MMP: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) was a moderate Islamic secessionist government operating in Chechnya from 1991 until 2007.

Key Statistics

1991

First Recorded Activity

1994

First Attack

2018

Profile Last Updated

Profile Contents

Overview

Narrative of the Organization's History

Overview Overview

Organization

Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations

Organization Organization

Strategy

Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets and Tactics

Strategy Strategy

Major Attacks

First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks

Major Attacks Major Attacks

Interactions

Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences

Interactions Interactions

Maps

Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time

Maps Maps

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Last updated August 2018

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How to Cite

Mapping Militant Organizations. “Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.” Stanford University. Last modified August 2018. https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/chechen-republic-ichkeria

Organizational Overview

Formed: 1991

Disbanded: 2007

First Attack: December 12, 1994: The CRI’s armed forces conducted their first ground operation against the Russian Federation, in Dolinskoe (200 killed, unknown wounded).[1]

Last Attack: October 15, 2005: 200 Chechen mujahideen fighters attacked several buildings associated with Russian security forces in Nalchik, Kabardino- Balkaria (140 killed, 160 wounded).[2]

Executive Summary

The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) was an unrecognized secessionist government in Chechnya that intended to create an alternative governing body to the Russian regime. The group declared Chechen independence in 1991 but did not obtain de facto independence until 1996. Beginning in 2000, with the Russian government’s establishment of direct rule over Chechnya, members of the CRI government began competing with Kremlin-appointed officials for authority in the region. In its initial stages, the Republic of Ichkeria pursued a nationalistic, secular agenda, focused on attaining Chechen independence from the Russian Federation. This remained its focus through the First Chechen War (1994-1996); however, as the CRI failed to make progress toward this goal, it increasingly shifted toward a radical, Islamic ideology and began to adopt more violent tactics. The CRI was absorbed into the Caucasus Emirate upon its formation in 2007.

Group Narrative

The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) was the secessionist government of Chechnya. It formed at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, but failed to receive international recognition.[3] In its initial stages, the Republic of Ichkeria pursued a nationalistic, secular agenda, focused on attaining Chechen independence from the Russian Federation. This remained its focus through the First Chechen War (1994-1996). However, as the CRI failed to make progress toward this goal, it increasingly shifted toward a radical, Islamic ideology in the Second Chechen War (1999- 2009) and began to adopt more violent tactics.[4]

The conflict over Chechnya’s political status is rooted in the Russian conquest of the Caucasus and the strong resistance of the Chechen people in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 1940s, the Chechen people were exiled to Central Asia by Stalin for their alleged collaboration with the Nazis, an experience that fostered collective identity and antagonism toward Russia. President Gorbachev’s political liberalization policies in the early 1990s further kindled a sense of national self-assertion among Chechens and raised an increasing desire for independence.[5] After a Soviet coup in 1991, Chechnya held separate elections, electing the head of All National Congress of Chechen People, Dzhokhar Dudarov, as its first president, and declared its secession from the USSR.

From 1994 - 1996, Chechen forces engaged in the First Russian-Chechen War. The war caused over 10,000 casualties, mostly Chechen civilians, and 500,000 refugees, but also resulted in the defeat of the Russian army.[6] In the afterwar period, the CRI enjoyed de facto independence, but suffered from a lack of central authority and clashes among competing warlords. The CRI engaged in combat once again after a joint invasion of Dagestan in 1999 by Chechen and Dagestani Salafi-jihadists led to the Second Russian-Chechen War. The Russian army ultimately drove the insurgents out of the Chechen capital Grozny in early 2000 and put in place a pro-Russian provisional government. The federally appointed government’s failure to provide basic social services and the rise of a new generation of Chechen militants educated in the Middle East contributed to an increasing shift in the nationalist, separatist insurgency toward Salafi-jihadism.[7]

The CRI had a conflictual relationship with the pro-Russian government of the Chechen Republic. Both bodies competed for authority over Chechnya. Moreover, Akhmad Kadyrov, prior to becoming the first president of the Chechen Republic, served as chief mufti of the CRI until the Second Russian-Chechen War.[8]

From 2004 to 2007, the Republic of Ichkeria became associated with militant organizations across the North Caucasus: the jamaats (assemblies) – Shariat Jamaat, Yarmuk Jamaat, Ingush Jamaat – and the Liberation Army of Dagestan. It also formed the Congress of Peoples of Dagestan and Ichkeria, a joint organizational front led by Chechen rebel Shamil Basayev and Deputy PM of the CRI, Movladi Udugov.[9] Despite sharing the goal of achieving an independent Chechnya, the CRI developed a conflictual relationship with the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR) and the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB), as their Islamic fundamentalism clashed with the moderate ideology of the CRI.[10]

