferimento di dieci uomini. Nei primi giorni di Giugno, infine, ricevemmo l’ordine di passare alla guerra partigiana.
When the federal forces reached Grozny, my men and I were in Gudermes, where we had quartered to form an organized unit made up entirely of men from the Naur District . On January 4th , a runner sent by Maskhadov was placed in our command post. He gave me the order to converge on our capital with all the men at my disposal. Once in the city, I met a young volunteer, who made himself available to organize our group and put it in coordination with the other fighting units. It is called Turpal Ali Atgeriev. In conversation with him, I learned that he had taken part in the war in Abkhazia and that he had some fighting experience. There was not a single war veteran among us, starting with me: I was in desperate need of someone with combat experience. For this I asked Atgiriev to become my deputy, and he accepted my proposal. Since he didn’t have a weapon, I handed him an RPK-74 machine gun. Someone criticized my decision, accusing me of having appointed a stranger as my deputy. I was not interested in this gossip and intrigue, I was worried about only one thing itself: saving lives and at the same time beating the enemy.
We were deployed in defense of the Pedagogical Institute. A regiment of Russian marines had targeted the building: if this had been taken, it would have been possible to easily reach Maskhadov’s headquarters, which was literally fifty meters from our position, under the Presidential Palace. The Russians tried to break through our defenses almost every day, until January 19 , 1994, but without success. In these attacks they lost many soldiers, whose corpses remained in the middle of the road, in no man’s land, prey to stray dogs. We tried to remove them, to save their bodies, but without a respite we could not have prevented them from being eaten. Several times, during the fighting, our command and the Russian one reached an agreement for a 48-hour truce, precisely to clean the streets of the corpses of Russian soldiers. During these truces we talked to the Russian patrols stationed on the side streets. I remember one of these conversations with a Russian captain, to whom I had thrown a pack of cigarettes: Guys he said, quit, you will not win, because you are not fighting the police, but the army. His voice was not arrogant, he was a simple Russian peasant. That battle was also difficult because to supply our armories we had to capture weapons and ammunition from the Russians. In every disabled armored transport vehicle we found a heap of weapons, cartridges and grenades, which we looted. Later the Russians became more careful, and we didn’t find much in their means. On the other hand, their vehicles were stuffed with all sorts of carpets, dishes and other goods looted from the population.
January 19 , when it became clear that the defense of the Pedagogical Institute would no longer slow down the fall of the Presidential Palace, we withdrew. I was ordered to organize the defense of the Trampark area , and we occupied positions on Novya Street Buachidze . Trampark changed hands several times, and there were fierce battles until February 7th . Right in via Novya Buachidze suffered a shock from a tank bullet which, entering the window of the room where I was with some of my men, hit two of them in full, killing them. This shock still undermines my health. Finally, on the evening of February 7 , a messenger from Maskhadov handed me a note in which I was ordered to leave the position, join Basayev in Chernorechie and leave the city. I should have assumed the defense in the parking area in Via 8 Marzo, where the departments were concentrating to prepare for the exit from the city. Once there we counted all those present: also considering the staff of the Headquarters, we were 320 men. Obviously some departments were not present: detached units fought in other areas of the city, and besides them there were the so-called “Indians”, armed gangs who did not obey anyone, they fought when it was favorable gold and along the way they plundered everything that they could find. When Maskhadov lined up us in the square, he told us that our descendants would be proud of us, that the victory would be ours, that we were leaving Grozny only to return one day. The night between 7 and 8 Fenbbraio we left the capital.
The Naursk Battalion
It was after the retreat from Grozny that my unit, still an amalgam of more or less organized groups, began to become a real tactical unit. This same process was also taking place in the other units that had formed spontaneously at the beginning of the war. Moreover, in the Chechen resistance there were no military units and formations in the classical sense of the term: “battalions”, “regiments” and “fronts” were symbolic terms that did not correspond to a battle order in the classical sense. For example, what was called the “Argun Regiment” was an association of several groups, often poorly armed, made up of a variable number of people, each of which replied to its own commander. The members of these units, all volunteers, could leave at any time, there was no precise chain of command.
