REEIfication NEWS FROM THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY RUSSIAN AND EAST EUROPEAN INSTITUTE David L. Ransel, Director Philip Hart, Editor Vol. 28, No. 4 December 2004 Beslan, Chechnya, and Terror in Russia: A Panel Discussion by Neil Gipson On September 1, 2004, terrorists seized a school full of children and parents in the southern Russian town of Beslan, near the breakaway territory of Chechnya. Who were the terrorists? What sparked the attack? And what were its roots and consequences? On October 26th, the Russian and East European Institute arranged a panel discussion to address the origins and aftermath of the tragedy. The panel members brought multiple perspectives to bear on the events at Beslan. Professor David Ransel, Director of the Russian Features and East European Institute, introduced the panel and moderated the discussion. Julie Fairbanks, a PhD candidate in the Department of Beslan 1 Anthropology who specializes in the region, set the historical and social Faculty Profile: Dodona Kiziria 3 context of the hos- Voices from the Caucasus 4 tage-taking. Profes- Alumni Profile: David Marks 5 sor Nazif Shahrani Language Opportunities 6 of the Department Outside The Classroom of Anthropology European Security and 7 discussed the role of Ukraine Conference Islam in the Chechen conflict. Professor Henry Hale of the News Department of Politi- cal Science laid out SWSEEL 2005 8 some of the political IU Polish Studies Center and 9 consequences of the Director Honored in Warsaw attacks and addressed SWSEEL 2004 Highlights 10 the reaction of the Dobro Slovo Inductions 11 Russian government. Student News 13 Ms. Fairbanks Alumni News 13 highlighted the ori- gins of the Chechen Faculty News 14 Beslan is located in the Russian republic of North Ossetia wars and also their International Studies Summer 16 in the northern Caucasus near Chechnya recent spillover into Institute the neighboring regions of Ingushetia and North Ossetia. Originally, Russia subjugated the peoples of the North Caucasus in the mid-1800s continued on next page 2 Russian and East European Institute REEIfication, December 2004 3 INSTITUTE STAFF Beslan David L. Ransel, Director continued from previous page Denise Gardiner, Assistant Director/Outreach Coordinator as part of its imperial drive to the south, meeting fierceresistance for many Lisa Giullian, Advisor/Assistant years. In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Chechen Director for Student Services political leaders renewed their drive for independence, but the Yeltsin ad- Jessica Hamilton, Admin. Secretary ministration in Moscow refused to sanction their secession. Two wars fol- GRADUATE ASSISTANTS lowed, with a lull from 1996-99, and today the fighting continues as rebels Philip Hart, Publications Editor demand a complete Russian withdrawal from Chechen territory. The Stephanie Hockman, World Wide region outside of Chechnya proper is being drawn into the conflict partly Web Administrator as a result of Stalin’s 1944 wholesale deportation of Chechens, Ingush, Jonathan Hudgens, Library Asst. Balkars, and other peoples. On the pretext of disloyalty during WWII, the Karen Kowal, Slavica Asst. Alice Tobin, Outreach Asst. entire population of the region was shipped to the Kazakh steppe. Their political territories were dissolved and the lands repopulated by other eth- CONTACT INFORMATION nic groups. The original inhabitants were ultimately granted permission Russian and East European Institute Ballantine Hall 565 Indiana University Bloomington, IN 47405-6615 Phone: (812) 855-7309 Fax: (812) 855-6411 Email: [email protected] www.indiana.edu/~reeiweb/ IU Awards for REEI Alumni 1994 Irene Meister College Distinguished Alumni 1998 Stephen Cohen College Distinguished Alumni (L-R) Shahrani, Fairbanks, Ransel, and Hale discuss the 1999 James F. Collins Beslan Tragedy and Terror in Russia Honorary Doctorate 2004 Richard Miles to return in 1957, but resulting land and property disputes were never fully Distinguished Alumni Service resolved. As a result, tensions remain, and conflict between Ingush and REEI Awards North Ossetians erupted in violence in 1992. Many observers speculate that the attack in Beslan—situated in North Ossetia not far from the In- DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI gush border—may have been an attempt to extend the war in Chechnya 1988 Alexander Rabinowitch to the wider region. 1988 Charles Gati 1995 Gale Stokes Ultimately the war’s origins have been conflated with the international 2000 Helena Goscilo war on terror and Islamic fundamentalism. The Russian government 2002 Howard I. Aronson frames the war in Chechnya as an “anti-terror” operation, and it quickly 2002 William Hopkins blamed the Beslan tragedy on Islamic extremists. As a result, accord- DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ing to Professor Shahrani, the question on the minds of many is: “How 1988 Theofanis Stavrou could Muslims in the name of Islam kill over three hundred children in 1988 Robert F. Byrnes a school?” 