DOCSLIB.ORG

The North Caucasus Factor in the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict Context

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The North Caucasus Factor in the Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict Context THE NORTH CAUCASUS FActOR IN THE GEORGIAN-ABKHAZ CONFLIct CONTEXT July 2012 Understanding conflict. Building peace. About International Alert International Alert is a 26-year old independent peacebuilding organisation. We work with people who are directly affected by violent conflict to improve their prospects of peace. And we seek to influence the policies and ways of working of governments, international organisations like the UN and multinational companies, to reduce conflict risk and increase the prospects of peace. We work in Africa, several parts of Asia, the South Caucasus, the Middle East and Latin America and have recently started work in the UK. Our policy work focuses on several key themes that influence prospects for peace and security – the economy, climate change, gender, the role of international institutions, the impact of development aid, and the effect of good and bad governance. We are one of the world’s leading peacebuilding NGOs with more than 159 staff based in London and 14 field offices. To learn more about how and where we work, visit www.international-alert.org. The publication has been made possible with the help of the UK Conflict Pool. Its contents are the sole responsibility of International Alert and can in no way be regarded as reflecting the point of view of the UK government. © International Alert 2012 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without full attribution. Layout by D. R. ink Front cover image: © International Alert The North Caucasus factor in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict context 2 International Alert Table of contents Acronyms 3 Preface from International Alert 4 Abkhaz perspective - summary 5 Georgian perspective - summary 15 PART 1 The Abkhaz perspective 23 The North Caucasus factor in the Abkhaz-Georgian armed conflict of 1992-1993 24 NATELLA AKABA The Circassian question and Abkhazia: historical factors and contemporary challenges 31 ARDA INAL-IPA The North Caucasus in contemporary Georgian politics 39 SPARTAK ZHIDKOV PART 2 The Georgian perspective 48 Historical aspects of the North Caucasus factor in relation to modern Georgia (up to 2008) 49 GEORGE ANCHABADZE The North Caucasus: political and social trends and their significance for Georgia 60 GEORGE GVIMRADZE The North Caucasus in the 2008 Russia-Georgia war 70 ARCHIL GEGESHIDZE Georgia’s North Caucasus policy in the context of the post-August “new realities” 77 IVLIAN HAINDRAVA The North Caucasus factor in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict context 3 Acronyms ASSR Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic CIS Commonwealth of Independent States EU European Union GDP Gross Domestic Product GRU Main Intelligence Directorate (of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation) KGNK Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization NCFT North-Caucasus Federal Territory NCMD North Caucasus Military District NKVD People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs PACE Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe PIK “First Information Caucasus” TV channel RSFSR Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic SSR Soviet Socialist Republic UN United Nations UNA-UNSO Ukrainian National Assembly–Ukrainian National Self Defence USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Note on spelling: Geographic denominations are always a contentious issue in the Georgian-Abkhaz context. In this publication, the preferred spelling of the individual authors has been retained. 4 International Alert Preface from International Alert International Alert is proud to present the latest in the “Dialogue through Research” process, produced by a group of experts from both sides of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict divide, on the theme of the North Caucasus Factor in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. The experts – prominent public figures who play a role in shaping public debate in their respective societies – selected this topic as one having particular relevance for a number of reasons, a few of which we highlight below. The role of Russia in the conflict is perceived by Georgian and Abkhaz societies each through the prism of the history of Russia’s involvement in the conflict, and Russia’s image in both Georgian and Abkhaz internal discourse is quite contradictory. This in itself is an obstacle to building understanding between the sides of the different public discourses. However, when assessing Russia’s role, the sides do not always take into full consideration Russia’s relations with the North Caucasus and related tendencies, both with respect to internal and external Russian processes, inter alia the South Caucasus. Clearly, official policy analysis and prognoses on the conflicts – in this case the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict – do not fully