The Chechen Republic is part of the Russian Federation. Belongs to the North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD). The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny.

In the west, Chechnya borders with Ingushetia, in the northeast and east with Dagestan, with North Ossetia in the northwest, and in the south it intersects with the border with Georgia.

Take it to yourself:

Chechen Republic: briefly about the main thing

When the Second Chechen War began, the administration of the Chechen Republic was formed. Its leader was Akhmat Kadyrov, who went over to the side of Russia. In 2003, the Chechen Republic adopted a new Constitution, according to which it became part of the Russian Federation. Also, in 2003, presidential elections were held in which Akhmat Kadyrov was elected. However, he was killed on May 9, 2004 in Grozny due to a terrorist attack.

Alu Alkhanov took the place of Akhmat Kadyrov in 2004. He resigned after 3 years, in 2007. Ramzan Kadyrov, the son of Akhmat Kadyrov, became the new president of the Chechen Republic in 2007.

According to the State Committee of Russia, the population of Chechnya is 1,324,767 people. (2013). The most populated is the capital - the city of Grozny (250,803 people), the second place is occupied by the city of Urus-Martan (52,399 people).

Representatives of various nationalities live in the Chechen Republic: Chechens, Russians, Kumyks, Chamalals, Nogais, Ingush, Tatars and many others. etc. The official languages ​​of the republic are Chechen and Russian.

The republic contains a large number of beautiful places: rivers, lakes, waterfalls, high mountains, etc.

• The main religion is Islam;
• State languages: Chechen and Russian;
• Now the republic is home to just under one and a half million people;
• The bulk of the republic's population are Chechens;
• In Chechnya, penny coins do not circulate and prices in local retail outlets are always multiples of one ruble;
• In Chechnya, cars are almost never stolen (but times are changing);
• Contrary to popular belief, no one forces Chechen women to wear headscarves;
• Almost all surnames in Chechnya are based on the name of an ancestor;
• This republic was the first territory where a ban on the operation of slot machines was adopted;
• According to local traditions, men are considered adults from the age of 15. That is, at this age they must themselves be responsible for all the actions they have committed;
• Chechens, like the Ingush, call themselves Vainakhs. Translated into Russian, the word “vai” means “one’s own”, and “nakh” means “people”. Thus, Vainakh means “one’s people” or “one’s people.”

Photos of Chechnya

History of the Chechen Republic

People have lived in the plains of Sunzha and Terek since time immemorial, but in the 13th century the ancestors of modern Chechens were forced to leave for the mountainous areas. The reason for this was the turmoil brought during the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

Thus, until the 16th century, the bulk of Chechens lived in mountainous areas. Around the same period, in the society of representatives of the Vainakh ethnic group, the teip, or as it is also called, the tribal structure of society, began to emerge, in which the territory of a person’s residence and his family ties, which are very strong among this people to this day, were of great importance.

Since the 16th century, Chechens began to gradually move to the flatlands again. And at the same period, one Shikh-Murza Okotsky begins to establish connections with Moscow and sends his like-minded people to the capital of Russia, called upon to discuss the entry of Chechnya into Russia.

Around the same time, the first Cossack settlers appeared here, marking the beginning of the formation of the so-called Terek Cossacks. In the 18th century it ceased to be free, and the Cossacks officially became part of the Russian armed forces. The main task of the Terek Cossacks was to protect the southern borders of Russia.

In the 18th century, Russian military campaigns into the territory of Chechnya became regular. The cause of the conflict was the constant complaints of the Cossacks about the raids of the indigenous population on their settlements, which did not contribute to the security of the borders.

In the 19th century, Emperor Alexander II issued a decree according to which Chechnya officially became part of the Russian Empire, along with other districts. This territory began to be called the Terek region.

After the Russian civil war of 1917, an Islamic state was created on the territory of the republic. The head of the North Caucasus Emirate was Uzun Haji (emir). However, the emirate soon lost its independence and became known as the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, as it became part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR).

Then, with the advent of Soviet power, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Terek region was divided into Ingush and Chechen districts. Then, in 1934 and 1936, it was alternately renamed the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Okrug and the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

During the Great Patriotic War, at the end of winter 1944, the entire population of Chechnya was deported to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The reason for these repressive measures was the unfair accusation of the Chechens and Ingush that they allegedly acted as accomplices of the fascist troops.

As a result, the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was disbanded. Its territories were partially annexed to other geographical entities, and partially included the Grozny region. Thus, the city of Grozny was preserved and became the administrative center of the newly formed region. In 1957, a decision was made to restore justice to the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and the indigenous population returned to their native lands. However, the problem of the land issue still exists between some regions.

War in Chechnya

During the collapse of the USSR, various national movements intensified in Chechnya. The Executive Committee of the national congress was created here, thus, two branches of government worked simultaneously in the republic. The national movement was led by Dzhokhar Dudayev. The major general set his goal to achieve Chechnya's secession from the Soviet Union. The official head of the republic, Doku Zavgaev, did not give in to his position, and as a result, this contradiction formed the basis of a long-term military conflict.

After perestroika in 1991, Boris Yeltsin signed a decree introducing a special situation in the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In response to this, Dzhokhar Dudayev began creating self-defense units. The first armed conflict between Russian and Chechen troops occurred in November 1991, when Dudayev’s fighters blocked planes with Russian military on board at Khankala airport. As a result of negotiations, Russian military personnel were withdrawn from Chechnya, leaving there most of the military equipment and weapons, which subsequently passed to Dudayev’s fighters.

The Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic ceased to exist and was divided into Chechnya and Ingushetia. In the last autumn of 1992, military operations took place on the territory and the displacement of the Ingush from the suburban region, and in the summer of 1992 it officially became part of the RSFSR as the Ingush Republic. In the same year, the Council of Russian Deputies recognized the existence of the Chechen Republic and introduced corresponding amendments to the constitution.

Ichkeria

Despite the fact that the independence of Chechnya was not recognized by any state, the republic actually existed independently, having its own government, courts, flag, coat of arms, anthem, etc. In 1993, it received a new name and became known as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

The situation in Chechnya at that time was extremely tense. Business in the republic was mainly criminal, and was often based on hostage-taking, oil theft or drug trafficking.

The rampant crime became the reason that opposition movements began to form in Chechnya that did not support the Dudayev regime. Thus, the Provisional Council of the Chechen Republic arose here, whose members fought to overthrow Dudayev and enlisted the support of Russia.

This was followed by two large military campaigns. The first Chechen war, which began with the storming of Grozny, lasted from 1994 to 1995. Dzhokhar Dudayev died in 1995 from an air missile strike.

The second Chechen war began in 1999. Active hostilities in Chechnya ended in the early spring of 2000. Further, the military conflict was of a partisan nature. Now the Chechen Republic is officially part of the Russian Federation.

Authorities of Chechnya

The head of the Chechen Republic is Ramzan Kadyrov. He has held this position since 2007, after the official voluntary resignation of Alu Alkhanov.

And the first president of the Chechen Republic was Akhmad Kadyrov, the father of Ramzan Kadyrov. Under him, a constitution was adopted in 2003, according to which the republic became part of the Russian Federation. Akhmat Kadyrov died in 2004. He became one of the victims of the terrorist attack in Grozny.

Parliament of Chechnya:

• Council of the Republic - 21 people, according to the number of districts of the republic;
• The People's Assembly - 40 deputies - 20 from party lists and 20 from single-mandate constituencies.

On April 11, 2007, Odes Baysultanov was appointed Chairman of the Government of the Chechen Republic.

Geography of the Chechen Republic

Geographically, Chechnya is located in the North Caucasus in the area of ​​the Sunzha and Terek rivers. To the north of the republic steppe and semi-desert terrain predominates, to the south there are mountain ranges (Caucasus Mountains), and in the middle there is forest-steppe. The local climate can be classified as continental.

In addition to the Terek and Sunzha, on the territory of the republic there are 17 more rivers, 15 lakes, and five waterfalls. There are also many mountain ranges here, five of them are over four thousand meters.

Conventionally, the republic can be divided into several main zones:

• Predgorny. This land, partially covered with forest, has been famous for its fertility from time immemorial. Thanks to the fairly mild climate, fruit-bearing southern plants and trees have long taken root here. The value of this site was also given by the fact that many trees grow here, which are used to build houses and other structures;
• Mountain. People call this area the “black mountains”. Here there are mostly mountain ranges, “decorated” with beautiful waterfalls and ravines. It is noteworthy that a large area of ​​rocks here is covered with black soil, thanks to which not only many ordinary trees grow in the forests, but also fruit-bearing species: plum, pear, dogwood, apple tree, etc. The huge number of herbs growing in the local forests, among which there are many medicinal ones, is also striking;
• Alpine. Here the picture is different. The harsh climate and cold caused the appearance of eternal snow and glaciers on the tops of the ridges. In the northern part of Chechnya, where the mountains are slightly lower, you can see valleys covered with black earth soil. During the warm season, they are usually used as pasture;
• Plain. There are two main plains in the Chechen Republic, one is located on the left bank of the Terek, and the second is between the Black Mountains, Termsky, Grozny, and Sunzhensky mountain ranges.

The republic can be proud not only of its incredibly beautiful mountain landscapes and generous fertile soil, but also of the presence of various natural resources on its territory. Chechnya has three dozen gas and oil fields. Gypsum, mineral paints, sandstone, limestone, etc. are also mined here. Famous healing mineral springs are also located here.

Rivers

The rivers on the territory of Chechnya are scattered. There are 20 main rivers in total, these are: Terek, Argun, Gekhi, Sunzha, Sharoargun, Aksai, Baas, Khulkhulau, Martan, Yamansu, Shalazha, Gums, Yaryk-su, Roshnya, Fortanga, Michik, Netkhoi, Shalazha, Chemulga, Assa.

There are 14 lakes, the largest and deepest of them is Lake Kezenoyam, located in the North Caucasus and is mountainous (belongs to the Vedeno region).

• Lakes of the Achkhoy-Martan region: Galayn-Am, Gekhi-Am.
• Lakes of the Shelkovsky region: Bolshoye, Solenoye, Cherkasskoye.
• Lakes of the Shatoi region: Urgyukhoy-am, Bezik-Ome.
• Lakes of the Naursky district: Kapustino, Mayorskoye, Generalskoye and Chechenskoye. One lake belongs to the Sharoysky district - Amga, as well as to Itum-Kalinsky - Chentiy-am.

There are only five waterfalls, these are: Argun, Genikh, Sharo-Argun, Khulkhuloi and Aksai waterfalls.

The highest peaks of the mountains were called “Four-thousander peaks”, befitting their height: Maistismta (4082 m), Donosmta (4174 m), Komito (4262 m), Diklosmta (4285 m), Tebulosmta (4493 m).

Fauna of Chechnya

Due to the fact that there are several different climatic areas on the territory of the republic, its flora and fauna are striking in their diversity. The climate here, depending on the area, can be continental, arid or alpine. In one area, the average winter temperature can be only “-3” degrees, and in another from “-12” to “-15” degrees. Precipitation in the republic is also uneven.

Considering that on the territory of Chechnya there are different natural zones, ranging from steppes and deserts, to forests, forest-steppes and glaciers in the mountains, you can meet a wide variety of fauna here.

In total, more than 400 species of animals live on the territory of the republic. Of these, about 200 are “Red Book”, which is why the republican authorities pay great attention to the fight against poachers exterminating rare species of animals.

Bears, lynxes and forest cats live in the mountains and gorges. The local forests are home to foxes, roe deer, chamois, weasels, badgers, Caucasian red deer and saiga.

The last animal, in appearance, very much resembles a ram with long legs, and prefers to live on dry, flat steppes. But in the mountains it is almost impossible to find this Caucasian animal. Also, here you can often see a wild jackal, which is a cross between a fox and a wolf. The jackal is omnivorous, and in the absence of meat or fish, is ready to eat, for example, fruits or wild berries.

The flora of the republic is also very rich. And if camel thorn and wormwood mainly grow on arid soils, then the black earth lands delight us with high yields of wheat, corn and various garden crops. And in the mountain meadows many medicinal herbs grow, and here local residents often set up apiaries to collect surprisingly aromatic, tasty and pure honey.

Flag of Chechnya

The State Flag of Chechnya is a rectangular panel of three straight stripes: green top - 65 cm, middle white - 10 cm and red bottom - 35 cm. The entire flag is framed along the contour with gold fringe. The ratio of width to length is 2:3.

Coat of arms of Chechnya

Emblem of the Chechen Republic

The State Emblem of Chechnya was approved on June 22, 2004. The coat of arms is made in a round shape of a two-dimensional plane. It has four colors: yellow, white, red and blue.

In the central part of the Coat of Arms is the Symbol of Unity and Eternity in the form of a national Chechen ornament, which is painted red. The mountains, the oil rig and the historical Vainakh tower are painted blue.

On a blue background, yellow ears of wheat are depicted, framing the inner circle. They symbolize the wealth of the people of Chechnya.

The outer circle has an image of a red pattern of ornaments in the national style of the Chechens on a yellow background.

Is the wolf a symbol of Chechnya and the Chechens?

There is a fictional story that has nothing to do with Chechnya:

According to an ancient legend, in time immemorial the Almighty commanded people and animals to keep the commandments and give each other only good things. At first everyone tried to keep the commandments, but over time they began to give free rein to their emotions and began to cause pain and death to their neighbors. People killed each other, stole and gave vent to anger. The animals behaved the same way. In the whole earth, only one she-wolf kept all the commandments and tried to live, treating all her neighbors as brothers.