Our team spirit had already been forged in the battles we had fought together, and which unfortunately had forced us to count the first fallen. The first of our men to die for the defense of Chechnya was Beshir Turluev , who fell at the Ishcherskaya Checkpoint in December 1994. Since then, other young Chechens had sacrificed their lives for their homeland. Among those who remained alive, and who fought more assiduously with me, a group of “veterans” began to form, who by character or competence acquired the role of “informal officers”. Thus, for example, a 4th year student of a medical institute, whose name was Ruslan, became the head of the medical unit, while Sheikh Khavazhi , from the village of Naurskaya , became the head of logistics. The latter was in charge of keeping in touch with the Naur region , from which the supplies for our unit came. The inhabitants collected the food intended for our livelihood and delivered it to us via a KAMAZ truck, driven by Umar, from the village of Savelieva, and his companion Alkhazur . Sometimes money was also collected, usually a small amount, which was scrupulously recorded and distributed among the men. For the needs of the battalion, for the entire period of the 1994-1996 war, I, from the central command, did not receive more than 3 thousand dollars.
Defending Argun
After we had withdrawn from Grozny, Maskhadov ordered us to fall back on Argun, to help defend the city. We quartered ourselves in the city hospital, now empty and unused. The commander of the stronghold was Khunkarpasha Israpilov, and the commander of the largest unit, the so-called “Combined Regiment”, was Aslambek Ismailov. We were deployed in the sector of the so-called “Indian village”, a front of about 350 meters along the Argun River. On our left were the so-called “Black Wolves”, characterized by wearing very dark jeans. On the other side were Alaudi ‘s men Khamzatov , guard posts on the main bridge over the Argun. In front of us was a Russian paratrooper unit. We learned that we were facing special forces from a Russian soldier whom we captured when, with his squad, he attempted a reconnaissance close to our lines. At that juncture, as soon as the other side learned that their group had been identified and attacked, the Moscow artillery launched a massive bombing on our positions, during which two of our militiamen fell: Daud, coming from the village of Kalinovsky and Rizvan , from Naurskaya . To scare us, the Russians played Vladimir Vysotsky ‘s “Hunting for Wolves” at very high volume . We responded with “Freedom or Death”. The supply of the militias in the city of Argun, as well as in Grozny, was very scarce, there was a severe shortage of ammunition, there was a catastrophic lack of machine gun cartridges, RPG-7 grenade launcher shells and only dressing bandages they were more or less in abundance among the drugs.
On the morning of March 20, the Russians began testing our defenses along the entire line of contact, simulating a force attack from our side. In reality, the main attack took place, surprisingly, at the Moskovsky state farm . We did not expect the enemy to break in from that side, and after a fierce battle during which we lost many men (including the commander of the Melkhu – Khe militia , whose name was Isa and a brave, young Lithuanian named Nicholas) we had to leave the city, to retreat to the wooded region of Nozhai – Yurt. In the defense of Argun, Abuezid , from the village of Naurskaya , Umar, Mekenskaya , Muslim, Nikolaevskaya also fell , while another ten of us were wounded. We left Argun in the night between 21st and 22nd March 1995.
Quando, nel Febbraio del 1944, Stalin decretò la deportazione di massa dei Ceceni in Asia centrale, egli motivò la terribile “punizione” con la supposta collaborazione dei Ceceni con le forze armate germaniche. Tale collaborazione sarebbe avvenuta, secondo la versione ufficiale, nel corso del 1942, in concomitanza con un’azione di intelligence e sabotaggio compiuta dalla Wehrmacht, chiamata in codice “Operazione Schamil”. Il marchio dell’infamia, gettato su tutti i ceceni dalla teoria del “tradimento”, avrebbe condizionato l’esistenza di un intero popolo il quale, ridotto a paria nel consesso delle nazioni che abitavano l’impero sovietico, fu costretto ad accettare una frustrante discriminazione sociale, economica e politica. Questa condizione fu uno tra i detonatori del desiderio di rivalsa che pervase i ceceni alla fine degli anni ’80, e alimentò quel desiderio di libertà che poi si concretizzò con l’indipendenza nel 1991.