take into consideration Caucasian commonalities, which many people living in the Caucasus identify with. At the same time, we can see how, for example, after the 2008 war Georgia stepped up efforts to establish links with the people of the North Caucasus. The aim here was to draw them into mutually beneficial partner relations, based on Georgia’s own vision of partnership and interests. However, socio-political trends in the North Caucasus are mostly hidden from the outside world for reasons of lack of free access and the close-knit nature of the traditional communities living there. Therefore, we invited new experts into the Georgian-Abkhaz dialogue group who could expand our understanding of this issue. We hope that this publication will stimulate public debates on the North Caucasus factor in Georgian and Abkhaz societies. This could help to improve understanding of the role this region plays, where internal Russian and South Caucasian interests are intertwined. The North Caucasus factor in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict context 5 Abkhaz perspective - summary Introduction The policy of perestroika in the 1980s and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union acted as an impetus to ethnic nationalist movements in the North Caucasus and the resurgence of dormant ethnic conflicts. Since the mid-1990s, these conflicts have led to all-out ethnic or nationalist violence in the North-East of the Caucasus (the Chechen War, the Ossetian-Ingush conflict). Since 2000, hotbeds of instability have also begun to emerge in the North-West of the Caucasus (Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachaevo-Cherkessia). While ethnic/nationalist movements in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan have over the past decade been transformed for a variety of reasons almost entirely into Islamicist mobilisation, in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachaevo-Cherkessia the two types of mobilisation – Islamic and ethnic nationalist – co-exist. These processes in the North Caucasus have both a local and a regional or geopolitical dimension onto which both types of mobilisation are grafted. Both Islamicist and ethnic nationalist projects are also attracting the attention of other players keen to promote their own interests; indeed, to some extent, they are nurtured by these interests. These complex multi-actor, multi-level relationships combine to create serious challenges for stability not only for the Russian part of the Caucasus, but also for the countries of the South Caucasus and even outside the region. In this collection of articles, the authors provide an analysis of the factors influencing the situation in the North Caucasus (mainly the North-Western Caucasus), the North Caucasus factor in the 1992–1993 Georgian-Abkhaz war (Natella Akaba), the evolution and characteristics of Abkhaz- Adyghe relations as well as new trends in light of “the Circassian question” and the potential for positive change (Arda Inal-Ipa), and Georgia’s policy on the North Caucasus (Spartak Zhidkov). Before this, however, it is important to put the articles into context with an overview of the geopolitical and strategic significance of the region. The geopolitical (international) dimension of the processes in the North Caucasus The geopolitical position and strategic significance of the North Caucasus (and indeed the Caucasus as a whole) is one factor of global policy that has remained a constant for at least two centuries. This was traditionally a tussle for influence between three empires – Russian, British and Ottoman – which impacted on the lives, political aspirations and fate of the peoples populating the region. Today, as over the last two decades, the North Caucasus is intersected by the competing interests of the great powers and regional players. If we add the local and Federation-level elites, civil society organisations and movements, criminal groups and the terrorist underground, the picture becomes even more complex and ambivalent. In the North Caucasus, we are also seeing a clash between pro-fundamentalism and pro-government strands of Islam, radical and moderate, which follow the fault lines of political and ethnic nationalist divisions. Against the background of the international anti-terrorist agenda, religious insurgency in the North Caucasus is turning the region into a Western and not simply a Russian frontier. The increase in radical Islamicist forces in the region is opening doors for interaction between Russia and the West on a range of issues of common interest. But attempts by the two powers to present 6 International Alert a united front against the Islamicist threat are undermined by differing views on the various “ethnic nationalisms” in the North Caucasus. These views are
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Russian Hybrid Tactics in Georgia