Meanwhile, the Almighty sent angels to the earth to keep people and animals from sin, but the inhabitants of the earth did not accept God’s messengers and continued to commit lawlessness.

And the Almighty became angry and brought down his wrath on the earth in the form of terrible hurricanes, during which hundred-year-old trees were uprooted and the seas raged! And while the strongest gusts of icy wind destroyed everything and everyone, sand fell from the sky, which fell into people’s throats, preventing them from breathing.

And then all the sinners rushed into the scattered, trying to escape, and only one she-wolf was ready to humbly accept her fate. She stood and did not move, and her wolf cubs and people were hiding behind her. And all the wrath of the Almighty fell on the she-wolf, and the wind blew on her so hard that it tore pieces of meat and skin from her body, but she stood and did not even think about running...

And then the Almighty appreciated her courage and said that there was still one worthy creature left in the world. And after that, the bad weather that turned the earth into hell instantly stopped. People came out from behind the she-wolf and immediately killed her, so as not to leave alive a witness to their fear, shame and humiliation.

Take it to yourself:

So, the Chechen Republic (Chechnya) is one of the Subjects of the Russian Federation and is part of the North Caucasus District. In total, its territory occupies over 15.5 square kilometers. It is famous for its beautiful views: mountain ranges, waterfalls and lakes. The Chechen land is also rich in fertile soils, valuable tree species, as well as minerals: oil, gas, etc.

The local population has lived in the Chechen plains and mountains since the 13th century. In the 19th century, most of these lands became part of Russia.

Demography, population losses and migration flows in the zone of armed conflict in the Chechen Republic

The very idea and possibility of elections is based on the fact that the opinion, the vote of each person can be taken into account and correlated with the opinions of other members of the community - that is, on the assumption of their countability. If the whole is not defined, its components also lose meaning. The rulers, who were by no means elected, also sought to take their subjects into account, however, for other purposes - one can recall both the English “Book of the Last Judgment” and the biblical “Book of Numbers”.

Turning to estimates of the size, migration and loss of population in the zone of armed conflict in the Chechen Republic, one involuntarily recalls the name of another Old Testament text - “The Book of Chronicles”, the Book of the Lost, Lost...

Errors in voter lists are a serious thing. More recently, in December, the absence of a third of voters from the lists became one of the reasons for the overthrow of the ruling regime in Georgia. But it's there, just around the corner. And on our side of the Greater Caucasus Range, in Chechnya, an almost one and a half excess of the number of voters over the theoretically possible one is in the order of things.
Some would call this an anomaly, a deviation from the norm. However, gentlemen, three-dimensional images have this property: break the hologram into parts, and in each piece you will see not a fragment of the original picture, not a part, but the whole. Only in miniature. In the Chechen "presidential elections" of October 5, 2003, one can see the contours of the Russian elections of March 14.

Perhaps that is why the article “The Book of Numbers. The Book of Losses. The Book of the Last Judgment. Demography, population losses and migration flows in the zone of armed conflict in the Chechen Republic” will be of interest not only to those who are interested in our last “Caucasian war”.

The article will be included in the book “The Political Process Through the Looking Glass”, which is being prepared for publication by the Moscow Helsinki Group and the Memorial Human Rights Center.

The results of three 2003 votes in Chechnya - the referendum on March 26, the presidential elections on October 5 and the Duma elections on December 7 - were summed up based on the results of the October 2002 census. Then it was officially announced that the population of the Chechen Republic was 1 million 88 thousand people.

Three years earlier, at the beginning of the “second Chechen war,” the federal center estimated the population of the Chechen Republic at 350 thousand people, of which 300 thousand were Chechens. Thus, in November 1999, Igor Shabdurasulov (then deputy head of the Presidential Administration) said: “Today, more than 750 thousand Chechens live outside the republic, in Russia. In the republic itself, according to various estimates, from 150 to 200 thousand remain, and those , whom we call “forced migrants,” are also about 100-150 thousand.”

How to combine these two numbers? So, in three years the population of Chechnya has tripled? It turns out that not only all the refugees of the “second Chechen war” returned to the republic, but also the entire previously established diaspora. The assumption is, to put it mildly, bold.

To understand this solitaire game, you need to try to answer several questions.

Firstly, what was the population of the republic at different times, how many people lived on the territory of the republic?
Secondly, what was the migration beyond its borders, how many refugees were at different times outside of Chechnya?
Thirdly, what is the scale of death of residents of Chechnya during the armed conflicts of recent years?

And then the resulting figures should somehow be coordinated with each other...

The previous census in Checheno-Ingushetia, as well as throughout the USSR, took place in 1989. The population of the Chechen Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic amounted to 1275.5 thousand actual people and 1270.4 thousand permanent ones. There is no separate information about the population living in the territory of modern Chechnya and Ingushetia; in 1989 it can be estimated as slightly more than 1.1 million and 170 thousand people, respectively.

The national composition of the permanent population of the Chechen Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was as follows: out of 1270.4 thousand - 734.5 thousand Chechens, 163.8 thousand Ingush, 293.8 thousand Russians, 14.8 thousand Armenians, 12.6 thousand Ukrainians. There is no exact information about the national composition of the population of the territory of Chechnya proper in 1989, a possible estimate: out of 1084 thousand - approximately 715 thousand Chechens, 25 thousand Ingush, 269 thousand Russians; Thus, the upper estimate of the Vainakh population at that time is 755-760 thousand people.

According to censuses, the number of Vainakhs in the USSR increased by 27% in 1979-89, which corresponds to an annual increase of 2.42%. We can proceed from these data when estimating the maximum possible size of the Vainakh and, in particular, the Chechen component of the population of Checheno-Ingushetia. Compared to the last years of Soviet power, in the 1990s socio-economic conditions were unlikely to contribute to an increase in the birth rate and a decrease in mortality from natural causes. Note that these estimates are maximum; according to more cautious forecasts, the increase in the 1990s could be 15%, or at best 20%. Still, extrapolating census data for the period of the second Chechen war, we find that the number of Chechens could have exceeded a million in 2002.

Table 1. Maximum size of the Chechen population of Chechnya and Ingushetia during the “second Chechen war” (* - extrapolation of the period 1979-1989)

To understand how different these estimates, these predictions are from reality (even as reflected in official documents), it is enough to turn to the data of current demographic statistics of the 1990s. These data also cast doubt on the correctness of the above statements by officials. The "Russian Statistical Yearbook" gives the following dynamics of the population of Chechnya and Ingushetia:

Table 2. Current population of Chechnya and Ingushetia (in thousands of people, as of January 1 of each year)

	Chechnya	Ingushetia

Table 3. Distribution of the permanent population of the Chechen Republic by gender and main age groups as of January 1, 1998

This gender and age structure of the population of Chechnya looks plausible. The shortage of the male population - 70 thousand people - is not explained by military losses (see below), but by the departure of men to other regions of Russia to earn money.

We also note that, according to the table, the number of voters in the Chechen Republic on the eve of the second war could not exceed 526,720 people.

The main factor changing the demography of Chechnya in recent years has been migration outside the republic.

The Russian media spoke most of all about the exodus of the “Russian-speaking” (more precisely, non-Vainakh) population - this is true, but by no means the whole truth.

The number of Eastern Slavs (Russians and Ukrainians) in Checheno-Ingushetia was rapidly declining back in the 70s and 80s - according to census data, from 379.6 thousand in 1970 to 306.4 thousand in 1989. Then, of course, this was not connected with the “criminal regime of Dudayev and Maskhadov.”

In addition, a similar outcome was observed in other national formations of the Caucasus. This was explained by many factors. Firstly, relative overpopulation and land scarcity. Secondly, tense relations between national groups - even in the era of “friendship of peoples”. Thirdly, the greater unity of the peoples of the Caucasus compared to the Russians - even when it came to the Cossacks.

In Chechnya, these processes were much deeper and tougher than in the neighboring republics - the reason for this was both high hidden unemployment and the greater stability of traditional social institutions among the Vainakhs, where everyone was under the protection of the community - which made them an object of pressure, including criminal, representatives of non-Vainakh ethnic groups.

The weakening of power structures in general and law enforcement agencies in particular in 1991-1994 accelerated the outflow of Russian-speaking residents from Chechnya, but even during the first Chechen war, Grozny remained a half-Russian city. In 1996-1999, the practical collapse of statehood and even the merging of power in Chechnya with openly criminal structures, on the one hand, and, on the other, the central government’s ignorance of the human rights situation in the region led to the exodus of most of the non-Vainakh population from the republic.

Finally, the second Chechen war, which began in 1999, practically completed the ethnic cleansing of the republic - everyone fled from the fighting, almost exclusively Chechens returned. Even the Grozny Ingush were not very keen to return and settled in Ingushetia.

Between the wars, Chechens also fled from Chechnya. During this period, up to one and a half thousand local residents, primarily Chechens, were kidnapped for ransom - as we see, traditional social institutions were already disintegrating. But what was the size of that wave of refugees? In the fall of 1999, Vladimir Putin, then the chairman of the Russian government, spoke about the diaspora: “We are ready for political cooperation with those citizens of Chechnya who have left the territory of the Chechen Republic in recent years, and let me remind you, there are 220 thousand Russians and 550 thousand Chechens" - from the context it is obvious that we were talking only about pre-war emigration.

If we can agree with the estimate of the number of Slavs who left, the origin of the last figure is inexplicable. Of the 978,426 forced migrants registered with the Federal Migration Service on January 1, 1999, 10,995 were Chechens. In 1998, 2,026 Chechens were registered in this capacity. The total number of forced migrants from Chechnya was 147,232; a year earlier there were 13,007. The departure of Chechens from the territory of Chechnya to other regions of Russia was hindered in the second half of the 1990s by the fact that both the authorities and sometimes the local population viewed them as “foreigners,” and very hostile ones at that.

The assessments made public by Putin, when adopted by lower-ranking officials, put them in an awkward position. When in the fall of 1999 the number of refugees leaving the republic peaked at 350 thousand, Vladimir Kalamanov, at that time the head of the Federal Migration Service, said: “The whole of Chechnya has withdrawn, registered and is migrating!” And this was putting it mildly: if we take seriously the official estimate of the population of Chechnya at the beginning of the conflict at 300 thousand, federal troops at that moment overcame the resistance of several tens of thousands of blocked people... with a minus sign!

The only conclusion that saves us from this absurdity is that official statements and figures were determined by considerations of short-term political gain and were related to reality very indirectly. Real information about the population of the Chechen Republic, and therefore about the scale of the possible subsequent exodus of refugees from there, could complicate the planning of a military operation or even call it into question.

Apparently, no one in the power structures was embarrassed by the fact that in the end there were many - many times more - people under bombs in the zone of armed conflict, that the wave of refugees far exceeded all forecasts. Moreover, the statements of officials were not corrected; they still contradicted not only reality and common sense, but also each other. Not only reality, but also what stood behind the numbers - human lives - receded before political expediency.

Are there any real data, based not only on estimates and extrapolations, on the population of Chechnya at the beginning of the “second Chechen war”? There were references to the “Maskhadov census” in the sources - the author previously considered them apocryphal, but in 2003 he changed his mind.

The population census in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was carried out over several months, from August to October 1998.

The sample for the census forms was the standard form used during the 1989 All-Union Census; this form was changed only in detail.

During these three months, census takers carried out door-to-door surveys - perhaps not equally carefully everywhere, but they came to some respondents’ homes three times, and only on the third time they found them and questioned them.

There was no subsequent input of information from the sheets into the computer, much less any analysis of the information. Processing of census results was reduced to counting census forms. But even with the involvement of all employees of all departments of the Department of Demographic Statistics, this simple operation dragged on until February 1999. In total, there are about 800 thousand inhabitants in Chechnya. Note that similar values ​​were given in the Russian Statistical Yearbook.

If on the eve and at the very beginning of the second Chechen war information about the number of residents of the Chechen Republic received “political significance” - in statements by officials their number decreased from 800 to 300 thousand - then in the subsequent months and years the question of the number of forced migrants who left from the conflict zone. The information released by Vladimir Kalamanov - up to 350 thousand refugees - corresponded to reality, but was extremely inconvenient for the federal authorities.

From the very beginning of the armed conflict, officials not only disputed the figures, but primarily denied or replaced the reasons for such a mass exodus, the main one of which was and remains the very nature of the way the “security forces” acted in Chechnya. This operation was called “counter-terrorist” - such a definition implies the highest selectivity of actions. The purpose of such an operation is, first of all, to save people, and then to capture or destroy terrorists. In fact, the main tools for the military component of the Chechen campaign were massive indiscriminate bombing and shelling, and for the “police” component - mass indiscriminate detentions. The operation was not “counterterrorism” from the very beginning: there was neither a file of terrorists to be detained, nor a list of targets for attack. “Spot strikes,” “humanitarian corridors,” and “safety zones” existed only in official propaganda.

In the fall of 1999, people fled from Chechnya from “targeted strikes” - that is, from massive indiscriminate bombing and shelling. But the roads declared “humanitarian corridors” would be more appropriately called “death corridors”: the number of people who died in populated areas and when leaving them was comparable. However, on the whole, this survival strategy paid off.