Oggi in Russia si è accettata l’idea che la deportazione del 1944 fu un crimine terribile. Eppure rimane ben radicata dell’opinione pubblica l’idea che questo tradimento dei ceceni si sarebbe realmente consumato, e che pertanto vi sia una “colpa” ancestrale che i Vaynakh dovrebbero “espiare” di fronte alla madrepatria. Tralasciando il fatto che molti ceceni non considerano affatto la Russia la loro casa, e che quindi non si sentirebbero affatto dei “traditori” di una patria che non riconoscono, il fatto è che questa “colpa” non è affatto certa. Anzi, è piuttosto chiaro, dalle evidenze storiche, che la maggior parte dei ceceni combattè con onore nelle file dell’Armata Rossa, e che la popolazione civile non solidarizzò con i tedeschi più di quanto non lo fecero le altre nazioni sottoposte al giogo di Stalin.
Recentemente Pieter Van Huis, ricercatore dell’Università di Leida, nei Paesi Bassi, ha pubblicato una tesi dal titolo Banditi di montagna e fuorilegge della foresta. Ceceni e Ingusce sotto il dominio sovietico nel 1918-1944. Lo studioso dedica un capitolo proprio alla celebre “Operazione Schamil”: attingendo alle fonti documentali disponibili presso gli archivi della Wehmacht e dell’NKVD, ha saputo ricostruire la genesi e lo svolgimento di questa azione. Riepiloghiamo in sintesi quanto è emerso dagli studi di Van Huis, a loro volta riportati da Anastasia Kirilenko sul sito del Nodo Caucasico: https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/
I RAPPORTI LANGE
Le prime fonti cui fa riferimento Van Huis sono tre rapporti operativi, due firmati dal Tenente Maggiore Erhard Lange ed uno dal volontario osseto Boris Tsagolov. Tutte e tre le fonti, sebbene differenti nello stile, concordano sul fatto che l’operazione fu un sostanziale fallimento principalmente a causa della pronta reazione delle unità dell’NKVD, le quali procedettero a punire i residenti che davano ospitalità al nemico bruciando le loro case, o applicando punizioni collettive alle comunità che non si opposero attivamente al suo passaggio. Tutti e tre i rapporti, in ogni caso, concordano sul fatto che ad eccezione di alcune bande di irregolari, peraltro già attive prima dell’invasione, non fornirono un supporto sufficiente al buon esito dell’operazione.