    Russian Hybrid Tactics in Georgia Niklas Nilsson SILK ROAD PAPER January 2018 Russian Hybrid Tactics in Georgia Niklas Nilsson © Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program – A Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center American Foreign Policy Council, 509 C St NE, Washington D.C. Institute for Security and Development Policy, V. Finnbodavägen 2, Stockholm-Nacka, Sweden www.silkroadstudies.org “Russian Hybrid Tactics in Georgia” is a Silk Road Paper published by the Central Asia- Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, Joint Center. The Silk Road Papers Series is the Occasional Paper series of the Joint Center, and addresses topical and timely subjects. The Joint Center is a transatlantic independent and non-profit research and policy center. It has offices in Washington and Stockholm and is affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council and the Institute for Security and Development Policy. It is the first institution of its kind in Europe and North America, and is firmly established as a leading research and policy center, serving a large and diverse community of analysts, scholars, policy-watchers, business leaders, and journalists. The Joint Center is at the forefront of research on issues of conflict, security, and development in the region. Through its applied research, publications, research cooperation, public lectures, and seminars, it functions as a focal point for academic, policy, and public discussion regarding the region. The opinions and conclusions expressed in this study are those of
    [Show full text]
  • Operation Lentil: Soviet Ethnic Cleansing of the Chechens Tom Shattuck
    The Histories Volume 10 | Issue 2 Article 7 2019 Operation Lentil: Soviet Ethnic Cleansing of the Chechens Tom Shattuck Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/the_histories Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Shattuck, Tom (2019) "Operation Lentil: Soviet Ethnic Cleansing of the Chechens," The Histories: Vol. 10 : Iss. 2 , Article 7. Available at: https://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/the_histories/vol10/iss2/7 This Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Scholarship at La Salle University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in The iH stories by an authorized editor of La Salle University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Histories, Volume 10, Number 2 92 VI Operation Lentil: Soviet Ethnic Cleansing of the Chechens By Tom Shattuck ‘13 On February 23, 1944, Lavrentii Beria ordered for the NKVD to systemically remove all of the Chechen people from their homes in the Caucuses to Kazakhstan and Kirghizia in Central Asia. Before this cleansing, the Chechens had a history of tension with the Russians. This age- old conflict culminated after the Germans retreated when the Soviet Union charged the entire Chechen population with treason for aiding the Germans. Despite the fact that several thousand Chechen men had volunteered in the Red Army to help fight the Germans, Stalin still used the pretext of a German retreat through an area of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Republic to condemn them all. In reality, Stalin just wanted to finally end the Chechen problem. Because the cleansing removed every Chechen from their home, the process proved to be brutal and deadly for the Chechens.
    [Show full text]
  • Georgia: Background and U.S
    Georgia: Background and U.S. Policy Updated September 5, 2018 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45307 SUMMARY R45307 Georgia: Background and U.S. Policy September 5, 2018 Georgia is one of the United States’ closest non-NATO partners among the post-Soviet states. With a history of strong economic aid and security cooperation, the United States Cory Welt has deepened its strategic partnership with Georgia since Russia’s 2008 invasion of Analyst in European Affairs Georgia and 2014 invasion of Ukraine. U.S. policy expressly supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, and Georgia is a leading recipient of U.S. aid in Europe and Eurasia. Many observers consider Georgia to be one of the most democratic states in the post-Soviet region, even as the country faces ongoing governance challenges. The center-left Georgian Dream party has more than a three-fourths supermajority in parliament, allowing it to rule with only limited checks and balances. Although Georgia faces high rates of poverty and underemployment, its economy in 2017 appeared to enter a period of stronger growth than the previous four years. The Georgian Dream won elections in 2012 amid growing dissatisfaction with the former ruling party, Georgia: Basic Facts Mikheil Saakashvili’s center-right United National Population: 3.73 million (2018 est.) Movement, which came to power as a result of Comparative Area: slightly larger than West Virginia Georgia’s 2003 Rose Revolution. In August 2008, Capital: Tbilisi Russia went to war with Georgia to prevent Ethnic Composition: 87% Georgian, 6% Azerbaijani, 5% Saakashvili’s government from reestablishing control Armenian (2014 census) over Georgia’s regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Religion: 83% Georgian Orthodox, 11% Muslim, 3% Armenian which broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s to Apostolic (2014 census) become informal Russian protectorates.
