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Chechnya List Dialogue: Russian Claims

What claims does Russia have to Chechnya? Plenty. The north Caucasus region was brought under Russian control last century, after an extended and bloody campaign. So Chechnya has been a part of Russia for over a hundred years. During the Soviet era Russia was a part of the Soviet Union, as were the other Soviet Socialist Republics. When the USSR broke apart (and let's face it - Yeltsin was trying to lead the Russian Federation out from under the Soviet aegis as much as any other Republic leader), it did so along Republic borders. Chechnya was only an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation, so it did not "rate" its own independence.

Granted, the borders and their designations were made in an arbitrary manner under the Soviet regime. Granted, the Chechens have sufferes - sorry, suffered - mightily under the Russians and the Soviets. Granted, Chechnya is pretty ethnically homogeneous and pretty united in not wanting to remain in the Russian Federation anymore. But from a legal standpoint (definitely not a moral standpoint) Russia can make a strong claim for retaining Chechnya

There is also the oil issue at play in Chechnya. The Soviet pipeline network's direct line to Baku runs through (or very near) Grozny. Were the current Azeri negotiations with that Western Oil Consortium ever to produce an agreement, that line becomes pretty darn important. The only other route out of Baku would be through Iran and Turkey, the thought of which makes many Western oilmen very uneasy.

But I think that the main problem arising from the Chechen situation is the question of changing the borders of the Russian Federation. The Chechens want to do it for ethnic reasons, and there are many in the North Caucasus who may want to follow their lead. But if the precedent for secession is set, others may want to go for other reasons. The regions of Bashkortostan and Sakha-Yakutia have argued with Moscow over what they see as unfair taxation; at times they have rumbled about secession, also.

So far I've given examples of internal border changes. What about the external possibilities? Russia and Japan have been at odds over the Kuriles; once the precedent for redrawing the Russian border is set, might the Japanese not use this in their arguments for regaining the Islands? Nobody's talking about it as far as I can tell, but on the Western end of Russia lies the Kaliningrad Oblast'. It's largely Russian now, but as late as 1944 it was part of Germany.

And if the borders of Russia can be altered, making Russia smaller, might they not be altered to make Russia larger? The northern and eastern portion of Kazakhstan is dominated by ethnic Russians, and the Crimean Peninsula is about 70% Russian (it was a part of the Russian Federation until 1954). A change in Russia's borders making Russia smaller risks making ordinary Russians insecure, giving Russian nationalists fodder for their arguments in favor of "protecting Russians abroad" or "creating a Russian Nation" or whatever.

I've given a bunch of hypotheticals here, and some may think I've gone a little overboard, but these are a few of the possibile ramifications of opening the can of worms that is the altering of Russian borders. Where does that leave the Chechens? Screwed. I'm not happy about that, but I fear the consequences of the other path.

Happy Orthodox Boxing Day!

Ian Wiinikka

Note: The opinions stated above are the author's own. They in no way reflect the opinions of his department or organization.

On Tue, 10 Jan 1995, Burta Wilk wrote:

What claims, legally speaking, does the Russian government have to Chechnya? The media (in the US) makes this appear to be a civil war, but it appears to me that Russia's has no more claim on Chechnya than it does to Ukrane, Poland, France, or any other sovereign nation.

According to Zbignew Brezinski, the relationship between Chechnya and Russia is no different than the US and Vermont. He believes that since the US would never stand for Vermont seceding hence Russia has every right to prevent Chechnya from doing the same. I don't agree mainly because Chechnya is culturally, religiously and politically distinct whereas the states of the US are homogeneous. In essence, if Vermont seceded it would be seceding from itself. What's the point. Chechnya, due to its diversity should be allowed to sustain and develop its own unique existence as a sovereign state.

Regards,

TD

Tracy Doe wrote 10 Jan 1995:

I don't agree mainly because Chechnya is culturally, religiously and politically distinct whereas the states of the US are homogeneous. In essence, if Vermont seceded it would be seceding from itself. What's the point. Chechnya, due to its diversity should be allowed to sustain and develop its own unique existence as a sovereign state.

I agree. I also support the people of Quebec in their efforts to become politically distinct. The US military would also I bet.

Art

What claims does Russia have to Chechnya? Plenty. The north Caucasus region was brought under Russian control last century, after an extended and bloody campaign. So Chechnya has been a part of Russia for over a hundred years. But from a legal standpoint (definitely not a moral standpoint) Russia can make a strong claim for retaining Chechnya

Well, I suppose the question is what makes it legal? Is it the passage of a certain amount of time (since last century)? Is there a difference between Russia's claim to Chechnya and the US claim to some specific Indian territory? What analogies to American history are legitimate? FM Kozyrev likened Yeltsin to Lincoln: is that an accurate analogy? Is Chechnya like the Confederacy? Or is it more like a hypothetical case of an Indian nation in the Dakotas declaring independence? Or is it more like Puerto Rico, as I read in NYTimes (I think) yesterday? Can any helpful analogy be identified?

And if the borders of Russia can be altered, making Russia smaller, might they not be altered to make Russia larger? The northern and eastern portion of Kazakhstan is dominated by ethnic Russians, and the Crimean Peninsula is about 70% Russian (it was a part of the Russian Federation until 1954). A change in Russia's borders making Russia smaller risks making ordinary Russians insecure, giving Russian nationalists fodder for their arguments in favor of "protecting Russians abroad" or " creating a Russian Nation" or whatever.

This seems to be a very substantial point and I would like to hear responses. One possible approach based on it (from a Russian nationalist point of view) would be for Russia to say to Chechnya--OK, we'll consent to change the borders. That sets a precedent for recovery of, say, Crimea.

Paul Steeves

Stetson University