The Changing Context of Russian Federal Policy in the North Caucasus
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Laws in Conflict: Legacies of War and Legal Pluralism in Chechnya
Laws in Conflict: Legacies of War and Legal Pluralism in Chechnya Egor Lazarev Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2018 © 2018 Egor Lazarev All rights reserved ABSTRACT Laws in Conflict: Legacies of War and Legal Pluralism in Chechnya Egor Lazarev This dissertation explores how the social and political consequences of armed conflict affect legal pluralism; specifically, the coexistence of Russian state law, Sharia, and customary law in Chechnya. The study draws on qualitative and quantitative data gathered during seven months of fieldwork in Chechnya. The data include over one hundred semistructured interviews with legal authorities and religious and traditional leaders; an original survey of the population; and a novel dataset of all civil and criminal cases heard in state courts. First, the dissertation argues that armed conflict disrupted traditional social hierarchies in Chechnya, which paved the way for state penetration into Chechen society. The conflict particularly disrupted gender hierarchies. As a result of the highly gendered nature of the conflict, women in Chechnya became breadwinners in their families and gained experience in serving important social roles, most notably as interlocutors between communities and different armed groups. This change in women’s bargaining power within households and increase in their social status came into conflict with the patriarchal social order, which was based on men’s rigid interpretations of religious and customary norms. In response, women started utilizing the state legal system, a system that at least formally acknowledges gender equality, in contrast to customary law and Sharia. -
Kadyrovism: Hardline Islam As a Tool of the Kremlin?
Notes de l’Ifri Russie.Nei.Visions 99 Kadyrovism: Hardline Islam as a Tool of the Kremlin? Marlène LARUELLE March 2017 Russia/NIS Center The Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri) is a research center and a forum for debate on major international political and economic issues. Headed by Thierry de Montbrial since its founding in 1979, Ifri is a non-governmental, non-profit organization. As an independent think tank, Ifri sets its own research agenda, publishing its findings regularly for a global audience. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Ifri brings together political and economic decision-makers, researchers and internationally renowned experts to animate its debate and research activities. With offices in Paris and Brussels, Ifri stands out as one of the few French think tanks to have positioned itself at the very heart of European and broader international debate. The opinions expressed in this text are the responsibility of the author alone. This text is published with the support of DGRIS (Directorate General for International Relations and Strategy) under “Observatoire Russie, Europe orientale et Caucase”. ISBN: 978-2-36567-681-6 © All rights reserved, Ifri, 2017 How to quote this document: Marlène Laruelle, “Kadyrovism: Hardline Islam as a Tool of the Kremlin?”, Russie.Nei.Visions, No. 99, Ifri, March 2017. Ifri 27 rue de la Procession 75740 Paris Cedex 15—FRANCE Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 61 60 00—Fax : +33 (0)1 40 61 60 60 Email: [email protected] Ifri-Bruxelles Rue Marie-Thérèse, 21 1000—Brussels—BELGIUM Tel.: +32 (0)2 238 51 10—Fax: +32 (0)2 238 51 15 Email: [email protected] Website: Ifri.org Russie.Nei.Visions Russie.Nei.Visions is an online collection dedicated to Russia and the other new independent states (Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan). -
Russia's Looming Crisis
FOREIGN POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE Russia’s Looming Crisis By David Satter Russia’s Looming Crisis By David Satter March 2012 About FPRI - - - Founded in 1955 by Ambassador Robert Strausz Hupé, FPRI is a non partisan,- non profit organization devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S. national interests. In the tradition of Strausz Hupé, FPRI embraces history and geography to illuminate foreign policy challenges facing the United States. In 1990, FPRI established the Wachman Center to foster civic and international literacy in the community and in the classroom. FOREIGN POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 19102-3684 Tel. 215-732- -732-4401 1528 Walnut Street, Suite 610 • Philadelphia, PA 3774 • Fax 215 Email [email protected] • Website: www.fpri.org Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 1. The Political Situation ........................................................................................................ 3 The Control of the Election Process ............................................................................................ 4 The Economic Key to Putin’s Political Success ....................................................................... 5 A Political Charade ............................................................................................................................ 6 An Election Fraud ............................................................................................................................. -
