OCR Text |
Show THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 10 Volume VII Issue IV December 1, 2002 A Brief History leading to Current Chechen Unrest in Russia The following is part of a transcript that was developed from a dialogue between Shanna Francis of the OGDEN VALLEY NEWS and David B. Winder, Special Assistant to the Governor for Post Olympic Projects. As part of the Governor’s office, Mr. Winder is working with the Russian government to organize events that are aimed at creating economic activity between Utah and this Eastern European nation. The following report was generated in response to a question directed to Mr. Winder regarding the current civil strife Russia is experiencing with Chechnya. On October 23 of this year, Chechen rebels stormed a theater outside Moscow, taking 600 hostages, and threatening to kill everyone of them if Russian troops did not begin to pull out of Chechnya. Chechnya, located on Russia’s southern border above Georgia, is home to an ethnic enclave known as Chechens. In 1859, the Chechens were conquered by czarist armies after decades of war, but never accepted their Russian rulers. During World War II, Stalin dissolved their autonomous republic and deported many to Central Asia. Chechnya declared themselves an independent republic in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia invaded this territory in 1994 in an effort to crush this separatist activity, but gained de facto autonomy with the Russian military withdrawal in 1996. However, in 1999 Russian forces moved back into Chechnya in response to bombings in Moscow, and the invasion of Islamic militants into the neighboring Russian republic of Dagestan. ***** In light of current events with the hostage event in Moscow by Chechen terrorists, I’ve been asked to speak about the Chechen problem with Russia. After the time of Peter the Great, in about 1700, Russia was looking to the west, adopting much in the way of education and science. They became part of the Industrial Revolution, and eventually one of the great powers of the world. Because Russia wanted to increase in power and to expand, they were focused on the west rather than the east. The west was where the scientific advancements were being made at this time, and where the emphasis on scientific inquiry was. This western focus eventually led Russia into the Industrial Revolution. All of the great powers of the earth at this time were really European, in addition to America during the 1800s, and Japan joining the group in the early 1900s. Russia, especially during the 1700s and 1800s, expanded, of course, tremendously to the east, all the way across Siberia to the Pacific Ocean, but also to the south and southeast. As they expanded, they took over areas that had been traditionally Muslim. In the southern part of Russia today, two of those main southern republics are Chechnya and Dagestan. Just before, during, and after the Communist era began, Russia also advanced into Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and into the –stans; Celeste C. Canning PLLC Attorney at Law 2456 Washington Boulevard, Suite C Ogden, Utah 84401 Local: 801 791-1092 Office: 801 612-9299 Email: ccanninglaw@aol.com Meeting the Legal Needs of Small Business and Their Owners FREE Initial Thirty Minute Consultation. Appointments in Ogden Valley upon request. Turkistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and so forth, taking over these areas that are basically Muslim. When the Soviet Union was formed in the early 20s, after the Bolsheviks had pretty well won their wars with the whites, and were firmly established, the Soviet Union was able to take over other areas as well—the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania that had been at various stages of independence during their history. It was also at this time that the expansion was formalized with these countries just mentioned, forming the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, consisting of about 15 republics. Each of these republics had their own language, traditions, and culture that dated back many, many, centuries. Probably only Belarus, and to some extent Ukraine, were republics that had been really heavily “Russianized” for quite sometime. Together, these countries now formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and Russia, which had about half, or little over half of the population, and about 4/5 of the land because it included all of Siberia, had only some very small states—like Chechnya and Dagestan with their own Muslim traditions. There were some other states within Russia that had had their own ethnicities. If you go back far enough, they originated basically as tribes. Moscow had become preeminent from about 1200 after it had won its wars with Kiev, up until the time of Peter, and had gradually conquered these areas. But ethnically, these distinct states certainly weren’t as different as the