It does not fit conveniently in anyone's narrative of the recent past. Chechnya now lives under the iron hand of Ramzan Kadyrov, who was 15 when the First Chechen war began. Suppressing that history, both Kadyrov and Putin now adopt a false narrative that the West somehow bore responsibility for fostering Chechen resistance in In his state of the union speech, delivered on the same day as the attacks in Grozny last week, Putin said: "We remember well who in that period practically openly supported separatism and even open terror in our country.
In actual fact, Western leaders were too soft. Western leaders were much too ready to overlook Yeltsin's war in the name of supporting Yeltsin personally and the principle of Russia's territorial integrity.
In April , U. By taking that line, Western leaders dealt a blow against those Russian liberals, like Sergei Kovalyov and Yegor Gaidar, who opposed the war and saw it as a threat to Russia's hopes of being a democracy.
As political analyst Andrei Piontkovsky said, the war was launched ostensibly to keep Chechnya part of Russia, but ended up making Russia part of Chechnya. The war of was never popular with the Russian public. The television coverage, especially by NTV, of the wanton destruction in Grozny, undermined its legitimacy from the start. Even then one could see the first seeds of a narrative that has since taken wider hold in Russia: that it is not worth keeping hold of the North Caucasus and would be better to cut it adrift.
Now it is some of the same nationalists who are fighting for the "Russian world" in eastern Ukraine who evince no interest in whether Chechnya stays part of the Russian Federation or not. And of course, if separatism was a synonym for wickedness in Russia of the early s, then that is no longer the case, now that Moscow supports separatists in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Ukraine. The central paradox of Dec. In war, the Russian military treated Chechnya as if it was a conquered country and Chechens as if they were enemies of Russia.
I shall never forget the horrors I saw in Grozny in February fresh evidence of atrocities by Russian troops against the civilian population and comprehensive looting by soldiers of a city that was supposed to be part of their own country. If Chechnya was Russian, why the behavior of a conquering army?
It was said that before pulling down a ruin, the ownership of the ruined building would have to be clarified. But there are so many ruined homes and factories which belong to the state, and nevertheless they are still standing in ruins for 8 to 3 years.
Therefore, it seems more likely that the reason for not having pulled them down lies in the indifference towards the feelings and psychological needs of individual citizens. Such considerations are as important as the need to pay compensation to all the more than Because even if you had some money and even a small job, you need an environment which invites you to stay in town and to overcome the economic difficulties you face when you want to make a living in Grozny.
One of the problems of this conflict can be found in the fact that the Chechen conflict is not a decisive problem for the Russian elite at large. While the first Chechen war had been considered as a disease, the current situation is generally seen as a nuisance only. Therefore, there is indifference and passivity towards the fights in Chechnya, but no pressure on the Russian authorities to find a solution to the problem.
Instead, the Chechen conflict has even been used in Russia's foreign relations, for example with the USA. During the election day on 29 August , Grozny resembled a ghost town. Hardly a car, even more rarely a pedestrian in the sandy streets.
Many shall have left the city for fear of violent clashes. Even patients were taken home from hospitals and moved into the countryside, because people were afraid something could happen to them.
This paralysing fear already characterised the campaigns before the elections. There was no really public campaign event in Grozny. The danger of violence was supposedly too strong whenever people met publicly. The election campaign was reduced to the "debates" on television, which had more substance than last year, as we were told. These impressions show the validity of the argument, that democratic elections cannot be held under such circumstances: no freedom of movement and freedom of association, very limited freedom of expression, general climate of fear and intimidation.
Elections should provide for legitimacy. This can only be achieved when there is a wide, pluralist and open debate which includes all groups in society. This was not the case in Grozny in summer It has been the most important discovery of the day in Moscow before my visit to Chechnya to find people with senior responsibility for Chechnya in Moscow who had a differentiated view of things. We have to support this differentiated approach and build upon it the routes leading away from the violence.
We can regard as the worst consequence of violence that the position of those with a differentiated view is weakened on both sides of the conflict and that the harsh position which is not open for negotiations will be reinforced on both sides. Any use of indiscriminate violence on both sides must, therefore, be regretted. We can also identify another problem of the Chechen society which has to be dealt with: most people have fear for their security, their property or even their life.
Paradoxically, even the security troops of the late President Kadyrov have been a cause of fear among the population.