    [Show full text]
  • Status and Protection of Globally Threatened Species in the Caucasus
    STATUS AND PROTECTION OF GLOBALLY THREATENED SPECIES IN THE CAUCASUS CEPF Biodiversity Investments in the Caucasus Hotspot 2004-2009 Edited by Nugzar Zazanashvili and David Mallon Tbilisi 2009 The contents of this book do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CEPF, WWF, or their sponsoring organizations. Neither the CEPF, WWF nor any other entities thereof, assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product or process disclosed in this book. Citation: Zazanashvili, N. and Mallon, D. (Editors) 2009. Status and Protection of Globally Threatened Species in the Caucasus. Tbilisi: CEPF, WWF. Contour Ltd., 232 pp. ISBN 978-9941-0-2203-6 Design and printing Contour Ltd. 8, Kargareteli st., 0164 Tbilisi, Georgia December 2009 The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. This book shows the effort of the Caucasus NGOs, experts, scientific institutions and governmental agencies for conserving globally threatened species in the Caucasus: CEPF investments in the region made it possible for the first time to carry out simultaneous assessments of species’ populations at national and regional scales, setting up strategies and developing action plans for their survival, as well as implementation of some urgent conservation measures. Contents Foreword 7 Acknowledgments 8 Introduction CEPF Investment in the Caucasus Hotspot A. W. Tordoff, N. Zazanashvili, M. Bitsadze, K. Manvelyan, E. Askerov, V. Krever, S. Kalem, B. Avcioglu, S. Galstyan and R. Mnatsekanov 9 The Caucasus Hotspot N.
    [Show full text]
  • Crossing a Raging River on a Shaky Branch: Chechen Women Refugees in the United States
    Journal of Conflict Management 2018 Volume 6, Number 1 CROSSING A RAGING RIVER ON A SHAKY BRANCH: CHECHEN WOMEN REFUGEES IN THE UNITED STATES Olya Kenney Nova Southeastern University Alexia Georgakopoulos Nova Southeastern University Abstract The Chechen War was a brutal conflict that has created, by some estimates, more than half a million refugees worldwide. An important goal in this research was to understand the life story and the lived experience of eight Chechen women refugees who survived the war in Chechnya. A descriptive phenomenological process coupled with a critical feminist approach were used in this interpretive study. The experiences of Chechen refugees, and especially Chechen women, have often been neglected in research on the war. When their experiences have been considered, Chechen women have been conceived of primarily as either helpless victims with little or no agency or as fanatical suicide bombers inspired by radical Islam, or both. Through rich descriptions, these participants unveiled the extent to which they were generative (concerned for the future and future generations). Generativity has been positively associated with well-being as well as social and political engagement. Interviewees revealed experiences of loss and anxiety during the war, and of struggling to survive. Once they arrived in the United States, participant experiences included economic hardship and cultural dislocation. Alongside these experiences, the women also experienced resistance, resilience, and generativity. The following nine major themes emerged from participants’ phenomenological life stories: Losses, War Trauma, Resistance, and Resilience, Struggling to Create a New Life, Faith, Gender, Ethnicity, and Generativity. Analysis of the narratives revealed similarities between Generativity and the themes of Faith and Ethnicity.
    [Show full text]
  • Annexation of Georgia in Russian Empire
    1 George Anchabadze HISTORY OF GEORGIA SHORT SKETCH Caucasian House TBILISI 2005 2 George Anchabadze. History of Georgia. Short sketch Above-mentioned work is a research-popular sketch. There are key moments of the history of country since ancient times until the present moment. While working on the sketch the author based on the historical sources of Georgia and the research works of Georgian scientists (including himself). The work is focused on a wide circle of the readers. გიორგი ანჩაბაძე. საქართველოს ისტორია. მოკლე ნარკვევი წინამდებარე ნაშრომი წარმოადგენს საქართველოს ისტორიის სამეცნიერ-პოპულარულ ნარკვევს. მასში მოკლედაა გადმოცემული ქვეყნის ისტორიის ძირითადი მომენტები უძველესი ხანიდან ჩვენს დრომდე. ნარკვევზე მუშაობისას ავტორი ეყრდნობოდა საქართველოს ისტორიის წყაროებსა და ქართველ მეცნიერთა (მათ შორის საკუთარ) გამოკვლევებს. ნაშრომი განკუთვნილია მკითხველთა ფართო წრისათვის. ISBN99928-71-59-8 © George Anchabadze, 2005 © გიორგი ანჩაბაძე, 2005 3 Early Ancient Georgia (till the end of the IV cen. B.C.) Existence of ancient human being on Georgian territory is confirmed from the early stages of anthropogenesis. Nearby Dmanisi valley (80 km south-west of Tbilisi) the remnants of homo erectus are found, age of them is about 1,8 million years old. At present it is the oldest trace in Euro-Asia. Later on the Stone Age a man took the whole territory of Georgia. Former settlements of Ashel period (400–100 thousand years ago) are discovered as on the coast of the Black Sea as in the regions within highland Georgia. Approximately 6–7 thousands years ago people on the territory of Georgia began to use as the instruments not only the stone but the metals as well.