Il primo di questi rapporti fu inviato da Ehrard Lange il 5 Gennaio 1943. In esso si riepiloga che l’Operazione Schamil ebbe inizio il 25 Agosto 1942, quando un aereo della Luftwaffe decollato da Armavir paracadutò 11 tedeschi e 19 volontari caucasici nei pressi di Chishki e di Dachu – Barzoi, a circa 30 kilometri da Grozny. Il cielo era sgombro, e la luce della luna illuminò fin da subito i paracadutisti, i quali furono presi di mira dal nemico. La maggior parte delle armi e dell’equipaggiamento fu quindi frettolosamente abbandonato, e ci vollero alcuni giorni prima che il gruppo potesse ricompattarsi, non prima di aver accertato alcune perdite e diserzioni. Il gruppo, ridotto a 22 uomini, tentò di racimolare qualche arma da fuoco sequestrandola agli abitanti dei villaggi vicini, mentre tentava di guadagnare un rifugio sicuro. Tuttavia, essendo stati notati fin dal loro arrivo, gli uomini del commando divennero da subito oggetto di una spietata caccia da parte dell’NKVD, che giunse a mobilitare addirittura 2.000 effettivi per stanarli. Lange tentò quindi di prendere contatto con i ribelli locali, arroccati sulle montagne, cercando di riunirli in un’unica banda organizzata, e di aggiungere a questa massa critica un contingente di 400 ribelli georgiani. Il piano, tuttavia, non riuscì a causa del fatto che il 24 Settembre 1942 l’NKVD intercettò Lange, costringendolo ad aprirsi una via di fuga con la forza. I sopravvissuti raggiunsero Kharsenoy, ma qui furono nuovamente intercettati e costretti a combattere. Dopo aver perduto altri uomini, Lange decise di abortire la missione. Dopo aver abbandonato le divise ed indossato abiti civili, riuscì a spacciare i resti del suo gruppo (cinque tedeschi e quattro caucasici) per una banda di banditi Cabardini, finché non riuscì ad ottenere la collaborazione di alcuni residenti locali, i quali accettarono di aiutarlo a patto i membri della banda fossero divisi e distribuiti secondo le loro volontà. Non potendo fare altro, Lange acconsentì. Lui e i suoi uomini rimasero nascosti fino al 9 Dicembre successivo, quando appresero che l’armata rossa aveva intercettato e distrutto la maggior parte dei ribelli operanti in Cecenia. Il giorno successivo Lange raccolse i suoi, e li portò oltre la linea del fronte. Rientrato alla base, l’ufficiale compilò una memoria nella quale indicò una lista di nomi di “103 persone assolutamente affidabili, che potrebbero fungere da guide”.
Successivamente, il 23 Aprile 1943, Lange depositò un secondo rapporto, nel quale specificava maggiormente lo scopo della sua missione: mettere in atto operazioni militari per ostacolare la ritirata nemica lungo la direttrice Grozny – Botlikh. Il compito, si specificava, non era stato portato a termine a causa del fatto che la maggior parte delle armi era andato perduto durante l’atterraggio, ma anche per via della scarsa collaborazione dei residenti locali. Secondo questo rapporto, una volta constatata la dispersione del “Gruppo Lange”, il comando tedesco aveva inviato una seconda unità, chiamata “Gruppo Rekert” a cercare di recuperare i dispersi. Questo secondo drappello, tuttavia, era stato sbaragliato ed i suoi componenti risultavano scomparsi. Rispetto al suo rapporto con i civili, Lange precisa che il gruppo era nelle mani della popolazione civile e correva quotidianamente il rischio di un tradimento da parte loro, e che soltanto dopo lunghe discussioni il commando riuscì a liberarsi da questa tutela. Infine, il resoconto specificava anche l’obiettivo secondario seguito da Lange una volta che quello principale (il sabotaggio) si rivelò irraggiungibile: Verificare la veridicità dei rapporti al Fuhrer secondo i quali ceceni e ingusci sarebbero particolarmente coraggiosi nella lotta contro i bolscevichi e, nel caso, fornire loro supporto logistico ed armi per proseguire la guerriglia. Per raggiungere questo secondo obiettivo Lang avrebbe dovuto passare alcune settimane in Cecenia, confidando nello spirito di ospitalità dei residenti locali. Egli sapeva che per un ceceno l’ospitalità è sacra. Nel rapporto riferisce, infatti: le regole locali sull’ospitalità richiedono di proteggere la vita di un ospite anche a costo della propria. Consci di questo, i tedeschi non risparmiarono ai ceceni veri e propri ricatti morali, minacciando di far sapere a tutti del disonore gettato sulla famiglia e sul Teip da persone che non accettavano di ospitarli e di collaborare con loro.