Migration statistics were and remain incompatible with the official position on the imminent normalization of the situation in Chechnya. From the very beginning, the military and propagandists claimed that everything was fine there, and that people were being driven away by militants to create the “illusion of a humanitarian catastrophe.” The ideal here is: there are no refugees (or rather, there is no television picture of forced migrant camps) - which means there is no problem. This temptation was there from the very beginning: on September 25, 1999, General Shamanov, by telephone message, prohibited the internal affairs departments from allowing migrants from the Chechen Republic through the administrative borders. All subjects of the federation complied with this - except for Ingushetia, headed by President Ruslan Aushev. Thus, most of the forced migrants from Chechnya ended up in Ingushetia, at some point the current population of the republic almost doubled compared to the permanent one. Within six months, the number of forced migrants from this last wave dropped here to approximately 150 thousand people. It remained at this level until the second half of 2002, when active attempts at their “voluntary-forced” return to Chechnya began. But even a year and a half later, half of them remain in Ingushetia. At the end of 2003, Russian officials spoke of 4,200 or 4,500 forced migrants in tent camps (small towns). The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates the population of the camps at 7 thousand people, in addition to which another 24 thousand live in temporary settlements in adapted premises and 36 thousand in the private sector, for a total of 67 thousand internally displaced persons.

From the very beginning of the armed conflict, the federal authorities disputed these figures. Information from international humanitarian organizations was constantly questioned by Russian official representatives, but after the Ministry of Internal Affairs took into account the forced migrants in the summer of 2002, these doubts disappeared. The joint work of government agencies and humanitarian organizations in Ingushetia, mutual transparency, mutual control and cross-checking of information have done their job.

The reduction in the number of Chechen refugees in Ingushetia was not only due to the return to Chechnya - those who could, traveled to other regions of the Russian Federation or even beyond its borders.

Officials cited various reasons why all attempts to return migrants to their places of permanent residence have failed. The main reason is the lack of security on the territory of Chechnya.

In December 1999, the return of refugees (sometimes forced) to the territory of Chechnya, to the so-called “security zones,” began. This led to new casualties: in Shali on January 9, in the villages of Zakan-Yurt, Shaami-Yurt and Katyr-Yurt in early February 2000, hundreds of civilians who returned there were killed by bombing and shelling. Of course, these “security zones” were not agreed upon with the opposing side, and the federal forces themselves did not limit their actions to these zones: both of them acted as if in the desert, not burdening themselves with concern for the lives of local residents. After the end of active hostilities in the spring of 2000, “cleansing operations” began in populated areas. Without achieving the main goal - to identify participants in armed resistance, the "cleansing operations" took the form of mass indiscriminate violence. Robberies, torture and beatings, “disappearances” and murders of people gave rise to hatred in the residents of Chechnya towards the Russian security forces and the state as a whole, multiplied the ranks of resistance and did not at all give rise to a desire in the refugees to return home. At the end of 2002, the number of “cleansing operations” decreased, but people still disappeared during “targeted events,” night visits by “unknown armed persons in camouflage uniforms and masks who arrived in armored vehicles.”

Under these conditions, calls for the “voluntary return” of forced migrants from Ingushetia are hypocritical and criminal - but they have continued since the end of 1999 - why? The movement of forced migrants to Chechnya, even formally, means a switching of humanitarian aid flows, financial flows, and “real” money there with the prospect of their uncontrolled spending. So there was a “social order” for the rapid return of migrants from Ingushetia to Chechnya not only from the federal center, not only from the military, but also from the administration of Akhmad Kadyrov.

For almost three years - from the autumn of 1999 to the autumn of 2002 - the number of forced migrants from Chechnya who were in Ingushetia was disputed by representatives of the federal and Chechen authorities loyal to Moscow. Unable to create conditions for the return of refugees or even to return them by force, the authorities tried to deny their existence.

In the first months of the second Chechen war, up to 350 thousand out of approximately 800 thousand inhabitants fled beyond the administrative borders of the Chechen Republic. What about the rest?

Most of them became involved in the process of internal migration: first - from the northern and eastern regions, then - from Grozny and from the mountains. Everyone who could tried to leave the battle zones. Numerous families left one or two people to guard their property from looters. At the same time, internal migration, as a rule, was local, to adjacent villages or regions: people hoped to quickly return to their homes, but otherwise left the republic.

After the end of hostilities, the structure of settlement in Chechnya as a whole changed little compared to the pre-war period. Two significant anomalies can be distinguished: a significant, significant reduction in the population of Grozny and the accelerated depopulation of mountainous areas. According to the Federal Migration Service, in 2001, up to a third of the republic's population - 200 thousand people - remained internal migrants.

The war made Chechnya de facto ethnically homogeneous. The Nevainakh population abandoned it almost completely. But the Ingush - both those who were unable to return to the Prigorodny district in 1957 and settled in Grozny, and those who fled to Grozny in 1992 - basically left.

How many people died in the two Chechen wars?

One of the main historical sources on the period of the reign of Ivan the Terrible - the "oprichnina synodik" - was compiled when the sovereign was once again about to die. To atone for sins, to remember those killed, it was necessary to compile a list of them. The crowned murderer, however, was so zealous that the compilers of the synodik had to end the list with the words: “The rest, Lord, you yourself weigh...”

The Russian state is in the same situation today, since it has made no real attempts to account for civilian losses either during the 1994-1996 war or after 1999. There are no lists of names of the dead - even incomplete ones - and intelligible polemics with any named figures - up to hundreds of thousands - turn out to be impossible for the Russian authorities.

Thus, on September 17, 2002, Salambek Maigov told reporters that eighty thousand civilians of the republic died in the “second Chechen war” - for some reason, with reference to Human Rights Watch and the Memorial Human Rights Center, although neither of them said anything this has never been reported. The next day, the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the observance of human and civil rights and freedoms in the Chechen Republic, Abdul-Khakim Sultygov, reacted - he, in turn, noted that this estimate is overestimated, and in general, “all the figures that are currently stated by human rights activists organizations, represent subjective, evaluative data that has nothing to do with the real situation."

What does this have to do with reality?

During the first Chechen war, only one attempt was made to estimate the number of Grozny residents who died there during the fighting from December 1994 to March 1995. Members of the Observation Mission of Human Rights Public Organizations operating on the basis of the Human Rights Center "Memorial" (better known as the "Sergei Kovalev group") interviewed over a thousand refugees from Grozny about cases of death of relatives (direct and cousins) and acquaintances during the fighting that were reliably known to them. When processing the data, the family structure was taken into account - the average total number of relatives of varying degrees of kinship, and the breadth of the circle of acquaintances, an adjustment was made for double counting, etc. In general, the methodology used by Kurchatov Institute employee Eduard Gelman in 1995 is typical for estimating the number of deaths in local conflicts. Based on the information collected, it was concluded that 25-29 thousand civilians died in Grozny.

Even during that war, in January 1996, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Vladimir Rubanov said in an interview with Interfax that there are no official figures, there are only data from human rights activists: 25-30 thousand civilians died. In the spring of 1997, during the preparation of the Russian-Chechen treaty, when the question of the possible amount of compensation to Chechnya for the damage caused and for human losses was discussed, the head of the Department of Demographic Statistics of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation, Boris Brui, contacted Memorial with a question about the number of dead citizens. Previously, he was addressed, as a last resort, to the International Committee of the Red Cross, from where he was sent to us. As a result, based on the same data, Goskomstat concluded that 30-40 thousand died; Memorial, realizing the possible inaccuracy of such estimates, used the wording “less than 50 thousand.”

Likewise, the only definite estimate of the number of civilian deaths during the period of active hostilities of the second Chechen war was made by human rights activists from Human Rights Watch using a similar methodology. After collecting and analyzing detailed information on 1,300 deaths in the first nine months of the conflict, they concluded that their sample covered between 1/8 and 1/5 of the total casualties. Thus, in total, from 6.5 to 10.4 thousand civilians died in those months.

An estimate of the number of residents of the Chechen Republic who died in the subsequent years of the armed conflict is possible on the basis of the “Chronicle of Violence”, which Memorial has been keeping since July 2000. The number of people whose deaths are reported in the Chronicle varies in different periods - from 489 for the second half of 2000 to 559 for the whole of 2002, not counting militants and Chechen police officers. The results of this monitoring are obviously incomplete. We record perhaps a quarter of such cases, in any case, no more than half - as a comparison with the official statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Chechen Republic for 2002 shows. Extrapolation of the Chronicle data allows us to conclude that after the end of active hostilities, from 5.3 to 10.7 thousand civilians died.

In addition, during the “second Chechen war”, about three thousand people disappeared after being detained by federal security forces. The bodies of some of the disappeared were later found and identified, but the vast majority of the rest are also unlikely to be alive.

Thus, the total number of civilians killed during the entire second Chechen war, including those who “disappeared,” ranges from 14.8 to 24.1 thousand, taking into account the accuracy of the estimates - “from 15 to 24 thousand.” A conservative estimate, excluding those listed as missing, is “from 10 to 20 thousand.”

Where did other - significantly higher - estimates of the death toll come from?

Even in the first Chechen war they talked about 80, 100, 120 thousand killed. These figures are the product of political games, and they are connected with reality very indirectly.

In the winter of 1996, shortly after Rubanov’s confession mentioned above, several politicians at once - from Lebed to Novodvorskaya - said: since the state talks about 25-30 thousand dead, it means that in fact there are three times more of them - 80-100 thousand.

Another assessment involves misinterpretation. Lechi Saligov, who worked in the pro-Russian Chechen administration during the first war, claimed that more than 120 thousand people died in the Grozny region alone in 1995 - a door-to-door survey carried out at that time revealed such a difference with the pre-war figures. Saligov interpreted this difference as the number of deaths, although a more natural explanation is migration.

While politicians' statements tended to exaggerate the deaths of civilians, the military and official propaganda underestimated them or completely denied them. Thus, in August 2001, General Valery Manilov stated that no more than a thousand civilians were killed in the second war. A year later, in August 2002, the prosecutor of the Chechen Republic Kostyuchenko spoke about the same thousand dead. Even then, this assessment was easily refuted not even by estimates and extrapolations, but by taking into account directly recorded cases of death.

At the same time, the military and propagandists regularly announced success in destroying militants, whose growing number now amounts to many tens of thousands. These figures, apparently, were not taken out of thin air, they were obtained as a result of the work of the bureaucratic machine, but have no relation to reality.

Estimates of the number of civilian deaths released by representatives of security forces are also political and have very little connection with reality. However, the numbers of “killed militants” called by the military, which are inflated by at least an order of magnitude, correlate with the losses of the civilian population.

Thus, the total number of civilians killed in the two wars in the Chechen Republic could reach 70 thousand people. Although the accuracy of our estimates is low, there is no alternative to them - the state did not and still does not count the citizens who died during the “counterterrorist operation” or “establishing constitutional order.”

How many people lived in the Chechen Republic during the second war?

At different times, completely different estimates could be obtained on this question - and in the same place.

In August 2002, in Grozny, at the Government House, the OSCE Assistance Group was informed that about 600 thousand people live in the Chechen Republic. This figure was very similar to the truth - of the approximately 800 thousand people of the pre-war population, about 150 thousand were forced migrants in the neighboring republics, and a smaller but significant part was scattered throughout the rest of Russia and beyond its borders.

However, a month later, in September 2002, during Lord Judd’s trip to Chechnya, in the same Government House he was informed about the allegedly successful return of refugees there, as a result of which the population of the republic had allegedly reached 900 thousand people. This figure obviously exceeded not only the real, but also the theoretically possible values ​​- but, apparently, it was supposed to indicate the return to their homes of all forced migrants who fled from the “second Chechen war” that began three years ago. And since people have returned, it means that the situation in the republic is stable and safe - otherwise people will not go!

This is precisely what the federal authorities soon tried to demonstrate again by conducting a census in Chechnya.

On October 14, 2002, the head of the government of the Chechen Republic, Stanislav Ilyasov, announced that a population census had been successfully conducted in Chechnya and the population of the republic was one million eighty-eight thousand people. According to Ilyasov, the result exceeded all expectations - the census forms, of which 825 thousand were brought to the republic, quickly ran out, more had to be brought. That is, taking into account the inevitable damage to ballots, the authorities expected the final population to be no more than 800 thousand. For this, indeed, it would be enough to return all the migrants of the last three years to Chechnya. But in order to get a census result of 1088 thousand people, it would be necessary to return to the Chechen Republic ALL who fled from there in the 90s - not only Chechens and Ingush, but also Russians, Armenians and representatives of other non-Vainakh peoples. Or it would be necessary to recognize significant population growth, despite two wars and a collapse in the socio-economic sphere.

A normal person is unlikely to believe in such a “demographic miracle”.

However, there is a plausible explanation for this miracle. During the census in the Chechen Republic, there were at least three significant factors that could significantly distort its results.

Firstly, up to a third of the republic’s population were internal migrants. Although it had previously been repeatedly announced that census documents were anonymous and would not be used for any other purposes, few people in Chechnya believed this. It was difficult to dissuade people that, based on the census results, local administrations would not exclude “unregistered” people from humanitarian aid and from promised future compensation for destroyed housing. In the same way, it was impossible to guarantee that security forces and intelligence services would not check those detained during “cleansing operations” with the lists they received, separating “civilians” from “alien militants.” Thus, if a person lived in a village, but often visited the city, restoring his destroyed house, he had every reason to “correspond” both in the city and in the village - not so much out of an illusory expectation of benefit, but out of a very real fear for his own life. safety.