    [Show full text]
  • Russia the Ingush-Ossetian Conflict in the Prigorodnyi Region
    Russia Page 1 of 32 RUSSIA THE INGUSH-OSSETIAN CONFLICT IN THE PRIGORODNYI REGION Human Rights Watch/Helsinki Human Rights Watch New York · Washington · London · Brussels Copyright © May 1996 by Human Rights Watch. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Catalogue Number: 96-75960 ISBN: 1-56432-165-7 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report is based on a trip to the Republic of Ingushetiya, hereafter Ingushetiya, and the Republic of North Ossetia- Alaniya, hereafter North Ossetia, both states of the Russian Federation, from August 11-19, 1994. Until 1994, North Ossetia was the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), a part of the former Soviet Union. Until 1992, Ingushetiya was part of the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), and was also part of the former Soviet Union. Human Rights/Helsinki representatives visited Vladikavkaz, Kartsa, Chermen, Tarskoye, Kurtat, Dachnoye, and Maiskii in North Ossetia and Nazran and Gaziyurt in Ingushetiya. Jeri Laber and Rachel Denber edited the report, and Shira Robinson provided production assistance for its publication. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki thanks both North Ossetian and Ingush authorities as well as officials from the Russian Temporary Administration (now the Temporary State Committee) for their cooperation with the mission participants. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki would like to express our appreciation to all those who read the report and commented on it, including Prof. John Collarusso of McMaster University. We would also like to thank the members of the Russian human rights group Memorial, who provided generous assistance and advice. In 1994 Memorial published an excellent report on the conflict in the Prigorodnyi region, "Two Years after the War: The Problem of the Forcibly Displaced in the Area of the Ossetian-Ingush Conflict." Finally, we would like to thank the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Henry Jackson Fund, the Merck Fund and the Moriah Fund for their support.
    [Show full text]
  • A Balkanist in Daghestan: Annotated Notes from the Field Victor A
    A Balkanist in Daghestan: Annotated Notes from the Field Victor a. Friedman University of Chicago Introduction and Disclaimer The Republic of Daghestan has received very little attention in the West. Chenciner (1997) is the only full-length account in English based on first-hand visits mostly in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Wixman's (1980) excellent study had to be based entirely on secondary sources, and Bennigsen and Wimbush (1986:146-81 et passim), while quite useful, is basically encyclopedic and somewhat dated. Since Daghestan is still difficult to get to, potentially unstable, and only infrequently visited by Western scholars (mostly linguists), I am offering this account of my recent visit there (16-20 June 1998), modestly supplemented by some published materials. My intent is basically informative and impressionistic, and I do not attempt to give complete coverage to many topics worthy of further research. This account does, however, update some items covered in the aforementioned works and makes some observations on Daghestan with respect to language, identity, the political situation, and a comparison with the another unstable, multi-ethnic, identity construction site, i.e., Balkans, particularly Macedonia. Background Daghestan is the third most populous Republic in the Russian Federation (after Bashkortostan and Tatarstan; Osmanov 1986:24). The northern half of its current territory, consisting of the Nogai steppe and the Kizljar region settled in part by Terek Cossacks, was added in 1922, after the fall of the North Caucasian
    [Show full text]
  • Up to Their Elbows in Blood: the Crimean War and The
    UP TO THEIR ELBOWS IN BLOOD: THE CRIMEAN WAR AND THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF MEDICINE Fought in the mid-1850s, many scholars regard the Crimean War as largely insignificant. However in reality, the historical contributions of the war are important – particularly those contributions pertaining to medicine. This seemingly “unnecessary” war facilitated the modernization of Western medicine; methods used during and directly after the Crimean War were standard until World War Two. A brief history of the war reveals medical data that constitutes the bulk of my interpretation. The war’s specific medical achievements are highlighted throughout the essay. The findings in this paper are by no means conclusive, but they exhibit that it is important to look beyond Florence Nightingale, the war’s most famous and studied individual, and gaze upon the larger trends of medicine. Her story is covered in some detail in this paper, but she is not the sole source of innovation from this rather disastrous war. The professionalization of Western medicine stands out as one of the great accomplishments of this war, despite scholars viewing the war as useless. Key words: cholera epidemics, battlefield surgery, Florence Nightingale, Nikolay Pirogov, William Howard Russell, medical modernization Tyler Eaves HIST 586: Advanced Seminar in History May 11, 2017 Eaves 2 “It is good for us to be here”1 On the night of November 14, 1854, an exhausted woman penned a letter to a distant reader. By candlelight she scrawled in hurried script about the “appalling horror” surrounding her. “Steeped up to [their] necks in blood,” she and her helpers worked tirelessly upon men who “bear pain and mutilation with unshrinking heroism, and die or are cut up without a complaint.” Absences of brooms, soap, and towels only complicated the dire state of affairs.