This fear must be overcome and the people in Chechnya must be able to develop confidence and trust. One of the causes of the permanent, nearly structural insecurity within the Chechen society is the incredible number of small arms; there is nearly no male without one. On the other hand, the "Chechen security forces" led by the son of the late President, Mr Ramsan Kadyrov, are full of former "rebels" who switched sides, but are not very reliable and open to money in order to do anything.
Some of them also went back and changed sides. The Russian security forces only allow former rebels to be incorporated in their ranks after a test and check of their background and their knowledge of a civilised handling of security matters.
Hopefully, all personnel will have to pass such exams, not only those coming back from the mountains. In my discussions, it was mentioned that as long as people in Chechnya were robbed and killed, there would be no peace despite the end of the war. A new generation had grown up in Chechnya not knowing anything else than how to assemble a machine gun, and this generation had no respect for human life. In this context, the de-mining of Chechnya should also be a high priority.
However, it was concluded that this experiment had failed, because human rights violations had continued. The troops of the son of the late President Kadyrov had behaved in a manner which had estranged them from the Chechen people, and he had missed the chance of convincing the people of his work. We have to try to find a solution to the Chechen crisis within the framework of the Russian Federation by looking at the good experiences of successful autonomous regions in Europe.
In this respect, the Assembly adopted Resolution and Recommendation on the basis of another report of mine on "positive experiences of autonomous regions as a source of inspiration for conflict resolution in Europe. This lesson allows us today that we do not have to decide on the most difficult questions at the beginning of the process, but that we may open such an autonomy process and leave the most difficult questions to the future, open for a common discussion and decision in a decade.
But we have to be aware that we are only able to find ways out of the crisis in the framework of the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe, where the Russian Federation is one of the most important members. The world often underestimates the collective Russian feelings of humiliation after the loss of its western federal entities to the European Union and the NATO. These strong feelings and fears cannot be ignored while searching for a new peace agreement in Chechnya.
Even the most severe violence does not develop out of nothing. Violence has always a history, very often filled with prior violence. Violence thus serves as a justification for new, often more terrible violence. The escalation of violence from all sides since the assassination of President Kadyrov in spring was a consequence of the systematic exclusion and isolation of all those Chechen forces who did not want to become subject to the Russian hegemony, and played into the hands of violent fundamentalist terrorists.
A change of policy is clearly required in this respect. The Chechen opposition, with whom there should be a dialogue, should thus be distinguished from the violent terrorist elements, while the latter should be isolated. This should not only be done in extreme situations like the hostage-taking of the school in Beslan, where a contact to the former Chechen President Mashkadov was sought in order to make him negotiate with the terrorists.
It was one of the big errors of the Russian policy regarding Chechnya over the last two years to put all opposition groups in the same basket of "criminal terrorists". Without the moderate nationalists and autonomists to be heard and listened to, only the most violent and criminal elements with links to international terrorism got a "voice" -- the voice of brutality, violence and disrespect of any human dignity. A "political solution of the conflict" can only be understood as an attempt to have such a dialogue.
President Putin announced a political solution already in January as member of a delegation to the Council of Europe. Politics does not mean the realisation of one's own will without military measures, but it is the attempt to understand and make compromises. A similar misunderstanding can be seen with regard to the use of the term "peace". Ruslan Kadyrov, the son of the late Chechen President, mentioned during a talk on the election day that he did not need the "other side" in order to have peace.
However, peace cannot be found alone. In order to make peace, one needs the "other side". You can only make peace with your enemy, and nobody can choose his enemies, as the late Israeli Prime Minister Rabin said. In this respect, the talk with the elected Chechen President Alu Alkhanov one day after the elections has been encouraging. He said he was ready to have a dialogue with all forces that would be ready to renounce violence and had not committed murders.
Alu Alkhanov was also aware that the pursuit of a peace process could not be made without dialogue and negotiations with the other side. He knows that peace cannot be ordered, but requires multiple common efforts. When asked about historic role models who had been generals and became elected presidents, Alu Alkhanov mentioned Charles de Gaulle.
I appreciated this because General de Gaulle acted wisely as French President when he overcame his own feelings and made peace with people in Algeria who had been called terrorists in France for a long time. I also referred to the Swiss General Dufour who had told his soldiers before the civil war of that they should kill as few enemies as possible, because they had to build up a common state with them afterwards. Although it is not easy to say that, at a moment where the most terrible terrorist action and atrocities are in our minds and the destiny of hundreds of missing children make our hearts bleed, we have to acknowledge the fact, that even among these Chechens who do not share the official position of Moscow and Grozny, not all are just "terrorists" -- with all these people who are fed up with all violence from any side and want to find a peaceful cooperation within the Russian Federation as well as freedom and democracy for the Chechen people.