Secondly, it was repeatedly stated at different levels that the census will help determine “how many schools and hospitals to build”, and in relation to the Chechen Republic - both the amount of funding necessary to restore the socio-economic sphere and the amount of transfers for the payment of various benefits, and so on. Given the virtual absence of control and the impossibility of double-checking, the temptation for administrations at all levels here was too great, and it would be a sin not to apply the experience gained during the “elections” of 1995, 1996, 2000 in using “administrative resources.”

Thirdly, the main thing is that representatives of various federal structures have repeatedly stated that the situation in Chechnya is stable and safe, forced migrants have returned there or are about to return, and the upcoming census cannot but confirm this.

Thus, during the census, local authorities could hope for the favor of the federal authorities, and the residents of Chechnya could hope for the “inattention” of local administrations to the excess of relatives copied from their words - in any case, this version is more plausible than the announced census results.

The united will of the federal authorities, local authorities and ordinary residents of the Chechen Republic created a “demographic miracle”. And they once again confirmed the internationally accepted practice of a moratorium on holding censuses and elections in zones of armed conflicts and in states of emergency.

How many people actually lived in Chechnya at that time? In the winter of 2002, the Danish Refugee Council conducted a door-to-door survey in Chechnya to determine the need for humanitarian assistance; they counted about 600 thousand residents. This is precisely the number that officials gave in August to OSCE representatives, on whose opinion nothing depended - unlike Lord Judd, based on the results of whose report PACE was supposed to adopt another resolution. The exposure of black magic came already in November 2002, a month after the census, when the Danish Refugee Council conducted another door-to-door survey in Chechnya, as a result of which the population of Chechnya was estimated at about 700,000 people. Let us note that the heads of rural administrations interested in the supply of humanitarian aid could only contribute to an overestimation of this result.

The difference between this real value and the census results - under 400 thousand “dead souls” - became the “electoral reserve” for the referendum and elections of 2003.

During the “elections” held by the federal authorities in Chechnya on December 14-17, 1995, when they voted for State Duma deputies and the “Head of the Chechen Republic” Doku Zavgaev, on June 14-16 and July 2-3, 1996, when they voted for the President of Russia and "Deputies of the People's Assembly", a high turnout was noted - from 60% to 74% of the total number of voters - 503 thousand. This is official data, the OSCE mission then stated that the elections did not meet the principles of free and fair expression of the will of citizens, or mission employees left Chechnya on voting days. According to independent observers, in most settlements people simply did not go to polling stations. But the Central Election Commission recognized the elections as valid, although, we repeat, in the conditions of an armed conflict and a de facto current state of emergency, it is categorically impossible to hold elections.

On January 27, 1997, elections of the President and Parliament of Ichkeria were held. The number of voters - 447 thousand - was clarified during a door-to-door survey. A. Maskhadov won with 65% of the votes. The observation was carried out by 72 OSCE representatives. But when the second round of parliamentary elections took place on February 15, 1997, voter turnout was slightly more than 25%. Let us note that in this case in Chechnya they did not go for registration, although, obviously, the lack of a quorum in the future was a serious problem.

In September 1999, the “second Chechen war” began, and in December of the same year, elections for a State Duma deputy were not held in Chechnya. It was probably the cleanest election in a decade...

On March 26, 2000, elections for the President of Russia took place. On February 22, a month before the vote, Sergei Danilenko, a member of the Central Election Commission in charge of the Chechen sector, in an interview with Ekho Moskvy, said that the number of residents on the territory of the Chechen Republic is about 400 thousand people, of which 200-250 thousand are voters. However, a month later, the chairman of the Chechen election commission, Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov, named a different number - 460 thousand voters, despite the fact that elections will be held only in 12 districts of Chechnya at 336 polling stations. On March 26, the election commission reported that more than 70% of voters voted in Chechnya, and 97% (!) in Grozny.

On August 20, 2000, when elections for a State Duma deputy in the 31st electoral district were held in Chechnya, the Central Election Commission announced the total number of voters - 495 thousand. If the previous proportions between the size of the electorate and the population were maintained, the latter could amount to 885 thousand - that is, it should have grown during the war.

At the next vote, the reserve of “dead souls” created during the census was already used. On March 23, 2003, a referendum took place, in which, according to the Central Election Commission, 89% of the 540 thousand voters, the number of which was determined according to the census, took part. 95.37% voted in favor.

Next came the presidential elections, on the eve of which the author had the opportunity to check his calculations “on a regional scale.” On September 5, 2003, the administration of the Shalinsky district named three values: 104 thousand - the population of the region; 43 thousand - the number of voters according to the lists; 33 thousand are under the age of majority and receive child benefits. Subtracting the second and third from the first, we get 28 thousand people who are neither adults nor minors. To a perplexed question, the author received an answer: these are those who were once registered, and the census was carried out according to documents or from the words of relatives. That is, in this one particular area, the authorities have recognized the existence of 27 percent of “dead souls.”

Although in the upcoming elections the candidate of the federal center was guaranteed victory without manipulating these numbers, those who played with the numbers all these years became hostages of the game. In 1997, they could honestly admit to a 25 percent turnout, but now to refuse “540 thousand voters” and the exorbitant attendance at polling stations meant accepting the burden of truth and responsibility.

P.S. But reality exceeded our wildest expectations. According to the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Veshnyakov, in the December voting for the State Duma elections in Chechnya, 11 percent more people voted than there were voters in the republic.

As for the census results, even the State Statistics Committee does not use them - according to its data, 813 thousand people lived in Chechnya in 2003.

1 - For a more detailed analysis, see: Vladimir Grivenko. About the population of Chechnya in July 1999 (at the beginning of the new Caucasian conflict) on the Memorial website.
2 - The border between the republics has not yet been demarcated or delimited. Extrapolation of data published by Goskomstat in subsequent years gives the permanent population of the regions of Chechnya in 1989 at approximately 1,084 thousand, and in the regions of Ingushetia - 186 thousand people. But Goskomstat included not only the Nazran, Malgobek and Dzheirakh districts, but also the entire Sunzhensky district as Ingushetia. In fact, a significant part of the latter - in particular, two large settlements, Sernovodsk and Assinovskaya, 8 and 6.9 thousand inhabitants in 1989, respectively - belonged to Chechnya.
3 - In addition to the Vainakhs, in 1989, several tens of thousands of representatives of other Muslim peoples lived in Chechnya: 23 thousand Kumyks, Nogais and Avars, the vast majority of them were rural residents, and 5.1 thousand Tatars, mostly city dwellers.
4 - Estimates of the population of Ingushetia are a separate problem. Perhaps no other region of Russia has experienced such migration in recent years. During the Ossetian-Ingush conflict of 1992, tens of thousands of Ingush were expelled from the Prigorodny region of North Ossetia - Ingush authorities say about 70 thousand, Ossetian authorities say about 17 thousand. In 1994-1996, during the “first Chechen war,” the number of forced migrants from Chechnya in Ingushetia amounted to up to 150 thousand - there is no exact data, since from April 1995 to August 1996, no registration of refugees was kept (for more details, see below ). Many Ingush families who were unable to return to the Prigorodny district in 1957 and settled in Grozny then remained in Ingushetia for permanent residence. As for forced migrants, as of January 1, 1999, according to the Federal Migration Service in Ingushetia, 34,983 people were registered.
Further, in 1989, 41 thousand Ingush lived in the USSR outside Checheno-Ingushetia and North Ossetia, some of them returned to their homeland. On the other hand, in the 1990s, migration from the republic, which remained one of the poorest regions of the federation, to other regions was very significant. However, in this entire table, it is the second column that raises the least doubt.
5 - Such accuracy in itself is unrealistic - it would be nice if these figures corresponded to reality with an accuracy of 10 thousand.
6 - In the 1990s, this process accelerated both in the autonomous republics, which became simply republics, and in the autonomous okrugs, which increased their status and became republics; “Russian-speaking” personnel were replaced by “national” ones in leadership and simply paid positions. At the same time, nowhere except Chechnya did national movements even think about secession from Russia - it was about the struggle of elites for control over resources, but with an indispensable appeal to the federal center as an arbiter.
7 - After the Chechens returned from exile in 1957, it turned out that jobs in industry were filled. Returning to half the territory was impossible - restoring mountain villages that had been uninhabited for thirteen years was difficult, and the authorities did not want resistance to resume in the mountains. Two regions north of the Terek were annexed to Chechnya - Naursky and Shelkovskaya - the mountaineers were settled there first, but this only partly solved the problem. High hidden unemployment was partly compensated by subsistence farming and latrine farming, sabbatical work, work in the “north” and labor emigration. In the 70-80s, not only Slavs, but also Vainakhs left Checheno-Ingushetia - the net emigration of the latter in 1979-89, according to census data, reached 50 thousand. Over these years, the number of Chechens permanently living in the Stavropol Territory increased by 3.4 times, in the Astrakhan Region - by 5.5 times, in the Rostov Region - by 6.8 times, in the Volgograd Region - by 13.7 times, Tyumen region - 33.7 times. In total, in these five regions the number of permanently residing Chechens increased sixfold - from 9.3 to 55.8 thousand. But the opportunity to “get wild” decreased sharply in the mid-1980s as a result of the economic collapse in the USSR and, as a consequence, a reduction in allocations for rural construction.
8 - At the same time, there was no mass exodus, only the fixation of this reality changed: human rights activists simply managed to get the department to register these migrants who had previously left.
9 - Russian propagandists claimed that Maskhadov specifically classified the census data because it showed a catastrophic decline in the population of Chechnya - a copy of the story of the Soviet census of 1937, which was recognized as “sabotage”. However, even the very possibility of holding such a complex event in the context of the collapse of statehood raised doubts. The author even allowed the “Maskhadov Census” in Ichkeria to be called the “Library of Ivan the Terrible” - there was no such thing, as it turned out, he was wrong.
10 - Having interviewed both people involved in the census and many residents of the Chechen Republic to determine whether census takers contacted them.
11 - He got problems with refugees for the whole of Russia, and if Aushev had acted as prescribed, he would not have had problems with either refugees or generals. But then the number of civilians killed in Chechnya would be many times, if not an order of magnitude, greater. Not participating in war crimes is a worthy choice for a general and for a president.
12 - The Danish Refugee Council, one of the leading humanitarian organizations working in Ingushetia and Chechnya, regularly conducts door-to-door visits to compile lists for humanitarian assistance. However, their data for Ingushetia, where reconciliation is carried out for each family, is much more accurate than for Chechnya - there they have to use information provided by the heads of rural administrations.
13 - In Ingushetia, dozens of heads of local administrations were removed from their positions over two years for abuses of “refugee” money; in Chechnya, nothing like this was heard of, since there was effective control in Ingushetia. For comparison: at the beginning of the war in Ingushetia, according to the estimate, 700 rubles were spent on equipping one refugee in a camp (tent, flooring, bed, stove, communications), in Chechnya - 3,700 rubles.
14 - Thus, in Grozny during the assault on the city by federal troops in December 1999 - January 2000, no more than 40 thousand people remained.
15 - About 60 thousand were in Ingushetia and intended to stay there; it was planned to allocate land to them in the Sunzha region.
16 - NTVRU message dated September 17, 2002 11:42:20.
17 - NTVRU message dated September 18, 2002 08:15:00.
18 - Although the second Chechen war was much more brutal than the first, the number of deaths in the first months was 3-4 times less. There is no contradiction here: fear is sometimes saving. Back in 1996, residents of Chechnya took off when faced with the threat of death. In the fall of 1999, people fled Chechnya from massive indiscriminate bombing and shelling, and this was also dangerous. The roads declared “humanitarian corridors” would be more appropriately called “death corridors”: the number of deaths in populated areas and when leaving them was comparable. However, on the whole, this survival strategy paid off.
19 - In Intushetia - 137 thousand, and 10 thousand in Dagestan
20 - According to preliminary census results, there were 468 thousand people in Ingushetia, thousands of whom were temporarily displaced persons from Chechnya living in temporary accommodation centers. Other migrants - those who did not live in camps, or who fled from the Prigorodny district in 1992 - were not included in a separate category. Let us note that in this way the permanent population of the republic - and, apparently, the future budgetary funding of this subsidized region - was “increased” by one and a half times. Let us also note that the migrants allegedly resettled in Chechnya were actually registered in Ingushetia. There were 256 thousand women and 212 thousand men living in the republic; the asymmetry was caused by high unemployment and the departure of men to work.
21 - There was some ambiguity in the methodology of the 2002 census: only the permanent population was subject to registration, the actual population was not recorded. Thus, completely “legal” additions became possible. True, a criterion (qualification) for “permanency” was defined - living in a given place for a year. But, as we see, they were able to use this ambiguity to their advantage both in Chechnya and Ingushetia.

Demographic situation. The Chechen Republic (until 1992, part of the Chechen-Ingush Republic) throughout the last third of the 20th century had stable trends in population growth, occupying 2nd place in terms of the number of inhabitants (after the Republic of Dagestan) among the national republics of the North Caucasus region . At the beginning of the 21st century, this trend continues, and in accordance with the latest population census of the Russian Federation (2002), the share of the Chechen Republic in the total population of the Southern Federal District (SFD) was 4.8%, and among the national republics of the SFD. It also ranks 2nd after the Republic of Dagestan (despite large population losses over the last decade) (see table)

The population of Chechnya grew steadily until 1990 - from 914.4 thousand people in 1969 to 1130.0 thousand people. in 1990 (by 216 thousand, or almost a quarter).

The downward trend in the population of Chechnya began in 1990: in 1991 - 1128.1, in 1992 - 1112.6, in 1993 - 1074.3, and in 1995 - 865.1 thousand people (at the end, assessment by the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation).

