Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Volume 4 Issue 1 The Journal of Mine Action Article 11

February 2000

Chechnya: The Republic of the Wolf

Margaret S. Busé

Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal

Part of the Defense and Security Studies Commons, Emergency and Disaster Management Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons

Recommended Citation Busé, Margaret S. (2000) "Chechnya: The Republic of the Wolf," Journal of Mine Action : Vol. 4 : Iss. 1 , Article 11. Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol4/iss1/11

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction by an authorized editor of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Busé: Chechnya: The Republic of the Wolf Focus ------troops tried to storm the city, large numbers of people would certainly be killed and wounded. ya Russia's military Commander, General Viktor Kazantsev felt his forces have been too "tender hearted" in Chechnya. The Russian "Why did you stay here: army then formulated new policies in an at­ If you decided to stay the tempt to gain a better foothold with the rebels. Use of fuel air explosives, pressure on here that means you are the Moscow media not to give "air time to terrorists," and the alarming new policy to guerillas. This is not round up all Chechen males between the ages of 10 and 60 are some of the Russian army's 1995. This time we came Republic tactics to bring about resolution. Many of the Chechen males are expected to be sent to fil­ here with the order to tration camps (prison camps). Human Rights Watch has reponed unspeakable acts of tor­ sweep away everything ture on the men and women held in these camps. that grows and moves. Russian history is full of precedent for this type of military action. The Czars and Your city is not subject to .j l the Stalin had also attempted ethnic cleansing of I the Muslims because the Muslims had restoration, we shall I wanted independence from Russia. The at­ by Margaret S. Buse n a state of humanitarian crisis, Chechnya, the dependence. The number of civilian dead as a result tempt to prevent Chechnya's independence level it to the ground and poorest ofstates within the Russian Federation, was estimated between 40,000-100,000. At the start by Russia may only result in a long, bloody I continues to strive for independence. The pre­ of the war, mines were still being cleared from WWII. and continuous war. Sergei Koualyev, a you together with it." war arsenal oflandmines consisted primarily ofPMN HALO Trust said it had seen new mine fields laid even deputy of the Russian State of Duma, pre- -Russian soldier to a and OMZ mines. Stocks ofPM's were moved to se­ after the previous peace agreement had been signed A Russian soldier views a territory in Chedmya ftom atop an APC. dicts the Chechen war is likely to turn into Downtown Grozny. family hiding in a cret bases in the mountain regions during the war. in 1996. T he intensity of Russian bombardment of Pharo c/o Associated [>r~s I Maxim Marmur an Afghan-type guerilla war that will last for Photo c/o A~sociarcd Press I Chechen basement Mindaugus Kublis There is also a considerable black market for land- Chechnya is said to have exceeded Stalingrad. Serbian years. The Chechens may continue to fight mtnes. bombardment of Sarajevo reached 3,500 per day, mines. This has severe consequences for communi­ slowly, patiently and without rest until they have their The Russian army and the Grozny experienced 4,000 shells per hour. The Rus­ ties that must rely on farming for susrainability. freedom. Chechen rebels have used sian Federation blanketed Chechnya with 1,200,000 In the first three months of fighting, from Oc­ Western nations had encouraged a cease-fire, but mines in the previous and cur­ landmines during the 1994-1996 war and estimates tober-December 1999, a force of up to I 00,000 Rus­ Russia has refused, stating that a cease-fire would only rent war, laying mines around of the cost of damage may be as high as $150 mil­ sian troops had taken almost total control of allow the rebels to regroup. Secretary of State their bases, checkpoints, mili­ lion. Despite Chechnya's high landmine count, Chechnya's lowland valleys and steppes. The remain­ Madeleine Albright encourages Russia to seek a po­ Two Chechens prepare grenade launchers. tarily significant towns and Chechnya still remains unlisted on the UN landmine ing areas had been held by the guerrillas. Parts of litical solution to Chechen independence. France and Photo c/o Associ:ucd Pr e-~s I Ruslan roadways. Mines have contin­ list. Even though a peace agreement was signed on Grozny itself and the steep gorges in the mountains Britain have hinted at the possibility of sanctions on Masaycv ued to be used as booby traps August 4, 1995, bloodshed has again found this coun­ to the south, are much more difficult military tar­ Russia. "One cannot take a in houses and schoolyards, and try escalating the landmine crisis as landmines are laid gets for a conventional army. Despite heavy fighting civilian population hostage, littered around corpses. AP indiscriminately and as the front line shifts. in early January, neither side appeared to make sig­ threaten to treat an entire popu­ mines, while used by the mili­ During the previous war, as control shifted from nificant gains in the south of the city. Both forces oc­ lation as terrorists, and ask us tary on both sides, are also one side to the other, territories were repeatedly mined cupied high points on the outskirts of the city for a (European nations) to show un­ used by various armed groups and re-mined. Landmines may affect as much as 80 considerable time. There was constant fire from mor­ derstanding," said spokes­ and robbers in attacks against percent of Chechnya. Because of the current fighting tars, cannon and light arms. At night, tracer fire lit woman Catherine Colonna. political figures. and because no mine field maps have been made avail­ up the sky. It was impossible to know how many resi­ The International Monetary From 1994 to 1996, the able, a comprehensive survey is nearly impossible. dents were still trapped in the city, but there were Fund announced that the release Russian Federation waged war Before the current war, there were 600,000 people in dearly thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, living of funds to Russia had been de­ against the people of Chechnya living beside over 1.2 million landmines. in dark cellars with little food. "The city has been layed until Russia implements Chechnya in an attempt to HALO Trust estimates that 20,000 hectares of farm­ heavily mined by the Islamic guerrillas Russia invaded legal and administrative changes halt the country's growing in- land cannot be used because of the presence of land- Chechnya to uproot," General Kazantsev said. If his though some sources deny that

Published by JMU Scholarly Commons, 2000 • 32. • 33 • 1 Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 4, Iss. 1 [2000], Art. 11

https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol4/iss1/11 2