The CRI allegedly received official recognition from the Afghan Taliban in 2000. While the Republic has been accused of cooperating with forces from the Afghan Taliban and Al Qaeda (AQ) for training and military operations, such claims are disputed.[11] Leading members of the CRI were at least sympathetic to broader AQ causes.[12]

In 2007, the last president of the CRI, Doku Umarov, abolished the Republic and established the Caucasus Emirate, the successor to the CRI and an umbrella organization for all other Islamic and separatist movements in the North Caucasus.[13] The inspiration for the Caucasus Emirate allegedly came from Anzor "Seifullah" Astemirov, head of the Yarmuk Jamaat. The official purpose of the Caucasus Emirate was to combine militant forces to achieve a unified, pan-Caucasian Islamic state. The Caucus Emirate integrated the CRI as a regional branch, the Vilayat Nokhchicho. By late 2015, however, the Caucasus Emirate had largely dissolved as many top leaders were killed by Russian security operations or joined the Caucasus Province of the Islamic State.[14]

[1] Pratsyuk, Tara. “Scrambling for Cover as Gunfire Fills the Sky.” The Guardian, 12 Dec. 1994. Web. 15 June 2012.

[2] “Russia: Nalchik Raid Leaves A Painful Legacy.” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 12 Oct. 2006. Web. 30 May 2012.

[3] “Chechnya '91-'97.” Conflict Database. University of Southern California, n.d. Web. 30 May 2012.

[4] “Russia | The World Almanac of Islamism.” American Foreign Policy Council, 14 July 2011. Web. 30 March 2012; Aliyev, Huseyn. "CRIA Peace-Building from the Bottom: A Case Study of the North Caucasus." Caucasian Review of International Affairs, 2010. Web. 02 Aug. 2012; “The vote of the dead souls.” The Economist, 27 March 2003. Web. 04 Aug. 2018.

[5] Lapidus, Gail W. “Contested Sovereignty: The Tragedgy of Chechnya.” International Security, vol. 23, no. 1, 1998, pp. 5 - 49. JSTOR. Accessed 03 Aug. 2018.

[6] Souleimanov, Emil Aslan. “Chechnya: History, Society, Conflict.” Oxford Bibliographies, 27 June 2017. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[7] Fagan, Geraldine, et al. “Political Islam in the North Caucasus.” Carnegie Europe, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[8] Kamusella, Tomasz. “Forgetting Chechnya.” New Eastern Europe, 10 July 2018. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[9] Bale, Jeffrey. “The Chechen Resistance and Radiological Terrorism.” Nuclear Threat Initiative, 01 April 2004. Web. 31 May 2012.

[10] Bale, Jeffrey. “The Chechen Resistance and Radiological Terrorism.” Nuclear Threat Initiative, 01 April 2004. Web. 31 May 2012; Kemoklidze, Nino, et al. “Many Faces of the Caucasus.” Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 64, no. 9, Nov. 2012.

[11] Williams, Brian Glyn. “Shattering the al-Qaeda-Chechen Myth.” The Jamestown Foundation, 23 April 2013. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[12] Albert, Craig Douglas. “Does Chechnya Represent a Strategic Terrorist Threat to the United States? A General Assessment.” U.S. House Joint Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs, 26 April 2013. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[13] Kuchins, Andrew C., Matthew Malarkey, and Sergei Markedonov. “The North Caucasus: Russia's Volatile Frontier.” Center for Strategic and International Studies, 31 March 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

[14] Joscelyn, Thomas. “Ex-Gitmo detainee, Islamic State’s leader in Chechnya designated by State Department.” The Long War Journal. 13 July 2016. Web. 13 Aug. 2018.

Organizational StructureLeadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations

Leadership

Dzhokhar Dudayev (November 9, 1991 to April 21, 1996): Dudayev was the first president of the CRI.[1] Prior to becoming president, he served in Estonia as a Soviet officer and later as head of the All National Congress of Chechen People. Dudayev was declared president in October 1991 and announced Chechen secession from the USSR that November. In 1996, Dudayev was killed in a Russian rocket attack.[2]

Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev (April 21, 1996 to 1997): Yandarbiyev helped negotiate the peace accords that ended the First Russian-Chechen War and served as the second president of the CRI.[3] He strove to establish an independent Islamic state in Chechnya and followed a radical interpretation of jihad. In 2002, he dissociated himself from the Chechen government, calling for less restraint in the campaign for national liberation. He was assassinated in Qatar by Russian agents in 2004.[4]

Aslan Maskhadov (February 12, 1997 to March 8, 2005): Maskhadov was the third president of the CRI. Under his leadership, the Republic was torn by political fragmentation, causing many individuals turned toward Islam as a basis for social cohesion.[5] In 2005, Maskhadov proposed a ceasefire and unconditional peace talks with Russian forces to end the armed conflict.

