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 Azerbaijan |  Chechnya |
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The relations between Azerbaijan and Chechen republic of Ichkeria have their roots in the dissolution of the Soviet Union. During this time, Azerbaijan withdrew from the Soviet Union, while Chechen republic of Ichkeria declared independence from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, although it was internationally unrecognized.
The relations between the Chechen republic of Ichkeria and Azerbaijan largely began in 1992. In early 1992, Abulfaz Elchibey, a leader of the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party, visited Grozny and established ties with the Chechen president Dzokhar Dudayev. [1] In June 1992, Abulfaz Elchibey was elected as the president of Azerbaijan. 300 Chechen volunteers recruited in Grozny arrived to Azerbaijan in early 1992 to participate in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War against Armenia. According to Azerbaijani Colonel Azer Rustamov, in 1992, "hundreds of Chechen volunteers rendered us invaluable help in these battles led by Shamil Basayev and Salman Raduyev". [2] Basayev was said to be one of the last fighters to leave Shusha (see Capture of Shusha). Chechen volunteers largely withdrew in 1993. Despite this cooperation, in an interview to Azerbaijani channel ANS in 2000, Basayev recalled the Azerbaijani army as disorganized and irresponsible during the battle of Shusha, and stated that he was disappointed with the Nagorno-Karabakh War because he "arrived to participate in Jihad" but did not find support for this idea among Azerbaijanis. [1]
In February 1993, an aide of President of Chechen republic of Ichkeria on external economic issues Ruslan Outsiev and his brother Nazarbek were murdered in London. According to British investigation, the killers were acting on the orders of Armenian security services. [3] The stated objective of brothers in the Great Britain was to commission a UK firm to print banknotes, stamps, passports and other documentation for Chechen republic of Ichkeria. However, their activities also involved opening several accounts, setting up overseas accounts, forming companies and negotiating various deals in oil and oil franchises. Among their objectives was also to acquire 2,000 ground-to-air Stinger missiles for Azerbaijan. [3] [4] [5] In May 1994, a sister-in-law of Armenian assassin was shot in an apparent revenge attack. [6] [7]
Despite these ties, the idea of North Caucasian unity often found Chechens and Azerbaijanis in disagreement on the issue of Lezgins in Azerbaijan. As such, the Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus, which mainly consisted of Chechens and propagated the idea of North Caucasian confederation, was frequently used against Azerbaijan due to its focus on North Caucasians. Jokhar Dudayev too openly used "Lezgin card" when he stated in an interview that if Azerbaijan agreed on a treaty on military cooperation with Chechnya, "the Lezgin issue would not be included on the agenda", as in that case he would pursue the Lezgins to cooperate with both Azerbaijan and Chechnya. Thus, it made conditional for Azerbaijan to have a good relation with Chechnya, or otherwise it would face the Lezgin problem. [8]
As for Azerbaijan's role in the Chechen conflict during Elchibey, in 1993, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia proposed a resolution to support Chechnya in Organisation of the Islamic Conference, although it was rejected by heads of other member states. [9]
During First Chechen War, new Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev stated that "Chechnya is an internal issue of Russia" and did not support Chechens in order to avoid worsening relations with Russia. [10] However, Azerbaijan often served as a safe haven for Chechen secessionists, which led to Russian government passing a resolution "On measures for a temporary prevention of border crossings with Azerbaijan and Georgia" seven days after the outbreak of the First Chechen War, on 19 December 1994. [11] This decision was also implemented to prevent Azerbaijani and Turkish volunteers from arriving to Chechnya, as some reports indicated that this was taking place. Russia-Azerbaijan border was closed unilaterally, and the railway, sea and auto communications were shut down. Azerbaijani ships were banned from using the Volga–Don Canal. [12]
According to a head of Chechen foreign intelligence Ahmed Noukhayev, Azerbaijan greatly helped Chechnya to accommodate refugees, and their number in Azerbaijan reached 10,000 by 2000. Chechens also had extensive business connections in Baku. [13] In January 1995, a cultural center of Chechen republic of Ichkeria was opened in Azerbaijan, while in 1999 — the office of the representative of Chechen republic began functioning. [10] It was tolerated until the Second Chechen War broke out with the Russian government forces. This turn was linked to the positive changes in the Russia-Azerbaijan relations with the ascent of Vladimir Putin to the Russian presidency. The inter-ethnic clashes between Chechens and Azerbaijanis also played their part, as well as Moscow apartments bombings and September 11 attacks, which discredited the Chechen resistance movement in the eyes of Azerbaijani public. [12] Azerbaijani government tightened its border control and Azerbaijani-Russian security forces conducted joint operations to arrest Chechen military commanders on Azerbaijani territory. [14] This caused discontent among Chechen officials. Chechen refugees wrote to Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev an open letter [10] saying that they were ready to leave Azerbaijan, "even if this means torture and death on Russian territory, to avoid experiencing abuse from brotherly independent Azerbaijan". [15] As such, in May 2001, President of Chechen republic of Ichkeria Aslan Maskhadov said that "Azerbaijan ceased being a friendly country for Ichkeria". [10]
Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with the country of Georgia to its south; with the Russian republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia-Alania to its east, north, and west; and with Stavropol Krai to its northwest.