Se ottenere l’ospitalità dei ceceni sembrava piuttosto facile, molto più difficile risultò garantirsi la loro alleanza nel costituire un movimento di resistenza antisovietica. Sempre citando Lange: I residenti locali non sono interessati a nulla, tranne che al destino del loro villaggio, nel quale vorrebbero vivere come contadini liberi. Essi non hanno alcun rispetto per il tempo, per lo spazio, né per il rispetto degli accordi presi. […] Tutto questo crea pessimi requisiti per una rivolta. Citando un evento accaduto al Gruppo Reckert, Lange ricorda che dopo aver ricevuto le armi, gli uomini sono tornati in fretta ai loro villaggi. A conclusione del suo rapporto, Lange consigliava di non investire uomini e mezzi in questa operazione, giacchè la popolazione locale non avrebbe combattuto per la Germania, ma al massimo per liberarsi delle fattorie collettive e riappropriarsi della terra.
ENGLISH VERSION
THE BETRAYAL THAT DID NOT HAPPEN – OPERATION “SCHAMIL” (Part I)
When, in February 1944, Stalin decreed the mass deportation of the Chechens to Central Asia, he motivated the terrible "punishment" with the alleged collaboration of the Chechens with the Germanic armed forces. According to the official version, this collaboration took place during 1942, in conjunction with an intelligence and sabotage action carried out by the Wehrmacht, codenamed "Operation Schamil". The stigma thrown on all Chechens by the theory of "betrayal", would have conditioned the existence of an entire people who, reduced to pariah in the assembly of nations that inhabited the Soviet empire, was forced to accept a frustrating social, economic and political discrimination. This condition was one of the detonators of the desire for revenge that pervaded the Chechens in the late 1980s, and fueled that desire for freedom which then materialized with independence in 1991.
Today in Russia it is accepted that the 1944 deportation was a terrible crime. Yet public opinion remains firmly rooted in the idea that this betrayal of the Chechens would actually be consummated, and that therefore there is an ancestral "guilt" that the Vaynakhs should "atone" in the face of the motherland. Leaving aside the fact that many Chechens do not consider Russia their home at all, and therefore would not at all feel like "traitors" to a homeland they do not recognize, the fact is that this "fault" is by no means certain. Indeed, it is quite clear from the historical evidence that most Chechens fought with honor in the ranks of the Red Army, and that the civilian population did not sympathize with the Germans any more than did other nations under Stalin's yoke. .
Pieter Van Huis, a researcher at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, recently published a thesis entitled Mountain Bandits and Forest Outlaws. Chechens and Ingush under Soviet rule in 1918-1944. The scholar dedicates a chapter to the famous "Operation Schamil": drawing on the documentary sources available in the Wehmacht and NKVD archives, he was able to reconstruct the genesis and development of this action. We summarize in summary what emerged from the studies of Van Huis, in turn reported by Anastasia Kirilenko on the Caucasian Node website: https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/
THE LANGE REPORTS
The first sources to which Van Huis refers are three operational reports, two signed by Lieutenant Major Erhard Lange and one by the Ossetian volunteer Boris Tsagolov. All three sources, although different in style, agree that the operation was a substantial failure mainly due to the prompt reaction of the NKVD units, which proceeded to punish the residents who housed the enemy by burning their homes. , or by applying collective punishment to communities that did not actively oppose its passage. All three reports, in any case, agree that with the exception of some bands of illegal immigrants, which were already active before the invasion, they did not provide sufficient support for the success of the operation.