“Sheikh” Abdul Halim-Salomovich Sadulayev (March 8, 2005 to June 17, 2006): Sadulayev was the fourth president of the CRI and founder of the Caucasus and Dagestan Front. He opposed violence against civilians and managed to end the use of such tactics during his reign.[6]

Doku Umarov (June 2006 to October 2007): Umarov served as the fifth president of the CRI. He established the Caucasus Emirate, which united all the North Caucasus units under one umbrella organization. Umarov was known to be a field commander rather than an ideologue.[7]

[1] Bale, Jeffrey. “The Chechen Resistance and Radiological Terrorism.” Nuclear Threat Initiative, 01 April 2004. Web. 31 May 2012.

[2] Lapidus, Gail W. “Contested Sovereignty: The Tragedgy of Chechnya.” International Security, vol. 23, no. 1, 1998, pp. 5 - 49. JSTOR. Accessed 03 Aug. 2018; Barber, Tony. “Obituary: Dzhokha Dudayev.” The Independent, 25 April 1996. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[3] McGregor, Andrew. “The Assassination Of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev: Implications For The War On Terrorism.” The Jamestown Foundation, 14 July 2004. Web. 15 May 2012.

[4] McGregor, Andrew. “The Assassination of Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev: Implications for the War on Terrorism | Terrorism Monitor.” The Jamestown Foundation, 15 May 2004. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[5] Lapidus, Gail W. “Contested Sovereignty: The Tragedgy of Chechnya.” International Security, vol. 23, no. 1, 1998, pp. 5 - 49. JSTOR. Accessed 03 Aug. 2018; “Obituary: Aslan Maskhadov.” The Economist, 10 March 2005. Web. 03 Aug. 2018; Smick, Elisabeth. “The Chechen Separatist Movement.” Council on Foreign Relations, 18 July 2006. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[6] Hahn, Gordan M. “Islam, Islamism, and Politics in Eurasia Report.” Monterey Institute of International Studies, 18 Jan. 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2012.

[7] Kuchins, Andrew C., Matthew Malarkey, and Sergei Markedonov. “The North Caucasus: Russia's Volatile Frontier.” Center for Strategic and International Studies, 31 March 2011. Web. 28 Feb. 2012.

Name Changes

There are no recorded name changes for this group.

Size Estimates

2003: 1,200 fighters (Jamestown Foundation).[1]

[1] Williams, Brian Glyn. “Shattering the al-Qaeda-Chechen Myth.” The Jamestown Foundation, 23 April 2013. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

Resources

The CRI received much of its funding from financiers on the Arabian Peninsula affiliated with Al Qaeda (AQ).[1] While the Republic has been accused of cooperating with forces from the Taliban and Al Qaeda (AQ) for training and military operations, such claims are disputed.[2]

[1] Bhattacharji, Preeti. “Chechen Terrorism (Russia, Chechnya, Separatist).” Council on Foreign Relations, 08 April 2010. Web. 31 May 2012.

[2] Williams, Brian Glyn. “Shattering the al-Qaeda-Chechen Myth.” The Jamestown Foundation, 23 April 2013. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

Geographic Locations

Disclaimer: This is a partial list of where the militant organization has bases and where it operates. This does not include information on where the group conducts major attacks or has external influences.

The CRI largely managed political affairs within the Chechen Republic from 1991 – 2007. During the Second Russian-Chechen War, the CRI allegedly launched attacks in mainland Russia, especially near Moscow.[1]

[1] Smick, Elisabeth. “The Chechen Separatist Movement.” Council on Foreign Relations, 18 July 2006. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

StrategyIdeology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics

Ideology and Goals

Throughout its history, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria sought independence for the Chechen Republic from Russian rule.[1] The Chechen republic is majority Muslim, with most Chechens practicing Sunni Islam.[2] The CRI initially promoted a nationalist and secular ideology. However, support for Islam and radicals throughout Chechnya increased over the course of the 1990s as the federally appointed state was increasingly unable to provide security and basic social services. In the late 1990s, the injection of a younger generation of fighters educated in the Middle East helped to shift the group’s ideology toward Islamic ideals and the concept of religious struggle.[3] Leading members of the CRI were allegedly sympathetic to broader AQ causes.[4] After adopting a radical ideology, the CRI supported bombings and suicide attacks against the Russian Federation and other non-Muslims carried out by its forces and affiliates in the North Caucasus.[5]