Day 9 of the Israilov Trial –Questioning of the Widow and Father of the Victim, 3 December 2010
Day 9 of the Israilov Trial –Questioning of the widow and father of the victim, 3 December 2010 On day 9 of the trial there were two witness statements, the one of Malizha Sagieva, widow of the killed Umar Israilov and the one of Sjarpuddi Israilov, the father of Umar. During both questionings the three accused persons remained in the courtroom. But during Sagieva's questioning they took place in a bench behind the seat for the witness in order to prevent eye contact (and possible provocations and/or emotional outbursts) Witness Malizha Sagieva, widow of Umar Israilov Malizha Sagieva told the court that she and her husband married in July 2002, that they fled together from Chechnya in November 2004, and that her husband fled further to Austria in August 2005, and she herself joined him in November 2005. In Poland and Austria four kids were born, the last one after the killing. Asked about the position of Israilov within the Kadyrovtsy and why he had accepted to work for Kadyrov, she answered that Israilov was still on the federal wanted list despite working for Kadyrov and then being sent as the militia commander to Mesker-Yurt, his home village. „He would have had to stain his hands with blood, and to kill people, the boyeviki. The he would have been taken off this list.“ She also confirmed that he had been tortured for three months before accepting to become a member of the security guard. They wanted to flee, but needed time in order to prepare forged (internal and external) passports for Israilov Then, when Israilov had a car accident, the pretext that he had to recover in Kislovodsk was used to flee the country. -
Chechnya's Status Within the Russian
SWP Research Paper Uwe Halbach Chechnya’s Status within the Russian Federation Ramzan Kadyrov’s Private State and Vladimir Putin’s Federal “Power Vertical” Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs SWP Research Paper 2 May 2018 In the run-up to the Russian presidential elections on 18 March 2018, the Kremlin further tightened the federal “vertical of power” that Vladimir Putin has developed since 2000. In the North Caucasus, this above all concerns the republic of Dagestan. Moscow intervened with a powerful purge, replacing the entire political leadership. The situation in Chechnya, which has been ruled by Ramzan Kadyrov since 2007, is conspicuously different. From the early 2000s onwards, President Putin conducted a policy of “Chechenisation” there, delegating the fight against the armed revolt to local security forces. Under Putin’s protection, the republic gained a leadership which is now publicly referred to by Russians as the “Chechen Khanate”, among other similar expressions. Kadyrov’s breadth of power encompasses an independ- ent foreign policy, which is primarily orientated towards the Middle East. Kadyrov emphatically professes that his republic is part of Russia and presents himself as “Putin’s foot soldier”. Yet he has also transformed the federal subject of Chechnya into a private state. The ambiguous relationship between this republic and the central power fundamentally rests on the loyalty pact between Putin and Kadyrov. However, criticism of this arrange- ment can now occasionally be heard even in the Russian president’s inner circles. With regard to Putin’s fourth term, the question arises just how long the pact will last. -
“As If They Fell from the Sky” RIGHTS Counterinsurgency, Rights Violations, and Rampant Impunity in Ingushetia WATCH
Russia HUMAN “As If They Fell From the Sky” RIGHTS Counterinsurgency, Rights Violations, and Rampant Impunity in Ingushetia WATCH “As If They Fell From the Sky” Counterinsurgency, Rights Violations, and Rampant Impunity in Ingushetia Copyright © 2008 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-345-5 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org June 2008 1-56432-345-5 “As If They Fell From the Sky” Counterinsurgency, Rights Violations, and Rampant Impunity in Ingushetia Map of Region.................................................................................................................... 1 I. Summary.........................................................................................................................2 II. Recommendations.......................................................................................................... 7 To the Government of the Russian Federation..................................................................7 To Russia’s International Partners ................................................................................. -
THE SITUATION of Idps from CHECHNYA
