Chechnyans as a national minority
with a right of succession.
Establishment of the Soviet rule in Chechnya and first acts of resistance
Most of the non-Russian people who consisted more than 50 percent of the Russian Empire's entire population supported the Bolshevik Party in its fight against tsarism and hoped to achieve freedom, national independence and social justice. Chechens and Ingushs who believed in Bolsheviks and their local supporters shed much of their and their enemies blood under the banner of the October Revolution. But the Bolshevik slogan about the right of nations for self-determination, even the secession and creation of an independent state was not realized for the ethnic minorities, including Chechens and Ingushs.
The first steps by the Soviet rule showed that Bolsheviks' real politics had nothing to do with their slogans that attracted miserable highlanders in their fight for a bright future. Bolsheviks solved national and social issues as a part of the proletarian class struggle. Chechens and Ingushs received a tough regime alien to their traditions of social and economic system instead of the promised freedom, equality, land, independence, respect to national traditions and religion.
Among the reasons that angered the local people were the atheist ideology and its implementation by Bolshevik rulers, their activity designed to trigger social conflicts in the Checheno-Ingush society, the ignorance of traditions and customs of Vainakhs and predatory requisitioning of farm products. All those triggered an uprising against the Soviet rule and a grandson of Shamil, Said-Bek, headed it in August 1920. Despite the fact this was a local incident it was a serious challenge to the Soviet rule. The Soviet leaders exploited the same strategy and tactics used by tsar Generals some time ago to suppress the uprising. The indocile villages were leveled to ground by artillery attacks and the people left were either executed or deported. The Soviet forces could establish law and order relatively in large cities of Chechnya. But remnant groups retreated to mountains and resumed to put resistance. Many large-scale offensives launched between 1921 and 24 failed to achieve complete success since rebels again retreated to mountains. The Soviet rule did not existed in the mountainous regions during this period.
Though the military used same old methods in the fight against rebels, Bolsheviks political strategy was more flexible and effective. Stalin, Kirov, Ordzhonikidze and other leaders of the party who were aware of the conditions in the Caucasus, psychology of Vainakhs made a great contribution in working out the strategy. The strategy was aimed to split highlanders, especially clergy, set off secular and Moslem intellectuals against each other and stir up poor and rich against each other. In short, Bolsheviks followed the old principle of divide and rule and triggered rivalry between various ethnic and religious groups of the highlanders society.
As a result Bolsheviks managed to organize conflicts between Kumyks, Dargins and Lezgin Avars. This was the reason that uprising did not spread to central and southern Dagestan. Communists directed Ingushs against Chechens, Chechen highlanders against lowlanders. At the same time native Communists who enjoyed authority among people were appointed to leading posts in the party and the government. The flexible policy pursued by T. Eldarkhanov and Kh. Ataev and the support they received from sheikhs A. Mitaev and S. Gaisumov who were loyal to the Soviet rule helped to strengthen the Soviet rule in Chechnya and Ingushetia. In addition, the economic and cultural life revived and political regime eased during the years of new economic policy.
But the situation in the North Caucasus and the country as a whole radically changed as the totalitarian regime of Stalin strengthened. Under the pressure of the central party leaders the introduction of the Soviet style of life had been stepped up in Chechnya and Ingushetia. Stalin and his local proteges were angered by the policy of T. Eldarkhanov and other highlander-Communists oriented on an evolutionary development path, achieving civil peace and taking into account local traditions and their determination to realize the rights for self-rule in the autonomous mountainous regions. By their command, a campaign to fight against Bourgeois-nationalists and religious prejudices was launched in Chechnya and Ingushetia. In the sense this was a fight against traditional mode of life of Vainakhs and their culture and traditions. The repression started under pretence of the elimination of so-called political banditry in Chechnya. Under this slogan a large-scale military operation was carried out in Chechnya in 1925 to disarm the autonomous region of Chechnya and capture the leaders of counter-revolution. In short, this led to mass arrests and repression.
Operation to disarm Chechnya in 1925
Under a decree by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) the forces of the Caucasus military district and the United State Political Department or secret police, were concentrated in Chechnya in the summer 1925 under pretence of forthcoming exercises. The operation to disarm Chechnya started on the 23rd of August and ended on the 11th of September.