[1] Smick, Elisabeth. “The Chechen Separatist Movement.” Council on Foreign Relations, 18 July 2006. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[2] Matloff, Judith. “Islam and Chechnya.” World Policy, 19 April 2013. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[3] Fagan, Geraldine, et al. “Political Islam in the North Caucasus.” Carnegie Europe, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[4] Albert, Craig Douglas. “Does Chechnya Represent a Strategic Terrorist Threat to the United States? A General Assessment.” U.S. House Joint Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs, 26 April 2013. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[5] Bale, Jeffrey. “The Chechen Resistance and Radiological Terrorism.” Nuclear Threat Initiative, 01 April 2004. Web. 31 May 2012.

Political Activities

The CRI was an internationally unrecognized secessionist government that intended to create an alternative governing body to the Russian regime. The group declared Chechen independence in 1991; however, conflict between secessionist officials and Kremlin-appointed officials for authority began when the Russian government established direct rule over Chechnya in 2000. The secessionist government operated under the Constitution of the CRI, adopted in 1992, which established laws regarding citizen rights and responsibilities, the system of state power, and the structure of the government, among other topics.[1]

The CRI selected its leaders through regular elections. The first presidential elections in 1991 led to the ascension of Dzhokhar Dudayev, head of the All National Congress of Chechen People, as the first president of the CRI. In 1997, popular vote led to the election of Aslan Maskhadov, over rebel leader Shamil Basayev, as the third CRI president.

From 1991 to 2010, the CRI was designated a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.[2] Under the rule of the Taliban government, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan temporarily recognized the independence of the CRI. In 2007, Umarov subsumed the CRI as a province under the new regional organization, the Caucasus Emirate.

[1] “The Constitution of the Chechen Republic.” Archive, 12 March 1992. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[2] “Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.” Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, 06 June 2018. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

Targets and Tactics

In its early years, the CRI waged guerrilla warfare against the Russian Federation’s military; however, after adopting an Islamist and jihadist ideology, the group began to target civilians. During the Russian-Chechen wars, the Chechen militia burned Russian military vehicles and engaged in direct combat with Russian forces. In 1996 and 1997, Chechen fighters associated with the CRI and Dagestani militants allegedly bombed Russian apartments, railway stations, and military bases in western and southwestern Russia. The Republic launched multiple suicide bombings with the help of Riyadus-Salikhin, the martyr battalion founded by Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev.[1]

[1] “Separatist Extremism in Russia.” Institute for the Study of Violent Groups, 2012. Web. 10 June 2012.

Major Attacks

Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.

While many attacks during the First and Second Chechen Wars were linked to the Republic of Ichkeria, including the Buddyonovsk hospital, Beslan school and Moscow theater hostage crises, groups like SPIR, IIPB and Riyadus-Salikhin frequently claimed responsibility for these incidents.

December 12, 1994: The CRI’s armed forces conducted their first ground operation against the Russian Federation, in Dolinskoe (200 killed, unknown wounded).[1]

January 1996: 250 Chechen separatists, led by Shamil Basayev and Salman Raduyev with the support of President Dudayev, held 3,000 people hostage in a hospital in Kizlyar and another 100 civilians in Pervomayskoe, Dagestan. This incident was linked to the Budyonnovsk hostage crisis in June 1995 (100 killed, unknown wounded).[2]

January 1996: In an event called the Black Sea hostage crisis, Turkish rebels of Chechen heritage hijacked a ferry in a Turkish port and demanded a ceasefire with Russian forces in Kizlyar-Pervomayskoe. The Turkish authorities, against the wishes of the Russians, negotiated with the hijackers and the recovered the hostages (Unknown killed, 13 wounded).[3]

September 1999: Chechen militants associated with the CRI exploded five bombs throughout Russia in a 10-day period, launching one of the largest militant attacks in Russia’s history. Most of the casualties were civilian (~300 killed, unknown wounded).[4]

October 15, 2005: 200 Chechen mujahideen fighters attacked several buildings associated with Russian security forces in Nalchik, Kabardino- Balkaria (140 killed, 160 wounded).[5]

[1] Pratsyuk, Tara. “Scrambling for Cover as Gunfire Fills the Sky.” The Guardian, 12 Dec. 1994. Web. 15 June 2012.

[2] "Chechen Rebels' Hostage History." BBC News, 09 Jan. 2004. Web. 15 June 2012.

[3] Kinzer, Stephen. "Pro-Chechen Ferry Hijackers Surrender to Turks.” The New York Times, 20 Jan. 1996. Web. 31 May 2012.