In order to find a political end to the new Chechen crisis of several years, there is no alternative to trying to open a process of dialogue with all these people in Chechnya mentioned before. Such a process of dialogue should be established on many different levels of international politics. As for the Parliamentary Assembly, we should evaluate the continuity of the old "common working group", but with the willingness to learn from the experiences of this common working group in order to create a "Strasbourg Round Table on Chechnya" under the auspices of the Council of Europe and the Assembly and the City of Strasbourg, and with the participation of representatives of the Russian Federation and the Chechen people.
The exact format of such a Round Table still has to be found, but we should decide that we want to do this in the coming three months. The themes of the Round Table debate should be all possible ways out of the circle of violence inflicted on people in many parts of the country today. This includes different ways of achieving a certain degree of autonomy for Chechnya and ways to guarantee trust in the peace process. It is important to achieve such a process of dialogue on all levels and with all possible representatives of the Russian and Chechen society.
In this regard, the Council of Europe should create a Chechen Round Table which could be open to all those who are ready for peace in Chechnya within the Russian Federation.
In our discussions, we also found support for the idea of organising a pan-Chechen conference with Chechen participants from inside and outside the Chechen Republic -- possibly with one participant for every people, in order to find a solution for the rebuilding of the Republic. The late President Kadyrov supposedly accepted this idea on 7 May , i. It was mentioned that, over the last years, Chechens never had the opportunity of deciding on the way they wanted to live, but it was better to speak with Chechens rather than on behalf of them.
The referendum of last year was such an opportunity, and Mr Aslankhanov saw people waiting in line in front of polling stations in three villages thus indicating the great interest of the people in participating in this referendum. The high participation could be explained by the trauma of the victims of the conflict seeking to end the conflict finally, the active work of people from the education sector, and the desire for a better life through co-operation with Moscow.
Non-governmental organisations also expressed to me the idea of a peace conference on Chechnya. Although they acknowledged that the situation in Chechnya was more stable than before, NGOs stressed that the number of killings remained high. The Centre had organised a panel discussion on the situation in Chechnya see programme appended. During this panel discussion, elements for a solution of the current situation were analysed.
In conclusion, the discussion identified a disassociation of the people in Chechnya from all forms of violence, whether from the Russian forces or from the Chechen fighters. I also regret that there is no real investment in education and schools when there is economic poverty.
Without education and without economic development, there will never be religious tolerance which is, however, necessary in order to overcome the state of no hope of the people. A solution of the Chechen conflict thus requires economic progress.
What could be done in addition? I believe the equality of the Chechen language should be recognised, also in the Chechen Constitution. Amnesty should be used in order to separate the terrorists from the mere separatists. There should also be greater autonomy of the Chechen Republic within the Russian Federation, with such autonomy being of a transitory character leading to a popular decision at a later stage about the future of Chechnya.
The Assembly should realise its potential by integrating Russia in a pan-European network which is not limited to the diplomatic and governmental levels. Parliamentarians may not always address things in a manner which may be regarded as wise by everyone, but they have the advantage to be able to speak and say openly what others may only think. I hope that is the reason why we may realise the advantage of the "Strasbourg Round Table" described above.
I wish to conclude by saying that a peace process and a political reconciliation process cannot be started without talking with the people. And without improving the miserable economic situation, there will be no political process. Finally, my discussions have made me be believe that it could be useful to create a joint working group of the Assembly with representatives from the State Duma, the Federation Council, representatives of the executive power, NGOs, and members of the Chechen elite.
The security situation in the Chechen Republic has not deteriorated noticeably after the assassination of President Kadyrov. The swift ad interim replacement of the President of the Chechen Republic and the inclusion into higher governmental posts of family members of the deceased top leaders kept the situation under control. The presidential elections on 29 August determined who will assume the leadership in the Chechen Republic for the next years. Due to the geo-political importance of Chechnya, its rich oil resources, the wide proliferation of weapons in and around Chechnya, and the de facto absence of the rule of law which favours parallel and criminal power structures, the struggle to win these elections and stay in power afterwards will probably polarise parts of the society and political or military forces in the Republic.