Over 5 years, 1991-1995, the population of the Chechen Republic decreased by 265 thousand people, or almost a quarter (that is, in five years the Republic lost its entire twenty-year population growth).

The reason for this demographic situation is well known; it is the mass exodus of the population from the Republic, the first war.

Since 1996, according to estimates from the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation, the population of Chechnya has been continuously declining until 2001, and dropped to 609.5 thousand people.

However, according to the 2002 All-Russian Population Census, the population of the Chechen Republic amounted to 1103.7 thousand people, that is, it almost reached the level before the war in 1993.

According to the State Statistics Committee of the Chechen Republic, the population of the Chechen Republic as of the beginning of 2007 was 1183.7 thousand people, including men - 574.3 and women - 609.4 thousand people, respectively - 48.52 and 51 .48%.

In contrast to the all-Russian trend, in the Republic there is a clear trend of increasing birth rates, decreasing mortality, and positive natural population growth. The dynamics of natural population growth since 1997 have been consistently positive (according to both the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation and the State Statistics Committee of the Chechen Republic).

Peculiarities of the age structure of the population: at the base of its age-sex pyramid, young people predominate. According to the State Statistics Committee of the Chechen Republic. as of the beginning of 2007, the child population of Chechnya aged 0 to 14 years makes up 31.4% of all residents of the Republic.

Another feature of the age structure of the population is the extremely low proportion of the age group of residents over 55 years old: 9.2% of all residents of the republic.

The number of children and pensioners is about 480.4 thousand people.

An assessment of the population for the 1st half of 2007, carried out by specialists from the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, revealed the following:

The situation on the labor market of the Chechen Republic continues to remain tense, although there have been minor changes towards an increase in the total population, as well as the number of employed people and the number of labor resources. (see table “Summary calculation of the balance of labor resources of the Chechen Republic for the 2nd quarter of 2007”)

It was said above that during the period 2001-2003, in general, the process of mass return of the Chechen population to the territory of the Republic ended. For the period from 2004 to the first half of 2007, the migration increase amounted to 5,725 people. From 2004 to the first half of 2007, the number of citizens arriving in the republic was 35,859 people, and the number of people leaving was 41,550 people.

Reference: The exodus of the “non-indigenous” population began already in 1990 and in the 90s is estimated at approximately 250 thousand people. According to the Federal Migration Service of Russia, the number of only registered forced migrants from the Chechen Republic for 1992-2001. amounted to 184.5 thousand people, of which more than 90% were from the “non-indigenous” population, the absolute majority of which did not settle in neighboring regions, and there were no cases of mass returns to the Republic. It should be added that not everyone received this status, and therefore this official figure is the lower limit of the number of former residents of Chechnya, the mass return of whom is practically impossible.

The exodus of the “non-indigenous” population is also typical for other national republics of the North Caucasus (in Ingushetia, for example, there are almost no Russians left).

According to the 1989 census, the national structure of the Chechen Republic was as follows: Chechens - 66%, Russians - 24.8%, Ingush - 2.3%, other nationalities - 6.9%.

The territorial concentration of various ethnic groups was characterized by the majority of the Chechens living in the central foothill and mountainous parts of the republic, the Russians in the city of Grozny and its surroundings, in the Priterechny region, the Ingush in the west of the central zone of the republic.

About the international Chechen diaspora

From the position of restoring the Chechen Republic, it is of significant interest to assess the scale of the Chechen diaspora (possible personnel, funds, business development).

The total number of Chechens in the world diaspora is estimated at 1.5-2 million people, incl. on the territory of Russia, outside the Chechen Republic - about 800 thousand people (data from the Moscow Chechen community), mainly in Moscow (about 100 thousand people), in the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Yaroslavl region, Tver, Kostroma, Samara, Saratov , Rostov region (data from 2001).

According to the 1989 census, the number of Chechens on the territory of the USSR was 958.3 thousand. people, of which 734.5 thousand people are in the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The largest group of Chechens outside the USSR lived in Jordan (about 5 thousand people).

This paper presents a version of the estimated population of the Czech Republic, namely for the period 2010, 2015 and 2020, and, in addition, the projected population of the Czech Republic for 2020, performed using graphical design.

According to calculations by specialists from the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, based on the use of the classical demographic method of “age shifting” (taking into account many necessary factors), the population of the Chechen Republic will be:

In 2010 - 1265.0 thousand people
in 2015 - 1385.0 thousand, people
in 2020 - from 1450 to 1480 thousand people.

In accordance with the forecast calculation of the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, the population growth of the Republic will be:
in 2010

161.3 thousand people by 2002 (census), or 14.6%
- 143.0 thousand people by 2004, or 12.7% in 2015.
- 281.3 thousand people by 2002 (census), or 25.5%
- 263.0 thousand people by 2004, or 23.4%. in 2020

By first value:

346.3 thousand people by 2002 (census), or 31.4%

For the second value:

376.3 thousand people by 2002 (census), or 34%
- 358.0 thousand people by 2004, or 32%.

Thus, according to the forecast of the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, the population of the Chechen Republic is increasing from 1103.7 thousand people. in 2002, and 1122.0 thousand people. in 2004 to 1450-1480 thousand people. in 2020, or 1.3 times. At the same time, the average annual growth rate until 2010 remains at the level of 2.0%, and for the period until 2015 and until 2020. - decrease to 1-1.4%.

In this work, an attempt was made to determine the projected population size for cities and rural areas and the Republic as a whole using a graphical method.

Project proposals

This section of the Project presents forecast indicators of the number, dynamics and structure of the population (urban and rural) for the Republic as a whole, as well as for urban areas and individual urban settlements (shown in the basic table of the “Population” section).

At the same time, the forecast for the size of the urban and rural population is given in two versions (“A” and “B”), taking into account the implementation of the urban planning concept of the Project, the transition to a polycentric organization of the territory, the development of individual regional and local centers, the growth of urban settlements and the urban population, increasing the level of urbanization of the Republic.

Forecasting rural settlement across the territory of the Republic is complicated by the still unsettled demographic situation in certain administrative regions, the high degree of uncertainty of internal migration, and the complete lack of information on the size of the current population, taking into account migrants, and therefore was not implemented in this work.

Forecast characteristics are given against the backdrop of a retrospective, which allows for appropriate comparisons.

The forecast period is taken until 2020 as the estimated period in urban planning, as a long-term period for the implementation of the planned strategic directions of the socio-economic development of the Republic, broken down into separate (five-year) stages. At the same time, 2004 was taken as the base year.

The calculation of the forecast population size for the Republic as a whole was carried out by specialists from the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, using the classical method of moving ages, taking into account the proportion of women of fertile age, the infant mortality rate, and two components.

The population of the Chechen Republic by 2020 is projected to be 1450-1480 thousand. residents, including urban residents - 640-660 thousand. according to option “A”, 780-820 thousand. according to option "B". Accordingly, the number of rural residents will be: 810-820 and 670-660 thousand, according to options “A” “B”.

By 2020, in accordance with one forecast option, while maintaining the existing network of urban and rural settlements of the Republic, the pre-war population structure of the Republic will be completely restored: the ratio of urban and rural population according to option “A” will be 44:56 (45:55)% %.

It is proposed, based on the population size, as well as the nature of the city-forming base, favorable conditions and prerequisites for the development of industries (objects) of the city-forming base, to transfer, in the projected period, the following rural settlements and towns to the status of urban settlements.

Convert to cities: p. Achkhoy-Martan, p. Kurchaloy, town. Oyskhara, s. Shatoy.

Convert into urban-type settlements: Art. Kalinovskaya, st. Naurskaya (Naursky district), st. Chervlennaya (Shelkovskoy), the village of Khankala (Groznensky), the village of Dzhalka (Guderme), the village of Sernovodskoye (Sunzhensky), the village. Samashki(Achkhoy-Martanovsky), Borzoy (Shatoisky district).

It is recommended to develop the village of Shatoi as a center that organizes the territory of not only its district, but also the entire mountainous region, that is, as an inter-district center performing organizational, economic, socio-cultural, as well as strategic functions in the surrounding territory. Therefore, despite the small number of inhabitants, the village. Shatoy, among large rural settlements, is also a contender for urban status.

As a result, by the end of the forecast period, the network of urban settlements will be represented by:

One large city (Grozny);
three medium-sized cities (Gudermes, Urus-Martan, Shali);
four small towns (Achkhoy-Martan, Kurchaloy, Oyskhara, Shatoy);
nine urban-type settlements (see table).

The population of the city of Grozny is determined together with the city of Argun, as a possible single polis, a single capital center of the Republic.

In the absence of specific quantitative characteristics of the development of industries (objects) of the city-forming base of the city, the analogue population of Grozny during the most favorable period in the socio-economic development of the republic in general and the city of Grozny in particular was taken as a basis - the period of the late 80s, as well as parameters of master plans developed for these cities by Giprogor in 2003-2004.

In addition, the conceptual provision of preventing excessive concentration of productive forces, including the population, in the metropolitan center (and it reached more than a third of the total population of the Republic) was taken into account.

As a result, by 2020 the population of Grozny is assumed to be 400-420 thousand, which corresponds to the level of the number of its inhabitants in 1989 (census, together with the city of Argun), and does not contradict the corresponding indicators of the city master plans.

At the same time, the share of Grozny (together with the city of Argun) in the total population of the Republic will not exceed 30%.

Considering the rather high threshold of the forecast period of uncertainty in various aspects of the situation of the Republic, it is necessary to provide for a certain reserve in the number of the capital center, at least up to 500 thousand inhabitants.

The population of the city of Gudermes has almost doubled by 2020 (70 thousand), as it is developing in the future as the second most important center of the Republic, as a subregional and multifunctional center, potentially able to duplicate some of the functions of the capital center (research, educational, financial, etc. ) Quantitative parameters of the population correspond to the new design and planning documents of the city developed by Giprogor.

The projected population of the cities of Urus-Martan and Shali (60 thousand people each) takes into account current trends in population growth, and possible strategic directions for the development of their city-forming base based on labor-intensive industries, personnel training, small and medium-sized businesses.

The population of another category of urban settlements - urban settlements - also increases significantly in the forecast period, from 26 to 40-45 thousand people. increases first in connection with the development possibilities of their city-forming base. (For example, the possibility of population growth in the urban-type settlement of Chiri-Yurt is associated with the restoration of the cement plant, the expansion of its capacity, and the development of related industries). At the same time, the population growth rates of these urban settlements over the previous peaceful 20-year period of socio-economic development were also taken into account.

Labor and employment

The Chechen Republic, as well as other national republics of the North Caucasus, is characterized by high labor potential, with a progressive structural population (the share of the working-age population in pre-war times was about 60%, with a 12% share of older people)
During the war years, there were significant losses of labor resources, both physical, as a result of military operations, and migration, as a result of outflows outside the Republic, but the high level of the republic’s labor resources remained.

Labor resources

According to the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, the labor resources of the Chechen Republic number 688,945 people, which is 56.4% of the total population (as of 07/01/2007).

The increase in the number of labor resources compared to 2006 (666,785 people) amounted to 22,160 people.
The level of employment of the population and agricultural overpopulation have always been the most pressing problems of the Chechen Republic (common to all national republics of the Caucasus).

The employed working-age population numbers 174,409 people, which is only 25.7% of the working-age population of working age. 114,629 people are employed in the public economy.

From the above data, it is clear what an emergency situation is in the labor market: the unemployed working-age population is 514,536 people, and of this number, unemployed able-bodied citizens looking for work and ready to start it amount to 488,538 people (the real reserve of the unemployed working-age population).

The last indicator determines the overall unemployment rate:
The general unemployment rate is 76.9%;

The registered unemployment rate is 49.2%.

There is a huge reserve of labor resources in almost all sectors of the economy.

In accordance with the forecast of demographic trends compiled by the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, by 2015 the working age population will be 851 thousand people. (60% of the total population); annual growth in the working age population by approximately 18 thousand people, with an annual increase in the total population by an average of approximately 25 thousand.

Consequently, by 2015, all other things being equal, an additional approximately 200 thousand should be created. new jobs and educational places, or approximately 20 thousand places per year.

Taking into account the current real reserve of unemployed working-age population of 460 thousand, it will be necessary to borrow 660 thousand by 2015. person of the working population.

In the labor market of the Republic, along with the high level of unemployment, there are also other acute problems, among which the problem of qualified personnel necessary for the restoration and development of the economic complex of the Republic should be highlighted. It is connected, first of all, with the unemployed migration of the most educated and qualified groups of the population (both Russian-speaking and Chechen), as well as with the acute problem of personnel training, the practical absence of educational institutions for professional training. The situation is aggravated by the fact that a younger generation has grown up who did not receive basic secondary and specialized education during the hard times of war.

CONCLUSIONS

Demographic trends, existing and in the future, are very favorable for the development of productive forces in the Republic.

The presence of cheap labor in the labor market is conducive to the successful development of business and the production of competitive products.

In conditions when almost the entire real sector of the economy in all sectors has been destroyed, severe imbalances have developed in the labor market, and the creation of permanent jobs has become vitally important for the Republic.

Along with the restoration of large production facilities, it is necessary to create massive, cheap, non-capital-intensive jobs in all areas of economic activity associated with labor-intensive types of production and the sale of products and services. These types of production and services allow, at the lowest cost of creating jobs, involve a larger number of workers. A large role in solving this issue is given to small and medium-sized businesses, self-employment of the population, a system of centralized procurement, and consumer cooperation. Among the sectors of the economy, at this stage and in the medium term, in order to create mass jobs and eliminate total unemployment, the following are of priority importance: construction and the building materials industry, assembly machinery, agriculture, trade and procurement, consumer services, as well as production: canning, fruits and vegetables, sewing, leather, textiles.

