First Chechen WarHistory of Chechnya Chechen resistance against Russian imperialism has its origins from 1785 during the time of Sheikh Mansur, the first imam (leader) of the Caucasian peoples. He united various North-Caucasian nations under his command to resist Russian invasions and expansion. Following long local resistance during the 1817–1864 Caucasian War, Imperial Russian forces defeated the Chechens and annexed their lands and deported thousands to the Middle East in the latter part of the 19th century.
Shamil BasayevShamil Salmanovich Basayev (Салман ВоӀ Шамиль ; Шамиль Салманович Басаев; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his kunya "Abu Idris", was an Islamist militant who served as a senior military commander in the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He held the rank of brigadier general in the Armed Forces of Ichkeria, and was posthumously declared generalissimo. As a military commander in the separatist armed forces of Chechnya, one of his most notable battles was the separatist recapture of Grozny in 1996, which he personally planned and commanded together with Aslan Maskhadov.
KarachaysThe Karachays or Karachai (Qaraçaylıla or таулула, tawlula, 'Mountaineers') are an indigenous Caucasian-Turkic ethnic group native to the North Caucasus. They are primarily located in Karachay–Cherkess Republic, a republic of Russia in the North Caucasus. Research by Boulygina et al. (2020) shows Karachays' genetic connection to the pre-historic Koban culture. A recent genetic study states the following: "Balkars and Karachays belong to the Caucasian anthropological type.
BalkarsBalkars (Malqarlıla or Таулула, Tawlula, 'Mountaineers') are a Turkic ethnic group in the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-Caspian subgroup of the Northwestern (Kipchak) group of Turkic languages. The modern Balkars identify as a Turkic people, who share their language with the Karachays from Karachay-Cherkessia and have strong lingual similarities with Kumyks from Dagestan. Sometimes Balkars and Karachays are referred to as to a single ethnicity.
ChechensThe Chechens (ˈtʃɛtʃɛnz,_tʃəˈtʃɛnz; Нохчий, Noxçiy, Old Chechen: Нахчой, Naxçoy), historically also known as Kisti and Durdzuks, are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus. They are the largest ethnic group of the North Caucasus and refer to themselves as Nokhchiy (pronounced [no̞xtʃʼiː]; singular Nokhchi, Nokhcho, Nakhchuo or Nakhtche). The vast majority of Chechens today are Muslims and live in Chechnya, a republic of Russia. The North Caucasus has been invaded numerous times throughout history.
Ingush languageIngush (ˈɪŋgʊʃ; ГӀалгӀай мотт, , pronounced ʁəlʁɑj mot) is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by about 500,000 people, known as the Ingush, across a region covering the Russian republics of Ingushetia and Chechnya. Ingush and Chechen, together with Bats, constitute the Nakh branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family. There is pervasive passive bilingualism between Ingush and Chechen. Ingush is spoken by about 413,000 people (2002), primarily across a region in the Caucasus covering parts of Russia, primarily Ingushetia and Chechnya.
Ingush peopleIngush (Гӏалгӏай, pronounced ˈʁəlʁɑj), historically known as Durdzuks, Gligvi and Kists, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting Ingushetia in central Caucasus, but also inhabitanting Prigorodny District and town of Vladikavkaz of modern day North-Ossetia. The Ingush are predominantly Sunni Muslims and speak the Ingush language. Ethnonyms of the Ingush The ethnonym of the "Ingush" came from the name of the medieval Ghalghai village (aul) of Angusht, which by the end of the 17th century was a large village in the Tarskoye Valley.
Population transfer in the Soviet UnionFrom 1930 to 1952, the government of the Soviet Union, on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin under the direction of the NKVD official Lavrentiy Beria, forcibly transferred populations of various groups. These actions may be classified into the following broad categories: deportations of "anti-Soviet" categories of population (often classified as "enemies of the people"), deportations of entire nationalities, labor force transfer, and organized migrations in opposite directions to fill ethnically cleansed territories.
Stavropol KraiStavropol Krai (Ставропо́льский край) is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia, and is administratively part of the North Caucasian Federal District. Stavropol Krai has a population of 2,786,281 (2010). Stavropol is the largest city and the capital of Stavropol Krai, and Pyatigorsk is the administrative center of the North Caucasian Federal District.
SpetsnazSpetsnaz (Спецназ), are special forces in many post-Soviet states. Historically, this term referred to the Soviet Union's Spetsnaz GRU, special operations units of the GRU, the main military intelligence service. Today it refers to special forces branches and task forces subordinate to ministries including defence, internal affairs, or emergency situations in countries that have inherited their special purpose units from the now-defunct Soviet security agencies.