The first of these reports was sent by Ehrard Lange on January 5, 1943. It summarizes that Operation Schamil began on August 25, 1942, when a Luftwaffe plane taken off from Armavir parachuted 11 Germans and 19 Caucasian volunteers near Chishki. and Dachu - Barzoi, about 30 kilometers from Grozny. The sky was clear, and the light of the moon immediately illuminated the paratroopers, who were targeted by the enemy. Most of the weapons and equipment were therefore hastily abandoned, and it took a few days before the group could regroup, not before having ascertained some losses and desertions. The group, reduced to 22 men, attempted to scrape together some firearms by seizing them from nearby villagers, while trying to gain a safe haven. However, having been noticed since their arrival, the men of the commando immediately became the object of a merciless hunt by the NKVD, which even mobilized 2,000 troops to track them down. Lange then attempted to make contact with the local rebels, perched in the mountains, trying to unite them in a single organized band, and to add a contingent of 400 Georgian rebels to this critical mass. The plan, however, failed due to the fact that on September 24, 1942, the NKVD intercepted Lange, forcing him to forcibly open an escape route. The survivors reached Kharsenoy, but here they were again intercepted and forced to fight. After losing other men, Lange decided to abort the mission. After abandoning his uniforms and wearing civilian clothes, he managed to pass off the remains of his group (five Germans and four Caucasians) as a band of Cabardini bandits, until he succeeded in obtaining the collaboration of some local residents, who agreed to help him provided the members of the gang were divided and distributed according to their will. Unable to do anything else, Lange agreed. He and his men remained in hiding until the following December 9, when they learned that the Red Army had intercepted and destroyed most of the rebels operating in Chechnya. The next day Lange gathered his own, and carried them over the front line. Returning to the base, the officer compiled a memo in which he indicated a list of names of "103 absolutely reliable people, who could serve as guides".
Subsequently, on April 23, 1943, Lange filed a second report, in which he further specified the purpose of his mission: to carry out military operations to obstruct the enemy retreat along the Grozny - Botlikh route. The task, it was specified, had not been completed due to the fact that most of the weapons had been lost during landing, but also due to the lack of cooperation from local residents. According to this report, once the dispersion of the "Lange Group" was ascertained, the German command had sent a second unit, called the "Rekert Group" to try to recover the missing. This second squad, however, had been defeated and its members had disappeared. With respect to his relationship with civilians, Lange specifies that the group was in the hands of the civilian population and daily ran the risk of betrayal on their part, and that only after long discussions did the commandos manage to free themselves from this protection. Finally, the report also specified the secondary objective followed by Lange once the main one (sabotage) proved unattainable: Verifying the veracity of the reports to the Fuhrer according to which Chechens and Ingush are particularly courageous in the fight against the Bolsheviks and, in the case, provide them with logistical support and weapons to continue the guerrilla warfare. To achieve this second goal, Lang would have had to spend a few weeks in Chechnya, trusting in the spirit of hospitality of the local residents. He knew that hospitality is sacred to a Chechen. In fact, in the report he reports: the local rules on hospitality require you to protect the life of a guest even at the cost of your own. Aware of this, the Germans did not spare the Chechens real moral blackmail, threatening to let everyone know of the dishonor thrown on the family and on the Teip by people who did not accept to host them and to collaborate with them.
While obtaining the hospitality of the Chechens seemed easy enough, it was much more difficult to secure their alliance in forming an anti-Soviet resistance movement. Again quoting Lange: Local residents are not interested in anything except the fate of their village, in which they would like to live as free farmers. They have no respect for time, space, or compliance with the agreements made. […] All this creates bad conditions for a riot. Citing an event that happened to the Reckert Group, Lange recalls that after receiving the weapons, the men quickly returned to their villages. At the end of his report, Lange advised not to invest men and means in this operation, since the local population would not fight for Germany, but at most to get rid of the collective farms and regain possession of the land.
On November 23, 1990, the first session (and also the only one with this name) of the Chechen National Congress took place. At the end of this event, Air Force General Dzhokhar Dudaev appeared to the general Chechen public for the first time. We will not dwell on the origins of the congress, nor on the figure of Dudaev but on the words he uttered. His intervention came at the end of the work of the congress, when the delegates had already decided to vote a Declaration of Sovereignty of the Chechen Republic, and to transform the congress into a permanent political platform. We publish Dudaev’s words first of all because the full text of the speech has never been translated from Russian, and it constitutes a fundamental historical source for understanding not only the General’s political parable, but also for framing the entire evolution of Chechen nationalism.
The original Dudaev’s speech
Dear brothers and sisters. Dear comrades, our dear guests.