A special policy requires solving the problem of unemployment among young people, which requires taking into account the motivation of work and the prestige of the profession: work in the law enforcement agencies of the Chechen Republic, in the traditional oil sector, in computer and information technology, banking and business spheres. The first priority must be given to the expansion of the education system, both on the territory of the Republic itself and on the territory of other subjects of the Federation.

In order to restore the economy and social sphere, a special mechanism must be developed to stimulate the return of qualified specialists, engineers, and scientists.

A competent, thoughtful and coordinated policy of government bodies in industry and in the educational sphere, as well as social protection bodies, is required, aimed at creating a set of conditions and measures to reduce mass unemployment in the Republic. In this case, it is necessary to use a certain positive experience of regions and cities of Russia that have gone through the stage of a crisis situation in the labor market.

The concept and project proposals for the spatial development of the Chechen Republic (STP CR) must take into account the main provisions of the Program for Promoting Employment and Labor Market Development, which in turn are linked to the Concept and Program for the Social and Economic Development of the Republic and sectoral programs.

Improving the territorial organization of the Republic involves maximizing the use of the competitive advantages of a particular territory, restoring and developing the capacity of facilities (industries) in the production and social spheres, and creating additional jobs.

In the interests of developing the territory and creating additional jobs, it is necessary to make maximum use of the natural resource potential of not only the Central, but also the northern and southern natural resource potential of not only the Central, but also the Northern and Southern natural and economic zones, to turn these zones into active territories. economic activity. Large reserves in this regard exist in the regions of the mountainous zone of the Republic. These are hydropower, the building materials industry, mountain sheep breeding, tobacco farming, beekeeping, tourism and recreational activities, the collection of valuable, environmentally friendly, medicinal herbs and their pharmaceutical use, as well as the formation of a new direction in the economy of the Republic - the creation of a mining and metallurgical complex based on mining polymetals and rare metals. Considering the border position of these areas, strategic functions will develop here and a network of new settlements will emerge. In this regard, the highway network, economic base and social sphere of regional centers and other rural settlements will develop, that is, due to this, the capacity of the labor market will expand, employment will grow and the unemployment rate will decrease.
reserves for expanding the capacity of the labor market in the Northern zone:

Development of steppe sheep breeding, primary processing of wool, tanning of leather and other raw materials;
- development of viticulture and winemaking;
- development of fruit growing, production of juices and canned food, using modern technologies;
- implementation of the option of constructing a complex of oil refineries in the village of Chervlennaya.
- development of tourist and excursion activities;
- development of the transport scheme - roads and railways, roadside services;
- development of the social sphere;
- development of the management sphere.

Reserves for expanding the capacity of the labor market in the Central zone:

Development of the oil industry through the expansion of geological exploration (Grozny, Nadterechny, Shalinsky, Gudermes, Kurchaloevsky districts);
- development of the oil refining industry (Grozny, version of Gudermes);
- development of mechanical engineering and metalworking industries - from assembly plants to high technology;
- development of the building materials industry and the construction industry (cities: Grozny, Argun, Gudermes, Shali, Chiri-Yurt town);
- development of the furniture industry, woodworking (Grozny, Achkhoy-Martan region);
- development of the food industry (cities: Grozny, Argun, Gudermes, Urus-Martan, Shali, regional centers: Achkhoy-Martan, Kurchaloy, Znamenskaya station);
- development of light industry;
- development of the glass industry;
- development of the pharmaceutical industry;
- restoration and development of the reclamation system;
- restoration and development of crop production:
- restoration and development of livestock farming;
- restoration and development of viticulture and winemaking;
- restoration and development of fruit and vegetable farming;
- restoration and development of rice growing and rice processing;
- restoration and development of sericulture;
- restoration and development of forestry;
- restoration and development of the transport sector;
- restoration and development of housing and communal services;
- restoration and development of public service facilities;
- restoration and development of the banking and business sector of the economy;
- development of communications, computer science, telecommunications;
- development of the social sphere;
- development of the management sphere;
- development of power structures of the Chechen Republic.

(mosloadposition user9)

At the beginning of the 21st century, this trend continues, and in accordance with the latest population census of the Russian Federation (2002), the share of the Chechen Republic in the total population of the Southern Federal District (SFD) was 4.8%, and among the national republics of the SFD. It also ranks 2nd after the Republic of Dagestan (despite large population losses over the last decade) (see table)

The population of Chechnya grew steadily until 1990 - from 914.4 thousand people in 1969 to 1130.0 thousand people. in 1990 (by 216 thousand, or almost a quarter).

The downward trend in the population of Chechnya began in 1990: in 1991 - 1128.1, in 1992 - 1112.6, in 1993 - 1074.3, and in 1995 - 865.1 thousand people (at the end, assessment by the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation).

Over 5 years, 1991-1995, the population of the Chechen Republic decreased by 265 thousand people, or almost a quarter (that is, in five years the Republic lost its entire twenty-year population growth).

The reason for this demographic situation is well known; it is the mass exodus of the population from the Republic, the first war.

Since 1996, according to estimates from the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation, the population of Chechnya has been continuously declining until 2001, and dropped to 609.5 thousand people.

However, according to the 2002 All-Russian Population Census, the population of the Chechen Republic amounted to 1103.7 thousand people, that is, it almost reached the level before the war in 1993.

According to the State Statistics Committee of the Chechen Republic, the population of the Chechen Republic as of the beginning of 2007 was 1183.7 thousand people, including men - 574.3 and women - 609.4 thousand people, respectively - 48.52 and 51 .48%.

In contrast to the all-Russian trend, in the Republic there is a clear trend of increasing birth rates, decreasing mortality, and positive natural population growth. The dynamics of natural population growth since 1997 have been consistently positive (according to both the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation and the State Statistics Committee of the Chechen Republic).

Peculiarities of the age structure of the population: at the base of its age-sex pyramid, young people predominate. According to the State Statistics Committee of the Chechen Republic. as of the beginning of 2007, the child population of Chechnya aged 0 to 14 years makes up 31.4% of all residents of the Republic.

Another feature of the age structure of the population is the extremely low proportion of the age group of residents over 55 years old: 9.2% of all residents of the republic.

The number of children and pensioners is about 480.4 thousand people.

An assessment of the population for the 1st half of 2007, carried out by specialists from the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, revealed the following:

The situation on the labor market of the Chechen Republic continues to remain tense, although there have been minor changes towards an increase in the total population, as well as the number of employed people and the number of labor resources. (see table “Summary calculation of the balance of labor resources of the Chechen Republic for the 2nd quarter of 2007”)

Migration population growth in the Czech Republic

It was said above that during the period 2001-2003, in general, the process of mass return of the Chechen population to the territory of the Republic ended. For the period from 2004 to the first half of 2007, the migration increase amounted to 5,725 people. From 2004 to the first half of 2007, the number of citizens arriving in the republic was 35,859 people, and the number of people leaving was 41,550 people.

Reference: The exodus of the “non-indigenous” population began already in 1990 and in the 90s is estimated at approximately 250 thousand people. According to the Federal Migration Service of Russia, the number of only registered forced migrants from the Chechen Republic for 1992-2001. amounted to 184.5 thousand people, of which more than 90% were from the “non-indigenous” population, the absolute majority of which did not settle in neighboring regions, and there were no cases of mass returns to the Republic. It should be added that not everyone received this status, and therefore this official figure is the lower limit of the number of former residents of Chechnya, the mass return of whom is practically impossible.

The exodus of the “non-indigenous” population is also typical for other national republics of the North Caucasus (in Ingushetia, for example, there are almost no Russians left).

According to the 1989 census, the national structure of the Chechen Republic was as follows: Chechens - 66%, Russians - 24.8%, Ingush - 2.3%, other nationalities - 6.9%.

The territorial concentration of various ethnic groups was characterized by the majority of the Chechens living in the central foothill and mountainous parts of the republic, the Russians in the city of Grozny and its surroundings, in the Priterechny region, the Ingush in the west of the central zone of the republic.

From the position of restoring the Chechen Republic, it is of significant interest to assess the scale of the Chechen diaspora (possible personnel, funds, business development).

The total number of Chechens in the world diaspora is estimated at 1.5-2 million people, incl. on the territory of Russia, outside the Chechen Republic - about 800 thousand people (data from the Moscow Chechen community), mainly in Moscow (about 100 thousand people), in the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Yaroslavl region, Tver, Kostroma, Samara, Saratov , Rostov region (data from 2001).

According to the 1989 census, the number of Chechens on the territory of the USSR was 958.3 thousand. people, of which 734.5 thousand people are in the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The largest group of Chechens outside the USSR lived in Jordan (about 5 thousand people).

Forecast of the population of the Chechen Republic.

This paper presents a version of the estimated population of the Czech Republic, namely for the period 2010, 2015 and 2020, and, in addition, the projected population of the Czech Republic for 2020, performed using graphical design.

According to calculations by specialists from the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, based on the use of the classical demographic method of “age shifting” (taking into account many necessary factors), the population of the Chechen Republic will be:

in 2010 - 1265.0 thousand people
in 2015 - 1385.0 thousand, people
in 2020 - from 1450 to 1480 thousand people.

In accordance with the forecast calculation of the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, the population growth of the Republic will be:
in 2010

161.3 thousand people by 2002 (census), or 14.6%
- 143.0 thousand people by 2004, or 12.7% in 2015.
- 281.3 thousand people by 2002 (census), or 25.5%
- 263.0 thousand people by 2004, or 23.4%. in 2020

by first value:

346.3 thousand people by 2002 (census), or 31.4%

by second value:

376.3 thousand people by 2002 (census), or 34%
- 358.0 thousand people by 2004, or 32%.

Thus, according to the forecast of the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, the population of the Chechen Republic is increasing from 1103.7 thousand people. in 2002, and 1122.0 thousand people. in 2004 to 1450-1480 thousand people. in 2020, or 1.3 times. At the same time, the average annual growth rate until 2010 remains at the level of 2.0%, and for the period until 2015 and until 2020. - decrease to 1-1.4%.

In this work, an attempt was made to determine the projected population size for cities and rural areas and the Republic as a whole using a graphical method.

Project proposals

This section of the Project presents forecast indicators of the number, dynamics and structure of the population (urban and rural) for the Republic as a whole, as well as for urban areas and individual urban settlements (shown in the basic table of the “Population” section).

At the same time, the forecast for the size of the urban and rural population is given in two versions (“A” and “B”), taking into account the implementation of the urban planning concept of the Project, the transition to a polycentric organization of the territory, the development of individual regional and local centers, the growth of urban settlements and the urban population, increasing the level of urbanization of the Republic.

Forecasting rural settlement across the territory of the Republic is complicated by the still unsettled demographic situation in certain administrative regions, the high degree of uncertainty of internal migration, and the complete lack of information on the size of the current population, taking into account migrants, and therefore was not implemented in this work.

Forecast characteristics are given against the backdrop of a retrospective, which allows for appropriate comparisons.

The forecast period is taken until 2020 as the estimated period in urban planning, as a long-term period for the implementation of the planned strategic directions of the socio-economic development of the Republic, broken down into separate (five-year) stages. At the same time, 2004 was taken as the base year.

The calculation of the forecast population size for the Republic as a whole was carried out by specialists from the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, using the classical method of moving ages, taking into account the proportion of women of fertile age, the infant mortality rate, and two components.

The population of the Chechen Republic by 2020 is projected to be 1450-1480 thousand. residents, including urban residents - 640-660 thousand. according to option “A”, 780-820 thousand. according to option "B". Accordingly, the number of rural residents will be: 810-820 and 670-660 thousand, according to options “A” “B”.

By 2020, in accordance with one forecast option, while maintaining the existing network of urban and rural settlements of the Republic, the pre-war population structure of the Republic will be completely restored: the ratio of urban and rural population according to option “A” will be 44:56 (45:55)% %.

It is proposed, based on the population size, as well as the nature of the city-forming base, favorable conditions and prerequisites for the development of industries (objects) of the city-forming base, to transfer, in the projected period, the following rural settlements and towns to the status of urban settlements.

Convert to cities: p. Achkhoy-Martan, p. Kurchaloy, town. Oyskhara, s. Shatoy.

Convert into urban-type settlements: Art. Kalinovskaya, st. Naurskaya (Naursky district), st. Chervlennaya (Shelkovskoy), the village of Khankala (Groznensky), the village of Dzhalka (Guderme), the village of Sernovodskoye (Sunzhensky), the village. Samashki (Achkhoy-Martanovsky), Borzoi (Shatoisky district).

It is recommended to develop the village of Shatoi as a center that organizes the territory of not only its district, but also the entire mountainous region, that is, as an inter-district center performing organizational, economic, socio-cultural, as well as strategic functions in the surrounding territory. Therefore, despite the small number of inhabitants, the village. Shatoy, among large rural settlements, is also a contender for urban status.

As a result, by the end of the forecast period, the network of urban settlements will be represented by:

one large city (Grozny);
three medium-sized cities (Gudermes, Urus-Martan, Shali);
four small towns (Achkhoy-Martan, Kurchaloy, Oyskhara, Shatoy);
nine urban-type settlements (see table).

The population of the city of Grozny is determined together with the city of Argun, as a possible single polis, a single capital center of the Republic.