1989 Karen Niggle One possible answer is that such acts simply cannot be justified by refer- 1996 Robert W. Campbell ence to the Koran or Islamic scholars. “Nobody,” argues Shahrani, “is doing 1997 Charles Jelavich 1997 Janet Rabinowitch this for Islam. They are doing it for the cause of liberty, for what they perceive 2000 William B. Edgerton continued on page 12 2 Russian and East European Institute REEIfication, December 2004 3 INSTITUTE STAFF David L. Ransel, Director Faculty Profile: Dodona Kiziria Denise Gardiner, Assistant by Lyndsay Miles Director/Outreach Coordinator Lisa Giullian, Advisor/Assistant Professor Dodona Kiziria culture, language and politics into a textbook for teaching the Director for Student Services Jessica Hamilton, Admin. Secretary has been a member of Indiana also figure highly in her aca- language both in the classroom University’s Slavic Languages and to students working inde- GRADUATE ASSISTANTS and Literatures faculty since pendently. Her study material Philip Hart, Publications Editor 1979, as well as being an af- is used by students of Georgian Stephanie Hockman, World Wide filiate faculty member of REEI. in many countries worldwide. Web Administrator Originally from Tbilisi, Republic Not only is Professor Kiziria Jonathan Hudgens, Library Asst. of Georgia, Kiziria completed the IU’s local authority on Georgian Karen Kowal, Slavica Asst. Alice Tobin, Outreach Asst. bulk of her formal education in language, culture and politics, the Soviet Union. Her credentials she also plays an important and CONTACT INFORMATION include a degree in Indian lan- active role in her native coun- Russian and East European Institute guages and literatures from the try. She is known in Georgia as Ballantine Hall 565 Institute of Oriental Languages both a poet and a political com- Indiana University at Moscow State University, mentator. She writes articles Bloomington, IN 47405-6615 Phone: (812) 855-7309 as well as a graduate degree in Dodona Kiziria has been a faculty member on current events, primarily in Fax: (812) 855-6411 film history and theory from the in the Department of Slavic Languages Georgian, and is regularly invited Email: [email protected] Institute of Cinematography in and Literatures since 1979 for roundtable discussions in the www.indiana.edu/~reeiweb/ Moscow. Kiziria explains that demic pursuits and have become Georgian section of Voice of IU Awards for REEI Alumni her interest in cinema, which de- a serious part of her research and America. In May of 2004, she was veloped during the 1960s, largely teaching. Over the years she has one of four Georgians to be hon- 1994 Irene Meister stemmed from its position as “the often worked one-on-one with IU ored with dual citizenship by the College Distinguished Alumni most subversive art form in the country’s new president, Mikhail 1998 Stephen Cohen students interested in the study of College Distinguished Alumni Soviet Union,” and therefore one her native country. Saakashvili, for her contribution 1999 James F. Collins of the few acceptable means of In 1986 Professor Howard to the development of democracy Honorary Doctorate dissidence. When she relocated Aronson of the University of in Georgia. 2004 Richard Miles to the United States in 1971, and Chicago, a prominent scholar and While she acknowledges that Distinguished Alumni Service later to Indiana University, there pioneer of Georgian studies in interest in Georgian studies has REEI Awards were very few academic oppor- the United States, organized the been limited in the United States, tunities in film studies, especially first Georgian language summer she strongly encourages further DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI studies in Soviet cinema. Profes- workshop in the United States. academic research on the country 1988 Alexander Rabinowitch sor Kiziria completed IU’s PhD for its “untapped treasures” in a 1988 Charles Gati Professor Kiziria taught Georgian 1995 Gale Stokes program in Slavic languages and in the Workshop for two years. In variety of fields, including folk 2000 Helena Goscilo literatures in 1979 after presenting 1988, Georgian was added to the music, history, ethnography, and 2002 Howard I. Aronson her dissertation, “The Influence of program of the Summer Workshop literature. To further encourage 2002 William Hopkins Cinema on Literature.” She also in Slavic, East European and Cen- pursuits in this area, Kiziria teach- DISTINGUISHED SERVICE developed courses in Soviet and tral Asian Languages (SWSEEL) es Georgian language on an inde- 1988 Theofanis Stavrou East European Cinema that she at IU. In addition, with