I sincerely congratulate you and myself on the first hours and first day of citizenship of a sovereign state. The declaration has been adopted and I am fully convinced that even if someone has the idea to object, he will be a potential enemy of our people.
The delegates of the congress took on the extraordinary responsibility of being representatives of the people. The announcement itself is not that difficult. But there is a wise saying among the people: “don’t take out the dagger unnecessarily, if you take it out, use it”.
The dagger is unsheathed. Now we need to think about how to equip a sovereign state. This is an extremely delicate and complex process. I would like to warn my compatriots that the most dangerous period regarding possible provocation, conditioning of the minds of individuals, which can lead to bloodshed, is coming right now. There are sufficient forces for this. The young man who spoke earlier recalled the danger of an attack with tanks. The tank is vulnerable. It is clearly visible, you can lie under it with and detonate it with grenades. There are forces more dangerous than any tank, plane, and any weapon. Seven-story buildings (KGB) located on the next street. Even if one person sits in each of their offices, one can imagine what forces there are for this republic. Not a single autonomous republic has such potential, even just in terms of building. Probably down below too, a couple of floors underground.
The KGB building in Grozny before the war
No matter how difficult it is to recognize and assume this responsibility: if the sovereign republic does not have its own protection forces, guarantors of the republic’s security, and a Ministry of the Interior, if it is not willing to mobilize, to create its own formations, a sovereign republic, at the present stage, does not exist.
This confirms the course of events, the ongoing struggle in all regions. And as has been said here, now we must act and not wait for outside help. If we present a bill, my personal belief is that Russia should stay closer. Where is the evolved parliament, where are the capable forces, the forces of democracy and the master generator of perestroika. It is necessary to present to the allied department all the reports we are talking about for the damage suffered by our little and poor peoples on this earth.
The well-being that today is relatively available in the republic compared to other regions and is ensured, first of all, by the flexibility of the management, to which due must be recognized, and no less by the wisdom of the people. A beautiful land, one of the most fertile corners, nature always gives birth to beautiful people: soul, body, spirit, will, character, all positive natural qualities. Of which we talk a lot …
I asked my compatriots not to turn the glory of the past on them, the best people of Russia and all countries of the world spoke of this glory. When we talk about it ourselves, it means that the spiritual potential of the present generation has run out.
Dudaev at the first session of the Chechen National Congress
It would seem …
So, I have so many proposals, that (if the Organizing Committee of the Congress is interested), and with full conviction (if until now there were doubts about the possibility of maintaining democracy, the creation of a rule of law), then young people of the Organizing Committee, which in the most difficult conditions managed to convene the People’s Congress (the highest organization of our time), then there is the potential of young people, there is the strength of young people.
The rest of the proposals on Parliament, if they are of interest to the Management and the Organizing Committee, I will send them in writing. Thanks for your attention, good luck and on.
Il 23 Novembre 1990 si svolse la prima sessione (e anche l’unica con questo nome) del Congresso Nazionale Ceceno. Al termine di questo evento apparve al grande pubblico ceceno, per la prima volta, il Generale dell’Aviazione Dzhokhar Dudaev. Non ci dilungheremo sulle origini del congresso, né sulla figura di Dudaev quanto sulle parole che egli proferì. Il suo intervento giunse alla fine dei lavori del congresso, quando i delegati avevano già stabilito di votare una Dichiarazione di Sovranità della Repubblica Cecena, e di trasformare il congresso in una piattaforma politica permanente. Pubblichiamo le parole di Dudaev prima di tutto perché il testo integrale del discorso non è mai stato tradotto dal russo, e costituisce una fonte storica fondamentale per capire non soltanto la parabola politica del Generale, ma anche per inquadrare l’evoluzione intera del nazionalismo ceceno.
Il discorso di Dudaev al Congresso in lingua originale
Cari fratelli e sorelle. Cari compagni, nostri cari ospiti.