differences between the Russians and the Muslim cultures that they later conquered. There had been a long period of assimilation. At the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union, during the turmoil in 1991 after the aborted coup against Gorbechev, the political republics started to declare their own independence from the Soviet Union as it began to disintegrate. Yeltzin and Gorbachev didn’t try to stop this. But when it was all over, after about a year, or year and a half or so, there remained then the former Russian Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which then renamed itself the Russian Federation. At that point the other approximately 14 republics of the former Soviet Union became independent nations. The Russian Federation still included Chechnya and Dagestan, which had been conquered by the Russians way back in the 1800s, and which had never been separate republics after that conquest— unlike Georgia, Azerbejan and Armenia—those areas having been taken over by the Russians much later, and still having a large, indeed much larger history of previous independence—right up until the formation of the Soviet Union. So these two areas, especially Chechnya because of the area’s religious differences, and some of their traditions—Chechens having always been noted for having a lot of fierce fighters and, in fact, noted for having a fairly significant criminal element; perhaps in a western sense you could almost equate them with Sicily—the Chechens decided they would pull out from Russia, wanting to have autonomy. This is what started Yeltsin’s crack down on Chechnya. Yeltsin wasn’t about to have Russia split up. The main issue from the Russian point of view was that the Russian Federation was indivisible, just like Abraham Lincoln and others felt that the United States of America was indivisible—nobody pulls out. Chechnya had been part of Russia for centuries, having been a distinct entity within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Russia wasn’t about to let them pull out and become independent. This is basically what the war has been all about. Now what is happening? From the military aspect of it, Russia has made a lot of mistakes and several things have been bungled. There have been different types of atrocities, a lot of civilian deaths. But then the Chechen rebels have been pretty viscous too. The issue is still unresolved, but you’re not going to see Vladimir Putin, or even the Russian public opinion, want to spin Chechnya off and have them become independent. In my view, Chechnya is going to have to find some way to be assimilated and retained within the Russian Federation. Best Deal in Patio Springs! Price reduced! $47,900 Dyan Gill for this .32 acre building lot - ready for your new home now! Licensed Utah Realtor Since 1991 801 898-5853 Wolf Lodge condomimium, Just Listed! Beautiful 3 Bedroom, 2.5 Bath, over 1 acre, 40 x 60 garage / shop, passive solar design. Must see inside! Only $259,900! Just Listed! Incredible views! Brand new 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, den. Huntsville home on 4.83 acres. Granite kitchen counters, wood floors, Wolf commercial gas range. $420,000! Price reduced! Peaceful, secluded Huntsville horse property. 4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home with barn on 2 acres. 1 BR, hardwood floors, slate tile,new paint, wood burning stove. Nice! Furnished. Lots of amenities: Pool, 2 hot tubs, tennis court and more. Only $75,000 Owner/agent. Wolf Lodge condomimium 1 Bedroom Wolf Lodge condo. Furnished. Lots of amenities: Pool, 2 hot tubs, tennis court and more. Only $75,000! Only $229,500! Want the convenience of a condo / townhome but the privacy of a house? This beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bath executive retreat is for you! Just off the 14th green of the Wolf Creek golf course. Grounds maintained by H.O.A. Unbelievable price of just $179,900! Immaculate 3 bedroom, 1.75 bath home on .96 acres. Ready for new owners! Just $185,900! Price Slashed! Spectacular Mountain Green estate. Approx. 6172 sq.ft. home on 1.6 acres in beautiful Fox Hollow Estates. Panoramic views, open floor Offered at $449,000! plan. Just Listed! Beautiful 5 acre building lot east of Huntsville town. Panoramic views! Just $100,000! Overlooking the Ogden Valley Spacious 3 bedroom, 3.5 bath, elegant custom home with sweeping Ogden Valley views. Offered at $289,900! 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath with main floor master. Includes potential mother-in-law apartment. Beautiful terraced yard, mountain, valley and lake views. Offered at $249,900! Mountain Green Beautiful Trapper’s Point home. 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath, main floor Master on .31 acre lot. Views from every room. Offered at $295,000! Spectacular view lot in Elkhorn Subdivision. 1+acre. Just off the 6th green of Wolf Creek Golf Course. Only $117,000 |