[4] National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). (2016). Global Terrorism Database [Data file]. Retrieved from https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd; Smick, Elisabeth. “The Chechen Separatist Movement.” Council on Foreign Relations, 18 July 2006. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[5] “Russia: Nalchik Raid Leaves A Painful Legacy.” Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 12 Oct. 2006. Web. 30 May 2012.

InteractionsForeign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences

Designated/ Listed

This group has not been designated as a terrorist organization by any major national government or international body.

Community Relations

Russia’s violent military tactics during the first Russian-Chechen War, which produced over 500,000 refugees, and Russia’s assassination of Dudayev alienated many Chechens, turning them in favor of the secessionist CRI government.[1]

[1] Kamusella, Tomasz. “Forgetting Chechnya.” New Eastern Europe, 10 July 2018. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

Relationships with Other Groups

The Republic of Ichkeria had close ties with militant movements across the North Caucasus, notably Yarmuk Jamaat, Shariat Jamaat, Ingush Jamaat, the Liberation Army of Dagestan, and Riyadus-Salikhin.[1] There is limited information on the Liberation Army of Dagestan and the jamaats; however, the CRI did collaborate with these groups to initiate small-scale attacks.

Despite sharing the goal of achieving an independent Chechnya, the CRI developed a complicated relationship with the IIPB and the SPIR. The Islamic fundamentalism of the two groups clashed directly with the more moderate ideology adopted by the CRI and President Maskhadov. Maskhadov sharply opposed the militant intervention in Dagestani, launched by militant leaders Basayev and Khattab, as muddying the reputation of Caucasian Muslims.[2] In 1998, SPIR leader Arbi Barayev refused to comply with CRI President Maskhadov’s order that the SPIR disband. SPIR militants and Maskhadov’s forces clashed repeatedly, and Barayev allegedly organized a mass uprising against the CRI government in 1998.[3] In 2003, according to Kavkaz Center, an anti-Moscow website affiliated with North Caucasus militant groups, the IIPB and the SPIR joined the armed forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI).[4]

The CRI had a conflictual relationship with the federally appointed, pro-Russian government of the Chechen Republic. Both bodies competed for authority over Chechnya. Moreover, the first president of the Chechen Republic, Akhmad Kadyrov, served as chief mufti of the CRI until the Second Russian-Chechen War.[5]

The CRI allegedly received official recognition from the Taliban in 2000. While the Republic has been accused of cooperating with forces from the Taliban and Al Qaeda (AQ) for training and military operations, such claims are disputed.[6] Leading members of the CRI and later, the Caucasus Emirate, were at least sympathetic to broader AQ causes.[7]

[1] Bhattacharji, Preeti. “Chechen Terrorism (Russia, Chechnya, Separatist).” Council on Foreign Relations, 08 April 2010. Web. 31 May 2012.

[2] Ter, Marta. “The Caucasus Emirate, the Other Russian Front.” Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, Nov. 2015. Web. 07 Aug. 2018.

[3] Ter, Marta. “The Caucasus Emirate, the Other Russian Front.” Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, Nov. 2015. Web. 07 Aug. 2018; “In the Spotlight: The Special Purpose Islamic Regiment.” Center for Defense Information, 02 May 2003. Web. 06 Aug. 2018.

[4] Abbas, Hassan. “State Department Blacklists Three Chechen Groups.” The Jamestown Foundation, 2003. Web. 06 Aug. 2018; Bale, Jeffrey. “The Chechen Resistance and Radiological Terrorism.” Nuclear Threat Initiative, 01 April 2004. Web. 31 May 2012; Kemoklidze, Nino, et al. “Many Faces of the Caucasus.” Europe-Asia Studies, vol. 64, no. 9, Nov. 2012.

[5] Kamusella, Tomasz. “Forgetting Chechnya.” New Eastern Europe, 10 July 2018. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[6] Williams, Brian Glyn. “Shattering the al-Qaeda-Chechen Myth.” The Jamestown Foundation, 23 April 2013. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

[7] Albert, Craig Douglas. “Does Chechnya Represent a Strategic Terrorist Threat to the United States? A General Assessment.” U.S. House Joint Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs, 26 April 2013. Web. 03 Aug. 2018.

State Sponsors and External Influences

The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, alongside other militant groups in the region, allegedly had ties with the Taliban and AQ. These ties remained intact even after the CRI joined the Caucasus Emirate in 2007.

MapsThe project develops a series of interactive diagrams that “map” relationships among groups and show how those relationships change over time. The user can change map settings to display different features (e.g., leadership changes), adjust the time scale, and trace individual groups.