Mi congratulo sinceramente con voi e con me stesso per le prime ore e il primo giorno di cittadinanza di uno stato sovrano. La dichiarazione è stata adottata e sono pienamente convinto che anche se qualcuno avrà l’idea di opporsi, sarà un potenziale nemico del nostro popolo.
I delegati del congresso si sono assunti la straordinaria responsabilità di essere rappresentanti del popolo. L’annuncio di per sè non è così difficile. Ma c’è un detto saggio tra la gente: “non tirare fuori il pugnale senza bisogno, se lo tiri fuori, usalo”.
Il pugnale è sguainato. Ora dobbiamo pensare a come attrezzare uno stato sovrano. Questo è un processo estremamente delicato e complesso. Vorrei avvertire i miei compatrioti che il periodo più pericoloso riguardo a possibili provocazioni, condizionamento delle menti degli individui, che può portare allo spargimento di sangue, sta arrivando proprio ora. Ci sono forze sufficienti per questo. Il giovane che ha parlato prima ha rammentato il pericolo di un’aggressione con i carri armati. Il carro armato è vulnerabile. È ben visibile, puoi sdraiartici sotto con e farlo esplodere con le granate. Ci sono forze più pericolose di qualsiasi carro armato, aereo e qualsiasi arma. Edifici a sette piani (KGB) che si trovano sulla strada successiva. Anche se una persona siede in ogni loro ufficio, si può immaginare quali forze ci siano per questa repubblica. Non una sola repubblica autonoma ha un tale potenziale, anche solo in termini di edificio. Probabilmente anche in basso, un paio di piani sottoterra.
Non importa quanto sia difficile riconoscere e assumersi tale responsabilità: se la repubblica sovrana non avrà le sue forze di protezione, garanti della sicurezza della repubblica, e un Ministero dell’Interno, se non sarà nella disponibilità di effettuare una mobilitazione, di creare le proprie formazioni, una repubblica sovrana, nella fase attuale, non esiste.
Questo conferma il corso degli eventi, la lotta in corso in tutte le regioni. E come è stato detto qui, ora bisogna agire e non aspettare l’aiuto dall’esterno. Se presentiamo un disegno di legge, la mia personale convinzione è che la Russia dovrebbe restare più vicina. Dov’è il parlamento evoluto, dove sono le forze capaci, le forze della democrazia e il maestro generatore della perestrojka. E’ necessario presentare al dipartimento alleato tutti i resoconti di cui stiamo parlando per i danni che hanno subito i nostri piccoli e poveri popoli su questa terra.
L’edificio del KGB a Grozny prima della guerra
Il benessere che oggi è relativamente disponibile nella repubblica rispetto ad altre regioni ed è assicurato, in primo luogo, dalla flessibilità della dirigenza, a cui bisogna riconoscere il dovuto, e non meno dalla saggezza del popolo. Una terra bellissima, uno degli angoli più fertili, la natura fa nascere sempre belle persone: anima, corpo, spirito, volontà, carattere, tutte qualità naturali positive. Delle quali si parla molto…
Ho chiesto ai miei compatrioti di non rivolgere su di loro la gloria del passato, le migliori persone della Russia e di tutti i paesi del mondo hanno parlato di questa gloria. Quando noi stessi ne parliamo, significa che il potenziale spirituale della generazione attuale si è esaurito.
Sembrerebbe…
Quindi, ho tante proposte, che (se interessa il Comitato Organizzatore del Congresso), e con piena convinzione (se fino ad ora c’erano dubbi sulla possibilità di mantenere la democrazia, la creazione di uno Stato di diritto), allora giovani persone del Comitato Organizzatore, che nelle condizioni più difficili sono riuscite a convocare il Congresso del Popolo (l’organizzazione più alta del nostro tempo), poi c’è il potenziale dei giovani, c’è la forza dei giovani.
Il resto delle proposte sul Parlamento, se interessano alla Direzione e al Comitato Organizzatore, le manderò per iscritto.
Repubblica Cecena di Ichkeria (ChRI) 