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  • About Chechnya

    Detroit Free Press, MI
    Sept 2 2004

    About Chechnya

    Population: 1.2 million; 85 percent are Sunni Muslim Chechens, the
    remainder are Christians, mostly Russians or Armenians.

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    Size: About 5,000 square miles.


    History: Chechens have been fighting Russian occupation since the
    late 18th Century. But the seeds of the current revolt go back to
    World War II, when Chechnya was a semiautonomous republic within the
    Soviet Union. While most Chechen males fought German troops, Soviet
    dictator Josef Stalin ordered Chechnya wiped off the map. Secret
    police burned villages and deported the entire Chechen population to
    Kazakhstan and Siberia, accusing them and other Soviet Muslims of
    collaborating with the Nazis.

    After the collapse of the Soviet Union, an independence movement
    formed in Chechnya, but Russia refused to allow the secession. As a
    result, Chechnya has undergone two civil wars, which have left most
    of Chechnya under the control of the federal military. Chechen
    separatists still claim an independent Chechnya and have orchestrated
    attacks in Chechnya and other regions of Russia, including Moscow.
    Some 150,000 people have died as a result of Chechen civil strife
    from 1994 to 2003.

    The rebel force: Military analysts estimate the number to be in the
    low thousands. The rebels are thought to have the support of up to 30
    percent of the Chechen population, although the vast majority of
    Chechens say they are tired of the bloodshed. Apart from indigenous
    Chechen fighters, the separatist force includes foreigners. Some top
    commanders are from Saudi Arabia. Suicide bombers have notably
    included so-called black widows -- Chechen women who lost husbands in
    fighting.
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