Giving grounds for carrying out such an operation the military and political leadership characterized the situation in the North Caucasus as: Significantly weakened economy of the region by wars and revolutions has put small Chechnya in a difficult position and threw back its economy to use medieval forms. A fierce power struggle has been going on under the slogans of national liberation, autonomy and saving religion. This has led to full anarchy as the rampant crime and political banditry spread throughout& In addition, land issue has remained acute in all areas and it has been linked with bloody conflicts, and the economy of the mountainous regions of Chechnya is in a mess and Gotsinsky (a leader of anti-Soviet movement among the highlanders) has been preparing to put the area under the Islamic rule by taking the opportunity that no Soviet rule has existed there .
D. Gakaev says, When Stalin and his local proteges made the decision to carry out an unprecedented punitive operation they were aware that the central rule in the region would be an illusion until highlanders were armed. Stalin knew that for ages weapons considered the symbol of freedom, honour and dignity of Chechens and Ingushs and people would not voluntarily surrenders arms. But he decided to ignore this for the sake of strengthening the dictatorship of proletariat .
The operation was prepared in full secret and the Chechen leaders knew nothing about it. The central bodies and secret police considered it was unnecessary to inform about it even to the chairmen of the Chechen Central Executive Committee T. Eldarkhanov. The concentration of forces in Grozny was explained by the forthcoming exercises.
The operation was a bolt from the blue for Chechen people and even Soviet officials. The rule, which highlanders considered their own and defended sacrificing their lives and for the sake of which they rejected their prominent compatriots, had raised against them and attempted upon their lives, individual freedom, honour and dignity.
The peculiarity of the situation was that the Bolshevik regime in Chechnya at the time had no strong political groups on which it could rest on when pursuing such policy. In 1925 there were only 25 Chechen members in the Communist Party (Bolshevik) and about 150 corresponding members. Without having social and political support of people the regime decided to use force.
The forces of the Caucasus military district under the command of I.P. Uborevich blocked the borders of Chechnya and started the punitive operation. The staff of the army set up three-man commissions to examine cases of banditry and counter revolution and they were grated the right to pass sentences and even to condemn to death. These commissions functioned in groups and units under the central command. They consisted of commissars and secret police officers. The punitive operation was aimed at collecting all weapons that people had.
7 000 soldiers and officers of the Red Army backed by machine guns and artillery involved in the operation. In addition, an airforce unit and an armoured train supported them. Another 2 000 non-Chechen activists involved in blocking the border.
The instruction on disarming the people of the Chechen autonomous region has the following: & Military block the village that is subjected to disarm so that its residents will have no chance to get any assistance from the neighbours& After the complete encirclement the representatives of the Chechen Central Executive Committee, secret police and military command demand the villagers to surrender all weapons. Two hours will be given for this purpose and the residents are being warned of the consequences of failing to meet the demand. If the residents refuse to fulfil the demand, the commanders of the unit open artillery fire at the village for ten minutes as a warning& and after a break the representatives of the Chechen Executive Committee and secret police again demand for the surrendering of weapons in a shorter period of time. When the time expires the secret police officers group starts to search everybody and carry out arrests&
Professor D. Gakaev says, The results show that the operation was an act of genocide. Even the smoothed figures of combat achievements given in the final report by the military look monstrous: out of 242 disarmed villages 16 settlements were subjected to air bombardments and 101 artillery and machinegun attack&
For comparison Professor D. Gakaev reminds that the Denikin army disarmed only 30 villages at the time. According to official report, during the operation 32 000 rifles and 5 000 were confiscated and more than 500 most respectable leaders of Vainakhs were arrested and executed under the decisions by the three-man commissions without a trial or investigation.
After the operation the local party and Soviet leadership was replaced. T.Eldarkhanov, S. Sheripov, A. Gaitukaev, I. Zyazikov and many other Vainakh-Communists of the old Bolshevik school were dismissed and consequently, subjected to repression. Since then the native ethnic groups have never trusted in the political leadership of Checheno-Ingushetia.
http://www.chechnyafree.ru/index.php?lng=eng§ion=historyeng&row=6#gak_3
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