    [Show full text]
  • Societal Perceptions of the Conflict in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh
    Caucasus Institute Policy Paper Societal Perceptions of the Conflict in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Hrant Mikaelian © 2017 Caucasus Institute, Yerevan Policy Paper www.c-i.am SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE CONFLICT IN ARMENIA AND NAGORNO-KARABAKH Caucasus Institute Policy Paper Yerevan, December 2017 Author: Hrant Mikaelian, Research Fellow at the Caucasus Institute Editors: Nina Iskandaryan, Liana Avetisyan 1 This policy paper is part of a project on Engaging society and decision-makers in dialogue for peace over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict implemented by the Caucasus Institute with support from the UK Government’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund. Page The project is aimed at reducing internal vulnerabilities created by unresolved conflicts and inter-ethnic tension, and increasing the space for constructive dialogue on conflict resolution, creating capacities and incentives for stakeholders in Armenia and Nagorno- Karabakh for resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, reconciliation and peace- building. Opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and may not reflect the views of the Caucasus Institute or any other organization, including project sponsors and organizations with which the authors are affiliated. All personal and geographical names used in this volume are spelled the way they were spelled by the authors. SOCIETAL PERCEPTIONS OF THE CONFLICT IN ARMENIA AND NAGORNO-KARABAKH War or Peace? Public Opinion and Expectations ...............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 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).
    [Show full text]
  • Multiculturalism in Russia FINAL For
    CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE FACULTY OF SOCIАL SCIENCES INTЕRNАTIONAL ЕCONOMIC AND POLITICАL STUDIES MASTER'S THESIS MULTICULTURALISM IN RUSSIA. MUSLIM POPULATION CASE STUDY. Author Bulat Kemalov Subjеct: IEPS Academic Year: 2011/2012 Supervisor: PhDr. Emil Souleimanov Ph.D. Date Submitted: 7th May 2012 Abstract Many researchers say that the multiculturalism in Russia has emerged recently, but this term started to dеvеlop few dеcades ago. During this time period we have seen its significant change and improvement. Russian sociеty culturally is very divеrse. There are many different nаtions, culturеs, religions, and even civilizations living in Russia. The uniqueness of Russia consists in the fact that those different culturеs are its indigenous people. There is probably no other stаte in the world with such a high number of different culturеs living together relatively peacefully for centuries. Also, culturally diverse population of Russia is not composed of migrаnts as in the case of Europe or the USA. For this purpose the beginning of the thesis is dedicated to understanding of the term multiculturalism, cultural diversity, minority groups and similar. Multiculturalism developed significantly especially in the phase of last events which took place in the Wеst. The 9/11 has brought several changes. Also, the latest incidents (and the speeches of the several lеadеrs) in Europe have shown Europeans and the rest of the world that the situation in immigrаnt welcoming rеgions is not positive as before. This makes the policy of multiculturalism even more complicated in the light of present developments. The Muslims represents a significant part of the Russian population. The Muslim community consists of various еthnicities and nаtions, which are sometimes very different from each other.
    [Show full text]