The establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922 helped to reduce the role of Islam in Chechnya by forcing adaptations to Soviet centralization. During World War II, a large number of Chechens were deported, further fragmenting the Chechen population, culture, and religion and reducing Islam’s role in the rise of the 1994 conflict as religion was a less central focus in Chechen lives due to their effective refugee status following deportation. Instead, Islam was pushed to the background as distinctly Chechen traditions gained precedence in this time of confusion, death, and separation of Chechen tribes. Thus, although Islam did play a role in Chechen culture and society, it had lost enough power in Chechen society that to consider it a significant
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A revival of Sufi Islam in Chechnya did occur during the First Chechen War and could potentially have contributed to the occurrence of the Second War. However, the return of Islam for Chechen separatists occurred as the result of foreign jihadist’s assisting the Chechen war efforts reintroducing Islam as a support system in the face of Russian forces. The Jihadists were invited into Chechnya by Dzhokhar Dudayev, the leader of the Chechen resistance in an effort to receive support for international recognition of Chechen independence – and was a result of the West turning a blind eye to Chechnya’s calls for international assistance in their battle against Russia. This demonstrates the repetition of a familiar narrative, where Chechen’s have twice turned to Islam for support against their Russian enemy where it was otherwise lacking. This could point to a trend toward religiosity only in times of need and thus only correlation of Islam and conflict rather than a narrative of Islam causing …show more content…
Chechnya’s economy changed drastically in modernity, and thus is not deeply embedded in the behavior and choices made by the Chechen’s during war, however it does still have some significance in the conflict. Previously, Chechnya’s economy was an agricultural industry with wealthy lowlands and highlands reliant on the lowland production of grain in exchange for textiles and grain. This changed following a mass deportation of Chechen’s in 1944 that forced a shift to industrialization and displaced many Chechen’s. On February 23, 1944 Soviet armed forces surrounded Chechen villages and forcibly loaded them onto cattle cars in a manner reminiscent of the German Operation Reinhard. The Soviet Union claimed it was in reaction to alleged Chechen-German collaboration and relocated the Chechen’s to Kazakhstan, Siberia, and Kyrgystan where many deported Chechen’s died. When these Chechen’s finally returned to Chechenya, they were forced to return to urban cities where they needed jobs, which they found in the party structure and oil industry. Chechen’s faced extensive discrimination and dramatic change in their economic reality that could reasonably have fostered resentment for toward the center, as well as identifying the economy as a source of contention before and during conflict. Ostensibly, this also could explain a turn toward cultural tradition
A revival of Sufi Islam in Chechnya did occur during the First Chechen War and could potentially have contributed to the occurrence of the Second War. However, the return of Islam for Chechen separatists occurred as the result of foreign jihadist’s assisting the Chechen war efforts reintroducing Islam as a support system in the face of Russian forces. The Jihadists were invited into Chechnya by Dzhokhar Dudayev, the leader of the Chechen resistance in an effort to receive support for international recognition of Chechen independence – and was a result of the West turning a blind eye to Chechnya’s calls for international assistance in their battle against Russia. This demonstrates the repetition of a familiar narrative, where Chechen’s have twice turned to Islam for support against their Russian enemy where it was otherwise lacking. This could point to a trend toward religiosity only in times of need and thus only correlation of Islam and conflict rather than a narrative of Islam causing …show more content…
Chechnya’s economy changed drastically in modernity, and thus is not deeply embedded in the behavior and choices made by the Chechen’s during war, however it does still have some significance in the conflict. Previously, Chechnya’s economy was an agricultural industry with wealthy lowlands and highlands reliant on the lowland production of grain in exchange for textiles and grain. This changed following a mass deportation of Chechen’s in 1944 that forced a shift to industrialization and displaced many Chechen’s. On February 23, 1944 Soviet armed forces surrounded Chechen villages and forcibly loaded them onto cattle cars in a manner reminiscent of the German Operation Reinhard. The Soviet Union claimed it was in reaction to alleged Chechen-German collaboration and relocated the Chechen’s to Kazakhstan, Siberia, and Kyrgystan where many deported Chechen’s died. When these Chechen’s finally returned to Chechenya, they were forced to return to urban cities where they needed jobs, which they found in the party structure and oil industry. Chechen’s faced extensive discrimination and dramatic change in their economic reality that could reasonably have fostered resentment for toward the center, as well as identifying the economy as a source of contention before and during conflict. Ostensibly, this also could explain a turn toward cultural tradition