I think that before too long they can expect the same holidays. “We’re here to support Crimea’s entry into the Russian Federation. Participants, many of whom said they were forced to attend, held banners and flags supporting Crimea’s entry into Russia which they said they were given by the rally organizers.Īt the gates of the stadium, elderly women gathered begging to be let out but were pushed back by police barking in Chechen that they had to stay until the rally was over. Last Sunday, thousands of people streamed to a Grozny soccer stadium to mark the 11th anniversary of a referendum on a new constitution that subordinated Chechnya to Moscow.
“Russians are used to doing whatever they want to small nations like ours, but it’s not just the Chechens. “Russia is used to forcing everyone around it into submission and the worst thing is that they force us all to act as though we are happy citizens of Russia,” Saratova said. But it may still have much to learn from Chechnya’s experience, said Kheda Saratova, who sits on Chechnya’s state human rights council. He has previously said allegations of abuse were an attempt to blacken Kadyrov’s name.Ĭrimea, which has a narrow ethnic Russian majority, will by no means have all of the same problems as Chechnya. We assure everyone freedom of speech and freedom of conscience,” he said. “There are no human rights abuses in the republic of Chechnya. Kadyrov’s spokesman Alvi Karimov declined to comment about Chechnya sending troops abroad to Crimea and said there were no human rights abuses in Chechnya. The regional authorities portray this as a symbol of Chechnya’s return to prosperity under Akhmet’s son Ramzan, the region’s leader since 2007.īut providing relative stability has involved crushing dissent, many people remain in poverty and human rights groups say there is a culture of fear in which security forces act with impunity to try to wipe out any remaining traces of separatism.
A cluster of steel skyscrapers built with Russian cash tower over Grozny, with boutiques offering Swiss watches and Italian suits. Russia has poured money into Chechnya since then, as it plans to do in Crimea now. But what happens now with Crimea, that’s up to Vladimir Putin,” Adam, 36, said in a cafe in Chechnya’s main city of Grozny, speaking on condition that his last name was not used.Ĭhechnya fought a separatist war in 1994-96 that briefly shook off Russian rule but lost a second war in 1999-2000 in which Putin re-established control over the region and then installed militant-turned-loyalist Akhmet Kadyrov as its leader. The mission, which mainly involved guarding buildings, was an illustration of how far the Chechnya region in Russia’s North Caucasus is ready to go to show allegiance to Russian President Vladimir Putin, 14 years after he crushed its separatist drive.īut many Chechens feel no love for Russia and have a sardonic message for their new Crimean compatriots: welcome to Russia, we hope you like it. He and about 200 other soldiers from his special battalion, grouping ethnic Chechens, were mobilized on March 12 and spent two weeks in the Crimean city of Yevpatoria. GROZNY, Russia (Reuters) - Days before Crimea voted in a referendum to join Russia from Ukraine, Adam, a Chechen soldier, was ordered to go to the Black Sea peninsula to defend Russia’s interests.
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