In the absence of specific quantitative characteristics of the development of industries (objects) of the city-forming base of the city, the analogue population of Grozny during the most favorable period in the socio-economic development of the republic in general and the city of Grozny in particular was taken as a basis - the period of the late 80s, as well as parameters of master plans developed for these cities by Giprogor in 2003-2004.

In addition, the conceptual provision of preventing excessive concentration of productive forces, including the population, in the metropolitan center (and it reached more than a third of the total population of the Republic) was taken into account.

As a result, by 2020 the population of Grozny is assumed to be 400-420 thousand, which corresponds to the level of the number of its inhabitants in 1989 (census, together with the city of Argun), and does not contradict the corresponding indicators of the city master plans.

At the same time, the share of Grozny (together with the city of Argun) in the total population of the Republic will not exceed 30%.

Considering the rather high threshold of the forecast period of uncertainty in various aspects of the situation of the Republic, it is necessary to provide for a certain reserve in the number of the capital center, at least up to 500 thousand inhabitants.

The population of the city of Gudermes has almost doubled by 2020 (70 thousand), as it is developing in the future as the second most important center of the Republic, as a subregional and multifunctional center, potentially able to duplicate some of the functions of the capital center (research, educational, financial, etc. ) Quantitative parameters of the population correspond to the new design and planning documents of the city developed by Giprogor.

The projected population of the cities of Urus-Martan and Shali (60 thousand people each) takes into account current trends in population growth, and possible strategic directions for the development of their city-forming base based on labor-intensive industries, personnel training, small and medium-sized businesses.

The population of another category of urban settlements - urban settlements - also increases significantly in the forecast period, from 26 to 40-45 thousand people. increases first in connection with the development possibilities of their city-forming base. (For example, the possibility of population growth in the urban-type settlement of Chiri-Yurt is associated with the restoration of the cement plant, the expansion of its capacity, and the development of related industries). At the same time, the population growth rates of these urban settlements over the previous peaceful 20-year period of socio-economic development were also taken into account.

Labor and employment

The Chechen Republic, as well as other national republics of the North Caucasus, is characterized by high labor potential, with a progressive structural population (the share of the working-age population in pre-war times was about 60%, with a 12% share of older people)
During the war years, there were significant losses of labor resources, both physical, as a result of military operations, and migration, as a result of outflows outside the Republic, but the high level of the republic’s labor resources remained.

Labor resources

According to the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, the labor resources of the Chechen Republic number 688,945 people, which is 56.4% of the total population (as of 07/01/2007).

The increase in the number of labor resources compared to 2006 (666,785 people) amounted to 22,160 people.
The level of employment of the population and agricultural overpopulation have always been the most pressing problems of the Chechen Republic (common to all national republics of the Caucasus).

The employed working-age population numbers 174,409 people, which is only 25.7% of the working-age population of working age. 114,629 people are employed in the public economy.

From the above data, it is clear what an emergency situation is in the labor market: the unemployed working-age population is 514,536 people, and of this number, unemployed able-bodied citizens looking for work and ready to start it amount to 488,538 people (the real reserve of the unemployed working-age population).

The last indicator determines the overall unemployment rate:
The general unemployment rate is 76.9%;

The registered unemployment rate is 49.2%.

There is a huge reserve of labor resources in almost all sectors of the economy.

In accordance with the forecast of demographic trends compiled by the Ministry of Labor of the Chechen Republic, by 2015 the working age population will be 851 thousand people. (60% of the total population); annual growth in the working age population by approximately 18 thousand people, with an annual increase in the total population by an average of approximately 25 thousand.

Consequently, by 2015, all other things being equal, an additional approximately 200 thousand should be created. new jobs and educational places, or approximately 20 thousand places per year.

Taking into account the current real reserve of unemployed working-age population of 460 thousand, it will be necessary to borrow 660 thousand by 2015. person of the working population.

In the labor market of the Republic, along with the high level of unemployment, there are also other acute problems, among which the problem of qualified personnel necessary for the restoration and development of the economic complex of the Republic should be highlighted. It is connected, first of all, with the unemployed migration of the most educated and qualified groups of the population (both Russian-speaking and Chechen), as well as with the acute problem of personnel training, the practical absence of educational institutions for professional training. The situation is aggravated by the fact that a younger generation has grown up who did not receive basic secondary and specialized education during the hard times of war.

CONCLUSIONS

Demographic trends, existing and in the future, are very favorable for the development of productive forces in the Republic.

The presence of cheap labor in the labor market is conducive to the successful development of business and the production of competitive products.

In conditions when almost the entire real sector of the economy in all sectors has been destroyed, severe imbalances have developed in the labor market, and the creation of permanent jobs has become vitally important for the Republic.

Along with the restoration of large production facilities, it is necessary to create massive, cheap, non-capital-intensive jobs in all areas of economic activity associated with labor-intensive types of production and the sale of products and services. These types of production and services allow, at the lowest cost of creating jobs, involve a larger number of workers. A large role in solving this issue is given to small and medium-sized businesses, self-employment of the population, a system of centralized procurement, and consumer cooperation. Among the sectors of the economy, at this stage and in the medium term, in order to create mass jobs and eliminate total unemployment, the following are of priority importance: construction and the building materials industry, assembly machinery, agriculture, trade and procurement, consumer services, as well as production: canning, fruits and vegetables, sewing, leather, textiles.

A special policy requires solving the problem of unemployment among young people, which requires taking into account the motivation of work and the prestige of the profession: work in the law enforcement agencies of the Chechen Republic, in the traditional oil sector, in computer and information technology, banking and business spheres. The first priority must be given to the expansion of the education system, both on the territory of the Republic itself and on the territory of other subjects of the Federation.

In order to restore the economy and social sphere, a special mechanism must be developed to stimulate the return of qualified specialists, engineers, and scientists.

A competent, thoughtful and coordinated policy of government bodies in industry and in the educational sphere, as well as social protection bodies, is required, aimed at creating a set of conditions and measures to reduce mass unemployment in the Republic. In this case, it is necessary to use a certain positive experience of regions and cities of Russia that have gone through the stage of a crisis situation in the labor market.

The concept and project proposals for the spatial development of the Chechen Republic (STP CR) must take into account the main provisions of the Program for Promoting Employment and Labor Market Development, which in turn are linked to the Concept and Program for the Social and Economic Development of the Republic and sectoral programs.

Improving the territorial organization of the Republic involves maximizing the use of the competitive advantages of a particular territory, restoring and developing the capacity of facilities (industries) in the production and social spheres, and creating additional jobs.

In the interests of developing the territory and creating additional jobs, it is necessary to make maximum use of the natural resource potential of not only the Central, but also the northern and southern natural resource potential of not only the Central, but also the Northern and Southern natural and economic zones, to turn these zones into active territories. economic activity. Large reserves in this regard exist in the regions of the mountainous zone of the Republic. These are hydropower, the building materials industry, mountain sheep breeding, tobacco farming, beekeeping, tourism and recreational activities, the collection of valuable, environmentally friendly, medicinal herbs and their pharmaceutical use, as well as the formation of a new direction in the economy of the Republic - the creation of a mining and metallurgical complex based on mining polymetals and rare metals. Considering the border position of these areas, strategic functions will develop here and a network of new settlements will emerge. In this regard, the highway network, economic base and social sphere of regional centers and other rural settlements will develop, that is, due to this, the capacity of the labor market will expand, employment will grow and the unemployment rate will decrease.
reserves for expanding the capacity of the labor market in the Northern zone:

Development of steppe sheep breeding, primary processing of wool, tanning of leather and other raw materials;
- development of viticulture and winemaking;
- development of fruit growing, production of juices and canned food, using modern technologies;
- implementation of the option of constructing a complex of oil refineries in the village of Chervlennaya.
- development of tourist and excursion activities;
- development of the transport scheme - roads and railways, roadside services;
- development of the social sphere;
- development of the management sphere.

Reserves for expanding the capacity of the labor market in the Central zone:

- development of the oil industry through the expansion of geological exploration (Grozny, Nadterechny, Shalinsky, Gudermes, Kurchaloevsky districts);
- development of the oil refining industry (Grozny, version of Gudermes);
- development of mechanical engineering and metalworking industries - from assembly plants to high technology;
- development of the building materials industry and the construction industry (cities: Grozny, Argun, Gudermes, Shali, Chiri-Yurt town);
- development of the furniture industry, woodworking (Grozny, Achkhoy-Martan region);
- development of the food industry (cities: Grozny, Argun, Gudermes, Urus-Martan, Shali, regional centers: Achkhoy-Martan, Kurchaloy, Znamenskaya station);
- development of light industry;
- development of the glass industry;
- development of the pharmaceutical industry;
- restoration and development of the reclamation system;
- restoration and development of crop production:
- restoration and development of livestock farming;
- restoration and development of viticulture and winemaking;
- restoration and development of fruit and vegetable farming;
- restoration and development of rice growing and rice processing;
- restoration and development of sericulture;
- restoration and development of forestry;
- restoration and development of the transport sector;
- restoration and development of housing and communal services;
- restoration and development of public service facilities;
- restoration and development of the banking and business sector of the economy;
- development of communications, computer science, telecommunications;
- development of the social sphere;
- development of the management sphere;
- development of power structures of the Chechen Republic.

Chechens are the oldest people of the Caucasus. They appeared on the territory of the North Caucasus in the 13th century as a result of the division of several ancient cities and are the largest ethnic group living in this territory. This people made their way along the Main Caucasus Range through the Argun Gorge and eventually settled in the mountainous part of the Republic of Chechnya. This people has its own centuries-old traditions and original ancient culture. In addition to the name Chechens, the people are called Chechens, Nakhche and Nokhchi.

Where live

Today, the majority of Chechens live on the territory of the Russian Federation in the Chechen Republic and Ingushetia; there are Chechens in Dagestan, Stavropol Territory, Kalmykia, Volgograd, Astrakhan, Tyumen, Saratov regions, Moscow, North Ossetia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

Number

As a result of the 2016 population census, the number of Chechens living in the Chechen Republic amounted to 1,394,833 people. There are about 1,550,000 Chechens living in the world.

Story

Several settlements took place in the history of this people. About 5,000 Chechen families moved to the territory of the Ottoman Empire after the Caucasian War in 1865. This movement is called Muhajirism. Today, the bulk of the Chechen diasporas in Turkey, Jordan and Syria are represented by the descendants of those settlers.

In 1944, half a million Chechens were deported to Central Asia; in 1957 they were allowed to return to their former homes, but some Chechens remained in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

After the two Chechen wars, many Chechens left their homeland and went to Arab countries, Turkey and Western European countries, regions of the Russian Federation and countries of the former USSR, especially Georgia.

Language

The Chechen language belongs to the Nakh branch of the Nakh-Dagestan language family, which is included in the hypothetical North Caucasian superfamily. It is distributed mainly in the territory of the Chechen Republic, in Ingushetia, Georgia, some regions of Dagestan: Khasavyurt, Kazbekovsky, Novolaksky, Babayurt, Kizilyurt and other regions of Russia. Partial distribution of the language occurs in Turkey, Syria and Jordan. Before the 1994 war, the number of Chechen speakers was 1 million.

Since the Nakh group of languages ​​includes Ingush, Chechen and Batsbi languages, Ignush and Chechens understand each other without an interpreter. These two peoples are united by the concept “Vainakh”, which translates as “our people”. But these peoples do not understand Batsbi, since it was heavily influenced by the Georgian language due to the residence of the Batsbi in the gorges of Georgia.

In the Chechen language there are a number of dialects and the following dialects:

• Shatoisky
• Cheberloevsky
• planar
• Akkinsky (Aukhovsky)
• Sharoi
• Itum-Kalinsky
• Melkhinsky
• Kistinsky
• Galanchozhsky

Residents of the vicinity of Grozny speak the Chechen language using the flat dialect; literature, including fiction, newspapers, magazines, scientific research and textbooks, is written in it. Works of classical world literature have been translated into Chechen. Chechen words are difficult, but they sound very beautiful.

Written language until 1925 was based on Arabic. Then, until 1938, it developed on the basis of the Latin alphabet, and from this year to the present, the Chechen written language is based on the Cyrillic alphabet. There are many borrowings in the Chechen language, up to 700 words from Turkic languages ​​and up to 500 from Georgian. There are many borrowings from Russian, Arabic, Ossetian, Persian and Dagestan. Gradually, foreign words appeared in the Chechen language, for example: rally, export, parliament, kitchen, dance, mouthpiece, avant-garde, taxi and broth.

Religion

Most Chechens profess the Shafi'i madhhab of Sunni Islam. Among the Chechens, Sufi Islam is represented by the tariqas: Naqshbandiya and Qadiriya, which are divided into religious groups called vird brotherhoods. Their total number among the Chechens is 32. The largest Sufi brotherhood in Chechnya is the Zikrists - followers of the Chechen Qadiri sheikh Kunta-Hadzhi Kishiev, and the small species that descended from him: Mani-sheikh, Bammat-Girey Khadzhi and Chimmirzy.

Names

Chechen names include three components:

1. Names borrowed from other languages, mainly through the Russian language.
2. Originally Chechen names.
3. Names borrowed from Arabic and Persian languages.

A large number of old names are derived from the names of birds and animals. For example, Borz is a wolf, Lecha is a falcon. There are names containing the structure of the verb form, names in the form of independent participles, formed from adjectives and qualitative adjectives. For example, Dika is translated as “good”. There are also compound names in the Chechen language, which are made up of two words: soltan and bek. Mostly female names are borrowed from the Russian language: Raisa, Larisa, Louise, Rose.