The failure of the federal, regional and private security and military services in Grozny to protect President Kadyrov against the assassination will also require a new revision of the federal and regional security policies for the Chechen Republic. The private security forces of the late President Kadyrov, which were run by his son Ramzan Kadyrov and have publicly been criticised for violent actions and crimes, had recruited many former Chechen fighters who fell under the Amnesty Law.
Any new President will have to deal with this private militia as well as with the challenge of setting up structures for his own personal security. The proper use of the millions of Russian Roubles of financial aid and transfer payments from Moscow to the Chechen Republic over the last few years has been questioned publicly.
Some sources suggest that half of this money was lost on the way from Moscow to Chechnya and another half was lost within Chechnya before reaching its intended destination. The European Union spent some million Euros on Chechnya so far, but used greater precaution in allocating this money than the Russian federal government. Together with the enormous wealth stemming from the high-quality raw oil found in the territory of Chechnya, parallel and criminal structures find sufficient soil to exist and undermine a government based on the rule of law.
Such a phenomenon is highly dangerous, not only for Chechnya, but also for the stability and integrity of other Republics and even the Russian Federation as a whole.
The Amnesty Laws brought freedom from prosecution for members of the federal Russian forces as well as Chechen fighters willing, for instance, to join the private security force of the late President Kadyrov. However, the armed fights between the different forces, war lords and groups continue with intensified but targeted terrorist action.
Amnesty has thus not brought a political reconciliation and stability, which could have been the politically legitimate purpose of such a far-reaching measure. The referendum on the Constitution of the Chechen Republic was the first expression of popular will in the Chechen Republic.
This referendum was criticised for not having offered a genuinely democratic choice to the Chechen people. I just want to recall the tense security situation around the holding of the referendum, the absence of a democratic debate and campaign about the content of the referendum, and the unclear voters lists -- for example for citizens of the Chechen Republic residing outside the Republic and for members of the federal forces stationed in the Republic.
The presidential and parliamentary elections in the Chechen Republic are based on this Constitution and determine the respective powers of both organs of the Republic. Any debate on whether the Constitution should require amendments will either have to wait until after the regional Duma of the Chechen Republic will have been elected by the end of this year, or will be pursued in parallel to the elections by political opponents.
Since the Constitution of the Chechen Republic sets up a presidential system rather than a parliamentary system of government, the presidential elections will overshadow politically the subsequent parliamentary elections as the elections determining the power structure in the Republic. Political parties, civil society and different political streams in the society will therefore feel weakened and possibly in opposition to the President of the Chechen Republic.
The presidential elections and the subsequent parliamentary elections have to comply with democratic standards in order to be recognised. Flaws and shortcomings in earlier elections may be overcome. This requires an open and critical analysis of the presidential elections and a proper planning of the coming parliamentary elections in Chechnya. Mikhail Gorbachev wrote recently in a foreword to a book by Valery Tishkov about the war in Chechnya: "The reasonable desire of the population of this former autonomous region of the Soviet Union to enjoy democratisation and to correct the injustice done to the Chechen and Ingush people -- the Stalin era deportations and subsequent discrimination -- have been misused to fuel nationalistic hysteria and anti-Russian feelings.
On a first visit to Moscow, meetings with NGOs and the international community were held. Meetings with members of the State Duma and government officials could not be arranged due to the absence from Moscow of the members of the Russian PACE delegation. The European Parliament subsequently adopted a Resolution on Chechnya. The Representative of the Swiss Embassy in Moscow mentioned that Switzerland and Luxembourg were the only countries directly involved in an aid programme for school rehabilitation in Chechnya, and the Swiss government also gave direct aid to projects in Ingushetia.
During meetings with representatives of Human Rights Watch and Memorial, the working conditions of NGOs in Chechnya and Ingushetia were discussed, and it was concluded that people in Chechnya would appreciate the presence of international organisations.
He mentioned that he highly valued the approach by international organisations, in particular the Council of Europe, and felt that it is important to take account of all realistic efforts from all sides; the latter would require, however, some time for a visible progress. Following requests received in Moscow, informal meetings were held with Mr Salambek Maigov, who acts as the representative of Mr Maskhadov in Moscow, as well as with journalists from Russian and foreign media.
Mr Maigov stressed that Mr Maskhadov had nothing to do with the recent terrorist attacks in Moscow, but was rather interested in a ceasefire agreement, possibly with the help of international mediation.