WRITENET Paper No. 11 /2002 RUSSIAN FEDERATION: THE SITUATION OF IDPs FROM CHECHNYA John B. Dunlop Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution May 2002 WriteNet is a Network of Researchers and Writers on Human Rights, Forced Migration, Ethnic and Political Conflict WriteNet is a Subsidiary of Practical Management (UK) E-mail: [email protected] THIS PAPER WAS PREPARED MAINLY ON THE BASIS OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION, ANALYSIS AND COMMENT. ALL SOURCES ARE CITED. THE PAPER IS NOT, AND DOES NOT PURPORT TO BE, EITHER EXHAUSTIVE WITH REGARD TO CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRY SURVEYED, OR CONCLUSIVE AS TO THE MERITS OF ANY PARTICULAR CLAIM TO REFUGEE STATUS OR ASYLUM. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE PAPER ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF WRITENET OR UNHCR. ISSN 1020-8429 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction....................................................................................................3 2 The Current Political Situation in Ingushetia ............................................3 3 The Likely Return of Chechen IDPs from Ingushetia to Chechnya.........5 4 The Current Political Situation in Chechnya .............................................8 5 The Position of Inner IDPs Residing in Chechnya.....................................8 6 The Role of the UN and Other International IGOs and NGOs in Chechnya ......................................................................................................11 7 Three Scenarios for the Future ..................................................................12 8 Bibliography.................................................................................................13 -
Ingushetia: Building Identity, Overcoming Conflict
INGUSHETIA: BUILDING IDENTITY, OVERCOMING CONFLICT Anna Matveeva and Igor Savin Introduction The Republic of Ingushetia is the smallest in terms of territory of Russia’s republics, and numbers 412,997 inhabitants. 1 It was established on 4 June 1992 as a result of the separation from the dual-nationality Checheno-Ingushetia. A large part of the republic is taken by high mountains, the highest peak is 4451m, and the remaining part has a high population density. Birth rates are high and having six or seven children is common in rural areas. All Ingushetia’s leaders came from a security background. General Ruslan Aushev became the first president, but in 2001 was removed by Moscow and replaced with Murat Zyazikov, who was elected to the presidency in controversial circumstances in May 2002. In October 2008 Zyazikov was dismissed. General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was nominated by President Medvedev and approved as president by the People’s Assembly of Ingushetia. Ethnic Ingush oligarch in Moscow Mikhail Gutseriyev, co- owner of Russneft, and his relatives are among the richest people in Russia. There is no major industry or budget revenue source in the republic, and it is subsidised by the federal centre. Local opinions perceive the republic’s facilities and infrastructure as backward, although field observation did not confirm this. Roads and public buildings have been constructed, communication systems work and housing is of good standard. Consumer goods are on sale and people appear able to buy them. However, there are fewer municipal buildings, such as social clubs and libraries, and overwhelming dissatisfaction with medical facilities. -
“As If They Fell from the Sky”
“As If They Fell From the Sky” Counterinsurgency, Rights Violations, and Rampant Impunity in Ingushetia Copyright © 2008 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-345-5 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org June 2008 1-56432-345-5 “As If They Fell From the Sky” Counterinsurgency, Rights Violations, and Rampant Impunity in Ingushetia Map of Region.................................................................................................................... 1 I. Summary.........................................................................................................................2 II. Recommendations.......................................................................................................... 7 To the Government of the Russian Federation..................................................................7 To Russia’s International Partners .................................................................................. 9 To the Council of Europe................................................................................................. 9 III. Methodology................................................................................................................11 IV. -
Russian Analytical Digest No 70: the North Caucasus Crisis