When pronouncing and writing names, it is important to remember the dialect and its differences, since a name pronounced differently can have different meanings, for example, Abuyazid and Abuyazit, Yusup and Yusap. In Chechen names, the stress always falls on the first syllable.

Food

Previously, the basis of the diet of the Chechen people was mainly corn porridge, shish kebab, wheat stew and homemade bread. The cuisine of this people is one of the simplest and most ancient. The main products for cooking remain lamb and poultry; the main components of many dishes are hot seasonings, garlic, onions, thyme, and pepper. An important component of dishes is greens. Chechen dishes are very satisfying, nutritious and healthy. A lot of food is prepared from cheese, wild garlic, cottage cheese, corn, pumpkin and dried meat. Chechens love meat broths, beef, boiled meat, and do not eat pork at all.

The meat is served with dumplings made from corn or wheat flour and garlic seasoning. One of the main positions in Chechen cuisine is occupied by flour products with various fillings from potatoes, cottage cheese, pumpkin, nettles and wild garlic. Chechens bake several types of bread:

• barley
• wheat
• corn

Siskal cakes are baked from corn flour, which were previously carried along with dried meat and taken on the road. Such food always satisfied hunger well and nourished the body.

Life

The main occupation of the Chechens has long been cattle breeding, hunting, beekeeping and arable farming. Women were always responsible for household work, weaving cloth, making carpets, burkas, felt, and sewing shoes and dresses.

Housing

Chechens live in auls - villages. Due to the natural conditions of the area, the dwellings differ. Chechens living in the mountains have houses built of stone and are called sakli. Such sakli were also built from adobe; they can be erected in a week. Unfortunately, many had to do this when villages were often attacked by enemies. On the plains, mostly turluch houses were built, neat and bright inside. Wood, clay and straw were used for construction. The windows in the houses are without frames, but are equipped with shutters to protect against wind and cold. There is a canopy at the entrance that protects from heat and rain. The houses were heated by fireplaces. Each house has a kunatskaya, which consists of several rooms. The owner spends the whole day in them and returns to his family in the evening. The house has a yard surrounded by fence. A special oven is built in the yard in which bread is baked.

During construction, it was important to take into account safety and reliability, the ability to defend themselves if the enemy attacked. In addition, there had to be hayfields, water, arable land and pastures nearby. The Chechens took care of the land and even chose places on rocks to build houses.

The most common in mountain villages were one-story houses with flat roofs. The Chechens also built houses with 2 floors, towers with 3 or 5 floors. The residential building, tower and outbuildings together were called estates. Depending on the mountain topography, the development of estates was horizontal or vertical.

Appearance

In anthropology, Chechens are a mixed type. Eye color can range from black to dark brown and from blue to light green. Hair color - from black to dark brown. The nose of Chechens is often concave and upturned. Chechens are tall and well-built, the women are very beautiful.

Everyday clothing of a Chechen man consists of the following elements:

• checkmen, sewn from gray or dark fabric;
• arkhaluks, or beshmets, of various colors, were worn in white in the summer;
• narrowed trousers;
• cloth leggings and chiriki (shoes without soles).

Elegant dresses are trimmed with braiding, and special attention is paid to the decoration of weapons. In bad weather they wore a bashlyk or burka, which Chechen women sewed very skillfully. Shoes were mainly made from rawhide. Many wore Caucasian soft boots. The rich wore boots and leggings made of black morocco, to which soles of buffalo leather were sometimes sewn.

The main headdress of a Chechen is a cone-shaped papakha, which ordinary people made from sheepskin, and the rich made from the skins of Bukhara lamb. In the summer they wore a felt hat.

Bone gaztris were sewn onto men's suits as decoration, and a belt with silver plaques was worn. The image was completed with a dagger made by local craftsmen.

Women wore:

• long shirts to the knees, blue or red;
• wide trousers that were tied at the ankles;
• On top of the shirt they put on a long dress with wide and long sleeves;
• young women and girls wore dresses gathered at the waist with a belt made of fabric. Elderly women's dresses are wide and without pleats or belts;
• the head was covered with a scarf made of silk or wool. Elderly women wore bandages under a scarf that tightly fit their heads and went down their backs in the form of a bag. Braided hair was placed in it. Such a headdress was also very common in Dagestan;
• Women wore dudes as shoes. Rich families wore galoshes, shoes and shoes made locally or in the city.

Women's clothing from a wealthy family was distinguished by sophistication and luxury. It was sewn from expensive fabrics and trimmed with silver or gold braid. Rich women loved to wear jewelry: silver belts, bracelets and earrings.

In winter, Chechens wore a wool-lined beshmet with metal or silver clasps. The sleeves of clothing below the elbow were split and fastened with buttons made of simple or silver threads. Beshmet was sometimes worn in the summer.

During Soviet times, Chechens switched to urban clothing, but many men retained the traditional headdress, which they rarely parted with. Today, many men and old people wear a hat, Circassian coats and beshmets. In Chechnya, men wear Caucasian shirts with a stand-up collar.

Women's national costume has survived to this day much more. And now older women wear chokhta, dresses with trousers and homemade dudes. Young women and girls prefer urban-cut dresses, but they are made with long sleeves and a closed collar. Scarves and shoes today are worn in urban areas.

Character

Chechens are cheerful, impressionable and witty people, but at the same time they are distinguished by severity, treachery and suspicion. These character traits were probably developed among the people during centuries of struggle. Even the enemies of the Chechens have long recognized that this nation is brave, indomitable, dexterous, resilient and calm in the fight.

The ethical code of honor of Konahalla is important for Chechens, which is a universal code of conduct for any man, regardless of his religion. This code reflects all the moral standards that a believer and a worthy son of his people possesses. This code is ancient and existed among the Chechens back in the Alan era.

Chechens never raise a hand against their children because they do not want them to grow up to be cowards. These people are very attached to their homeland, to which various touching songs and poems are dedicated.

Traditions

Chechens have always been distinguished by their hospitality. Even in ancient times, they always helped travelers, giving them food and shelter. This is customary in every family. If a guest liked something in the house, the owners should give it to him. When there are guests, the owner takes a place closer to the door, thereby showing that the guest is the most important in the house. The owner must remain at the table until the last guest. It is indecent to interrupt a meal first. If a relative, even a distant one, or a neighbor comes into the house, younger family members and young men should serve him. Women should not show themselves to guests.

Many people think that women's rights are violated in Chechnya, but in fact this is far from the case. A woman who was able to raise a worthy son, along with other family members, has the right to vote during decision-making. When a woman enters the room, the men present must stand up. When a woman comes to visit, special ceremonies and customs are also held in her honor.

When a man and a woman walk side by side, she must lag behind one step, the man must take on the danger first. The young wife must first feed his parents and then himself. If there is even the most distant relationship between a girl and a guy, marriage between them is prohibited, but this is not a gross violation of traditions.

The father is always considered the head of the family, the woman looks after the household. The husband and wife do not call each other by name, but say “my wife” and “my husband”, “the one in the house”, “the mother of my children”, “the owner of this house”.

It is humiliating and insulting for a man to interfere in women's affairs. When a son brings a daughter-in-law into the house, she bears the main responsibilities of the household. She has to get up earlier than everyone else, do the cleaning and go to bed later than everyone else. Previously, if a woman did not want to follow the family rules, she could be punished or kicked out.

The daughters-in-law are raised by the husband's mother, who is called nana. A young wife should not speak freely with her mother-in-law, nor should she appear in front of her with her head uncovered and in an unkempt appearance. Nana can shift some of her responsibilities to her eldest daughter-in-law. In addition to housekeeping, the husband's mother must observe all traditions and family rituals. The eldest woman in the family was always considered the keeper of the home.

It is considered very uncultured to interrupt an elder and start a conversation without his request or permission. Younger people should always let the older ones pass and greet him politely and respectfully. It is a great insult for a man if someone touches his hat. This is tantamount to a public slap in the face. If children get into a fight, the first thing parents do is scold their child and only then begin to figure out who is wrong and who is right. If a son starts smoking, the father, through the mother, must instill in him that this is very harmful and unacceptable, and he himself must give up this habit.

This people has a custom of avoidance that prohibits showing feelings in public. It applies to all family members. Everyone should behave with restraint in public. The Chechens still preserve the cult of fire and hearth, the tradition of oaths and curses by fire.

Many rites and rituals are associated with weapons and war. It was considered a shame and cowardice to draw a sword from its sheath in front of an enemy or offender and not use it. At 63, a man reached the age of untying his belt and could go out without a weapon. To this day, the Chechens have preserved such a custom as blood feud.

A Chechen wedding consists of many rituals and traditions. The groom was forbidden to see the bride before the wedding and for some time after the celebration. A wedding dress is at the same time a festive outfit for girls and young women. It is sewn from bright or white silk; there is a continuous slit in the front of the dress. A decoration in the form of silver buttons made in Kubachi is sewn on both sides of the chest area. The dress is complemented by a silver belt of the Caucasian type. A white scarf is put on the head, which completely covers the bride's head and hair. Sometimes a veil is worn over the scarf.

Culture

Chechen folklore is diverse and includes genres that are characteristic of the oral folk art of many peoples:

• everyday tales, fairy tales, about animals;
• mythology;
• heroic epic;
• lyrical songs, labor songs, ritual songs, heroic-epic songs, lullabies;
• legends;
• puzzles;
• sayings and proverbs;
• children's folklore (riddles, tongue twisters, counting rhymes, songs);
• religious folklore (stories, songs, nazms, hadiths);
• creativity of tulliks and zhukhurgs;

Chechen mythology, the names of deities who personified natural elements, have been preserved in rather fragmentary ways. The musical folklore of the Chechens is bright and original; they amazingly dance the national Chechen dance Nokhchi and Lezginka (Lovzar). Music is of great importance to this people. With its help, they express hatred, look to the future and remember the past. Many of the national musical instruments are still common today:

• dechig-pondar
• adhyokhu-pondar
• zurna
• pipe shiedag
• bagpipes
• drum vota
• tambourine

The instruments were used for ensemble and solo performance. During the holidays, people play different instruments together.

Famous personalities

Among the Chechen people there are many outstanding personalities in politics, sports, creativity, science and journalism:

Buvaysar Saitiev, 3-time Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling

• Movsar Mintsaev, opera singer;
• Makhmud Esambaev, People's Artist of the USSR, master of dance;
• Umar Beksultanov, composer;
• Abuzar Aydamirov, poet and writer, classic of Chechen literature;
• Abdul-Khamid Khamidov, playwright, brilliant talent of Chechen literature;
• Katy Chokaev, linguist, professor, Doctor of Philology;
• Raisa Akhmatova, national poetess;
• Sherip Inal, screenwriter and film director;
• Kharcho Shukri, calligraphy artist;
• Salman Yandarov, surgeon, orthopedist, candidate of medical sciences;
• Buvaysar Saitiev, 3-time Olympic champion in freestyle wrestling;
• Salman Khasimikov, 4-time freestyle wrestling champion;
• Zaurbek Baysangurov, boxer, twice European champion, world champion in first and welterweight;
• Lechi Kurbanov, European champion in Kyokushinkai karate.

According to official data, the current population of Chechnya is 1,413,446 people - slightly more than what it was a year ago (1,394,172 people, an increase of 19,274). For comparison, from 2014 to 2015 the increase was 32 thousand.

The reason is not a decrease in the birth rate or an increase in mortality in Chechnya. According to Rosstat, the republic is one of the third of regions of the Russian Federation (28 out of 85) that have fulfilled the plan to reduce mortality.

At the same time, the republic has the highest proportion of children in Russia - more than 34%. In the national fertility ranking compiled by the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Chechnya is in second place after Tuva. In addition, it leads the top ten in terms of natural population growth.

With such indicators, the rate of increase in the population of Chechnya should have been much higher. What is the reason for the decrease in growth?

As a rule, many more people leave Chechnya than arrive, and this trend continues.

From 2008 to 2015 alone, about 150 thousand Chechens left Chechnya, according to the Russian resource RBC. As a rule, many more people leave the republic (both to other constituent entities of the Russian Federation and abroad) than arrive, and this trend continues. As for emigrants, their number has increased sharply over the past two years, which is clearly demonstrated by the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border, where for the second year now thousands of Chechens are trying to cross the EU border every day. Most of those leaving are those who are fleeing from the authorities.

Since the beginning of the second Russian war in Chechnya, more than two hundred thousand Chechens have found a second homeland in other countries of the world. At the same time, the absolute majority of refugees (about 90%) settled in European countries.

Access to quality health care is often cited as one of the reasons for the exodus of the population from the republic. While Grozny authorities talk about “new hospitals” and “ultra-modern medical equipment” purchased all over the world, Chechen women often prefer to give birth in Stavropol or the Krasnodar Territory.

Raisa Satieva from Argun explained in an interview with Kavkaz.Realii that it is better to travel 300-500 km from Chechnya, but be sure of the correct diagnosis. According to her, among her family and friends there are those who have encountered medical errors, rudeness of medical personnel, and lack of medicines in hospitals. All this makes many people want to get treatment outside the republic.

The director of a private enterprise in the city of Shali, Mairbek K., in an interview with Kavkaz.Realii, also confirmed that at the first opportunity he himself travels and sends members of his family to the Stavropol Territory, in particular to Kislovodsk, where “the approach to the sick is much more better than in Chechnya."