From the humanitarian aspect, one of the most striking points that had come up during all meetings was the continuously growing number of disappeared persons. A major obstacle to peace and stability in Chechnya can be found in the fact that the war and fighting is generating tremendous sources of income for groups of individuals on all sides. The visit was intended as a first opportunity to get to know relevant persons and institutions.
Since a visit to Moscow and Chechnya is not possible in September, the Political Affairs Committee could seek to organise an exchange of views with Mr Dmitri Kozak from the Presidential Administration at the beginning of the September part-Session.
He will be in Switzerland for a bi-lateral visit at that time and could be invited to the Committee meeting in Strasbourg. In addition, another exchange of views could be held with organisations which may provide relevant information to the Political Affairs Committee, such as the NGOs "Mothers of Chechnya for Peace", Memorial and the Helsinki Committee.
The Helsinki Committee plans to observe the presidential elections in Chechnya with volunteer observers. An observation by the Assembly during the presidential elections in Chechnya on 5 October seems to be impossible under the current circumstances.
The Bureau of the Assembly dealt with this question in Naples on 8 September. After the presidential elections, a meeting with the new President of Chechnya would be desirable. Chechnya is still very much suffering from a lack of orderly structures necessary in a democratic state governed by the rule of law demokratischer Rechtsstaat. The top-down control and exercise of power of the Soviet times do not work anymore. In the same vein, however, the society in Chechnya has not yet been able to develop social and political institutions necessary for creating a public debate and public opinion.
Instead, the power vacuum has largely been filled by corrupt and criminal structures. It is therefore of utmost importance to help in developing democratic institutions and a civil society.
In view of the coming presidential elections, but also and especially the later regional parliamentary elections in Chechnya, political parties and NGOs will be a major stabilising or destabilising factor. The building of democratic institutions and a democratic debate should thus start there. The question of how much autonomy Chechnya should have seem to have become of secondary importance for the presidential elections, but probably also for the population that seems to be striving for peace and justice first and foremost.
Chechnya has become a multi-fold test case for Russia, because the conflict there has not only undermined the territorial integrity and unity of the Russian Federation, but also the proper exercise of the powers of the federal and regional authorities.
The rule of law, democracy and human rights have thus been neglected. Therefore, the Assembly should try to offer assistance and advice to the authorities, the political forces and the population in Chechnya. The Motion for a Resolution Doc.
This Motion concludes by the mandate to follow-up the process of strengthening democratic institutions in the Chechen Republic under the new Constitution on the basis of a report. No members of the Russian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly were available for meetings in Moscow then and since then, which can only be regretted in view of the seriousness of the matter. Other prominent candidates withdrew their candidacy in protest or were banned legally from being candidates.
An opinion poll by Validata Professor Sergey Khaikin showed that Mr Kadyrov gained strength in the public opinion when other prominent candidates withdrew from the race and he ranked strongest among the few remaining candidates.
The Moscow Helsinki Group complained of irregularities in the elections. Due to the State Duma elections in December , visits to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus region could not be organised for me. I stress that the fact, that I could not visit Chechnya, should not be interpreted as a lack of attention on my side to the political situation there.
This was rather due to the lack of action of the Russian delegation to the Assembly and the inability of our partners to organise such visits. I regret this even more, since Mr Lukin, Vice-Chair of the State Duma and responsible for contacts with the European Parliament, was able to organise a visit of the European Parliament in autumn I met Mr Lukin in Moscow during the pre-election observation mission.
The Head of the Russian delegation to the Assembly has recently asked to postpone any visit and the debate on the political situation in the Chechen Republic until after the State Duma elections.
During an international NGO colloquy in Munich on 24 November , which was attended by representatives of the Chechen society as well as my colleague Mr Rudolf Bindig and myself, the Council of Europe was called upon to become active again in promoting peace and human rights in Chechnya. A partly new Russian delegation to the Assembly may be constituted after the State Duma elections during the January part-session of the Assembly.
This may give a new impetus to a hopefully increased co-operation with the Council of Europe. In this context, the Assembly and the Russian State Duma may also reconsider the usefulness of their currently non-operational Joint Working Group or of a similar forum, as well as analyse the action taken by the Committee of Ministers and the Secretary General on Chechnya on Assembly recommendations.