No. 70 21 December 2009 russian analytical digest www.res.ethz.ch www.laender-analysen.de the North CauCasus Crisis ■ ANALYSIS Chechnya After the Cancellation of Counter-Terrorist Operations 2 By Aleksei Malashenko, Moscow ■ ANALYSIS Ingushetia: on the Road to Overcoming Social-Political Instability? 5 By Sergey Markedonov, Moscow ■ ANALYSIS Dagestan and the Russian State: “Stable Instability” Forever? 9 By Arbakhan Magomedov, Dagestan and Ulyanovsk ■ MAP The Northern Caucasus: Administrative Subdivisions 14 ■ STATISTICS Official Statistics for the Southern Federal District 15 ■ OPINION PoLL “What is Going On in the Northern Caucasus?” 16 German Association for Research Centre for East Center for Security DGO East European Studies European Studies, Bremen Studies, ETH Zurich russian analytical russian analytical digest 70/09 digest analysis Chechnya After the Cancellation of Counter-Terrorist Operations By Aleksei Malashenko, Moscow Abstract After Moscow lifted the counter-terrorist operations regime in Chechnya in spring 2009, the situation in the Caucasus deteriorated dramatically. The leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov has now eliminated all of his most important competitors. Ramzan has achieved considerable success in rebuilding his republic, though he has not been able to completely quash the armed fighters who continue to threaten the repub- lic’s fragile stability. In order to ensure his continued rule, he has used Islam as a way to control Chechnya’s population. While Ramzan is now fully in charge, he faces extremely dangerous conditions. Kadyrov Unopposed Chechnya testifies to the family-like nature of the rela- Since March 2009, when Moscow canceled the special tionship between the two men. regime providing for counter-terrorist operations, an The super-ambitious Ramzan announced during his unanticipated deterioration of the situation took place first days serving as Chechnya’s deputy premier that in Chechnya and the rest of the North Caucasus. -
− in the North Caucasus
- in the North Caucasus NEWSLETTER ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2004 Laboratory assessment mission to Grozny From 16 to 19 February a WHO laboratory spe- cialist carried out an assessment of selected laboratory facilities in Chechnya and Ingushetia. In Grozny, laboratories of city hospitals N2, N3 and N4, as well as the Republican clinical hospi- tal and the city polyclinic N3 were assessed and in Ingushetia, the Sunzha district hospital and the Republican central clinical hospital in Nazran. After the mission the WHO expert briefed inter- WHO expert assessing laboratory facilities in ested humanitarian organisations, including Grozny ICRC, Hammer Forum, MDM, MSF-B, IMC, IR, The laboratory assistants generally perform few, MSF-F and IHI in Nazran. simple and inexpensive manual techniques as direct bacteriological examination of urine, direct The main findings are that the physical condi- examination of faeces for parasites and a few tion of the visited laboratory facilities in Grozny haematological tests (Haemoglobin, white blood is precarious; with no access to central water count, etc). The specificity and quality of the and sewage and irregular electricity supply and results are questionable since neither Standard most buildings in dire need of rehabilitation. The Operating Procedures were noted nor quality equipment is often outdated and in some in- control measurements were in place. stances unsafe for handling. Insufficient provi- Also the safety of the working environment of sion of consumables and glassware leads to use the laboratory staff is questionable. broken materials and sometimes long expired test kits and reagents. The overwhelming majority of laboratory assis- tants have not received training in the last dec- ade. -
Stability in Russia's Chechnya and Other Regions of the North Caucasus: Recent Developments
Stability in Russia’s Chechnya and Other Regions of the North Caucasus: Recent Developments Jim Nichol Specialist in Russian and Eurasian Affairs December 13, 2010 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL34613 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Stability in Russia’s Chechnya and Other Regions of the North Caucasus Summary Terrorist attacks in Russia’s North Caucasus—a border area between the Black and Caspian Seas that includes the formerly breakaway Chechnya and other ethnic-based regions—appeared to increase substantially in 2007-2009. Moreover, civilian and government casualties reached levels not seen in several years and terrorist attacks again took place outside the North Caucasus. Although the number of terrorist incidents may have leveled off or even declined slightly in 2010 from the high levels of 2009, the rate of civilian and government casualties continued to increase throughout the North Caucasus in 2010 and a rising number of terrorist incidents took place outside of Chechnya. Illustrative of the new range and scope of violence, the Moscow subway system was bombed in March 2010, resulting in over 40 deaths and dozens of injuries. Before the recent rise in terrorism, it seemed that government security forces had been successful in tamping down their range and scope by aggressively carrying out over a thousand sweep operations (“zachistki”) in the North Caucasus. During these operations, security forces surround a village and search the homes of the residents, ostensibly in a bid to apprehend terrorists. Critics of the operations allege that the searches are illegal and that troops frequently engage in pillaging and gratuitous violence and are responsible for kidnapping for ransom and “disappearances” of civilians.