The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the Russian Federation from December 11th, 1994 to August 31st, 1996. This conflict was preceded by the battle of Grozny in November 1994, during which Russia covertly sought to overthrow the new Chechen government. Following the intense Battle of Grozny in 1994–1995, which concluded as a pyrrhic victory for the Russian federal forces, their subsequent efforts to establish control over the remaining lowlands and mountainous regions of Chechnya were met with fierce resistance from Chechen guerrillas who often conducted surprise raids.
Akhmad-Khadzhi Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov was a Russian politician and revolutionary who served as Chief Mufti of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War. At the outbreak of the Second Chechen War he switched sides, offering his service to the Russian government, and later became the President of the Chechen Republic from 5 October 2003, having acted as head of administration since July 2000.
Aslan (Khalid) Aliyevich Maskhadov was a Soviet and Chechen politician and military commander who served as the third president of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
Shamil Salmanovich Basayev, also known by his kunya "Abu Idris", was a North Caucasian guerilla leader who served as a senior military commander in the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He held the rank of brigadier general in the Armed Forces of Ichkeria, and was posthumously declared generalissimo. As a military commander in the separatist armed forces of Chechnya, one of his most notable battles was the separatist recapture of Grozny in 1996, which he personally planned and commanded together with Aslan Maskhadov. He also masterminded several of the worst terrorist attacks that occurred in Russia.
The history of Chechnya may refer to the history of the Chechens, of their land Chechnya, or of the land of Ichkeria.
Zelimkhan Abdulmuslimovich Yandarbiyev was a writer and politician from Chechnya, who served as acting president of the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria between 1996 and 1997. Yandarbiyev was deemed by UN a suspected associate of Al-Qaida extremist group, and is the first of Chechen leader to be named part of Al-Qaida terrorist network. In 2004, Yandarbiyev was assassinated while in exile in Qatar.
Dzhokhar Musayevich Dudayev was a Chechen politician, statesman and military leader of the 1990s Chechen Independence movement from Russia. He served as the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from 1991 until his assassination in 1996. Previously he had been a Major General of Aviation in the Soviet Armed Forces.
Abulfaz Gadirgulu oghlu Aliyev, better known as Abulfaz Elchibey, was an Azerbaijani politician, Azerbaijani nationalist and Soviet dissident who was the first and only democratically elected President in post-Soviet Azerbaijan. He was the leader of the Azerbaijani Popular Front and played an important role in achieving Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union.
Ali Musaevich Taziev, also known as Akhmed Yevloev, Magomet Yevloyev, and Emir Magas; born 19 August 1974) is the former leader of both the Ingushetia-based Ingush Jamaat and as the military wing of the Caucasus Emirate. On 30 September 2006, Taziev was appointed to the post of commander of the Caucasian Front by the orders of Dokka Umarov. In July 2007, one year after Shamil Basayev’s death, Taziev became his official successor as the most high-ranking military commander in the rebel forces. He is believed to be personally responsible for the death of several local high-ranking security officials.
Vedeno is a rural locality and the administrative center of Vedensky District, Chechnya.
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, known simply as Ichkeria, and also known as Chechnya, is a former de facto state that controlled most of the former Checheno-Ingush ASSR.
Movladi Saidarbievich Udugov is the former First Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI). As a Chechen propaganda chief, he was credited for the Chechens' victory on the information front during the First Chechen War.
Anti-Russian violence in Chechnya refers to acts of violence that were recorded against Russian and non-Chechen civilians in Chechnya from 1991 to 1994, which resulted in tens of thousands of ethnic Russians leaving or being expelled from the republic. Chechen separatists declared independence in 1991 as part of the disintegration of the Soviet Union before the First Chechen War began in 1994.
The Chechen–Russian conflict refers to a centuries-long ethnic and political conflict, often armed, between the Russian, Soviet and Imperial Russian governments and various Chechen forces. The recent phase of the conflict started after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and ended with the crushing of the separatist movement and oppression of the Chechen population.
The 1993 Azeri coup d'état, also known as the Ganja Uprising, was a military coup lead by Azerbaijani military commander Surat Huseynov. On June 4, 1993, Huseynov's forces lead a march from the city of Ganja to the Azerbaijani capital of Baku in order to overthrow President Abulfaz Elchibey who was elected in independent Azerbaijan's first free election in 1992.
The Chechen National Army or Chechen Armed Forces are the united militarized formations of the former de facto Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
Chechen volunteers on the side of Ukraine are armed Chechen volunteers and other formations fighting on the side of Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian war. These formations have been fighting on the side of Ukraine since the start of the conflict in 2014. The Chechen forces position themselves as the Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
Pan-Caucasianism is a political current supporting the cooperation and integration of some or all peoples of the Caucasus. Pan-Caucasianism has been hindered by the ethnic, religious and cultural diversity of the Caucasus, and frequent regional conflicts. Historically popular during the Russian Civil War, pan-Caucasianism has formed a part of the foreign policy of Georgia and Chechen militants since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Relations between Georgia and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria began in 1991, when both countries declared independence from the Soviet Union. They continued to pursue relations until Chechnya was re-annexed by Russia in 2000.
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 Foreign relations of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria | ||
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