Candidates of Chechen ethnicity were elected to the current State Duma of Russia and will participate in the elections of the State Duma on 7 December Their political work in the State Duma in Moscow could have a stabilising and democratising impact on the situation in the Chechen Republic. The results of the December elections must be analysed in this respect. I would have preferred to observe these elections at polling stations within Chechnya, but election observations were not pursued there by the Assembly due to the extremely tense security situation.
However, the political situation in the Chechen Republic is such that continued close attention by the Assembly is necessary, and it is important for the Assembly to formulate its approach or "road map" to strengthen democratic institutions in Chechnya and to build confidence in those institutions. This memorandum sets out for discussion a possible approach and the relevant questions which should be discussed with our Russian colleagues.
The promotion of democratic stability has been one of the core activities of the Council of Europe for several decades, and the Council of Europe has developed a set of standards on democratic rights and freedoms which is binding to all member states. As the body bringing together democratically elected representatives from our national parliaments, the Assembly is compelled to put the highest emphasis on this aspect of the Council of Europe's acquis. For the Chechen Republic, the challenges are multi-fold, and the current political situation there is far from democratically stable.
Strengthening democratic stability in general, and in the particular case of Chechnya, requires that a number of preconditions are met:. Where there is an absence of the rule of law, despotism and arbitrariness will undermine the popular confidence in the state and its institutions. Where there is injustice and severe violations of the law are rampant, public opposition and counter-violence will grow.
In its Resolution , the Assembly has deplored the state of de facto impunity in the Chechen Republic. The Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture felt compelled to issue a public statement concerning the Chechen Republic on 10 July , because of a lack of co-operation and compliance by the Russian authorities.
Russia and several members of her family were shot dead by uniformed men, and the law-enforcement authorities have not yet been able to produce any evidence as to the origin of the perpetrators. The Assembly has also continuously condemned all forms of violence and terrorist acts committed in Chechnya and outside the Republic and deplored the numerous losses of innocent lives.
The UN Human Rights Commission concluded at its 79th session on 6 November that Russia "should ensure that operations in Chechnya are carried out in compliance with its international human rights obligations. The State party should ensure that abuse and violations are not committed with impunity de jure or de facto, including violations committed by military and law enforcement personnel during counter-terrorist operations.
All cases of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and torture, including rape, should be investigated, their perpetrators prosecuted and victims or their families compensated". As long as this situation continues, all other efforts can do little, if anything at all, to achieve democratic stability. Just like they said there were Chechens fighting in Afghanistan," he tweeted in July Despite the fact that Kadyrov has frequently denied that Chechens from Chechnya are fighting in Syria, there has been an intermittent exchange of insults and threats between the Chechen leader and various ethnic Chechen fighters in the Middle Eastern country.
A number of the Chechen fighters in Syria, including Umar Shishani, Islamic State's military commander in Syria, are or were previously linked to the Caucasus Emirate, the North Caucasus-based militant group, which calls for the overthrow of the Chechen Republic and other Russian North Caucasus republics, and the establishment of an Islamic state in their stead.
Shishani, who is part ethnic Chechen from Georgia's Pankisi Gorge, threatened Kadyrov in a December interview published on the Beladusham website, which is run by Chechen militants in Syria. Kadyrov also reacted to the death of another Chechen militant from Pankisi, Seyfullakh Shishani, who had made a number of videos in which he threatened to go to Chechnya and attack the Chechen leader.
Kadyrov praised Seyfullakh's death, calling him a "Wahhabi Satan bandit gangster. The extent of Kadyrov's sensitivity and embarrassment over the Chechen presence in Syria came to a head late last year, when it became known that the year-old daughter of the head of Chechnya's Federal Migration Service, Asu Dudurkaev, had run away to Syria and joined IS militants there.
Media sources said the young woman had married a young man who was fighting with IS in Aleppo. The scandal upset Kadyrov not just because it involved a senior member of his administration, but because the young woman involved directly criticized the pro-Moscow Chechen administration. The Sheikh explained that, during Dudurkaeva's wedding in Syria, she was asked whether she had a father. Kadyrov's reaction was to fire Asu Dudurkaev.
The scandal, which had received some notice in the Russian media, largely disappeared from the headlines. The Chechen leader's current stance on the issue is to deny that ethnic Chechens from Chechnya are fighting in Syria, blaming Chechens who were born or raised in the West.
Meanwhile, Chechens in Syria have also complained that the West -- and even other Islamist militant groups in Syria -- are trying to claim the Chechen name, "Shishani" in Arabic, because they think this is associated with bravery on the battlefield.
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