Study On The Evolution Of Russia/the Soviet Union's Policy Towards The Chechnya

The Chechnya issue has been a serious ethnical problem, which has plagued the Russian government since the Cold War ended. Grievously injurious to stability and development, it has been a tremendous hindrance to Russia's efforts to restore itself to its former power; and it has had a chronic negative effect on the country's image and status in the international community and on its foreign relationships. While the Chechnya crisis is a long-standing one occasioned by multifarious reasons, the policies towards minority nationalities that Russia (and the Soviet Union) has adopted in different historical periods and the mistakes that it has committed in dealing with national discord are indisputably the most important facts. Therefore, a systematic study of Russia/the Soviet Union's national policies in Chechnya, intended to provide an objective appraisal of their impact on the issue, is not only academically valuable but bears significant relevance to us today.The present dissertation consists of five parts. Providing the background for the following investigation, Chapter One is a survey of the historical origins of the issue and its recent development. Chapters Two, Three, and Four constitute the main body of the dissertation, which presents a detailed account and a systematic analysis of the changes and shifts in national policies instrumented in Chechnya from the period of Tsarist Russia, through the stage of the Soviet Union, to the present time of the Russian Federation. My study argues that, motivated by great nation chauvinism, Tsarist Russia's colonialist policy and accompanying tough cruel rule sowed the seeds of the Chechen people's national hatred toward Russia. The socialist victory following the October Revolution ushered in a favorable circumstance for solving those complicated questions over national relations, including the Chechnya issue. Applying relevant Marxist ideas to national affairs, the Soviet leadership centering on Lenin made a series of policies towards minority nationalities in light of the reality of national relations within the country and put them to practice, which proved to be remarkably successful. However, owing to misjudgment of the process of building socialism and to some misconceptions concerning national issues, which is further aggravated by an aggressive and chauvinistic Pan-Russian nationalism, the Soviet government from the Stalin Regime to Brezhnev's time pushed grievously undue policies in this respect and brought about regrettable consequences. Repeated large-scale deportment and persecutions unfairly inflicted on the Chechen People grossly offended the nation; they foreshadowed the ultimate explosion of the crisis later on. When Gorbachev came to power, he launched the "glasnost" (transparency) and democratization drive. This in fact provided the separatist forces who had long been resentful of the Russian rule with a rare chance. During and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Chechnya issue came to be an increasingly urgent problem that confronted the Russian government. But widely different policies were adopted in Yeltsin's and Putin's eras. Attempting to appease the Chechen separatist forces, the Yeltsin administration was forced to wage the First Chechen War until its enemy became strong and poses a direct threat to the unity of the country. The Russian government under Putin, drawing lessons from past frustrations, took high-handed measures and effectively repressed the separatist forces. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before a complete solution of the issue, as it is one conditioned by many factors. Chapter Five is an analysis of the lesson that we could draw from the Chechnya issue. There are five aspects. First, national issues are characteristically long-standing, complicated, and delicate ones that often involve international elements; and they are vitally important to a country's stability and security. We must always keep a clear head on those features. Secondly, we must give special emphasis on the socio-economic development in minority nationality regions and strive to raise the living standard and self-developing ability of the people there. Thirdly, we must lay stress on training minority nationality cadres; we must insist on high standard and be strict with them on the one hand, and, on the other hand, care about their needs and give them a free hand in their work. Fourthly, we must make clear the respective power and duty of the central government and of the local government of regional national autonomies, balancing centralization of power with division of power, and integrating national autonomy with the unity of the whole country. Lastly, we must take firm measures against any extremist, national separatist forces; we must determinedly repress and crush any such attempts as might undermine our country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.