Ancient blood, modern vengeance: the impact of traditional culture and blood feud on violence in Chechnya

• Název v anglickém jazyce: Ancient blood, modern vengeance: the impact of traditional culture and blood feud on violence in Chechnya
• Klíčová slova anglicky: Chechnya, Russia, War, Culture, Blood Feud, Traditional Custom, Clan Society
• Akademický rok vypsání: 2010/2011
• Typ práce: diplomová práce
• Jazyk práce: angličtina
• Ústav: Katedra ruských a východoevropských studií (23-KRVS)
• Vedoucí / školitel: prof. PhDr. Emil Aslan, Ph.D.
• Řešitel: skrytý - zadáno vedoucím/školitelem
• Datum přihlášení: 01.03.2011
• Datum zadání: 04.03.2011
• Datum a čas obhajoby: 20.06.2011 00:00
• Datum odevzdání elektronické podoby: 20.05.2011
• Datum proběhlé obhajoby: 20.06.2011
• Oponenti: Mgr. Kamil Pikal

Seznam odborné literatury

Kramer, Mark. “The Perils of Counterinsurgency: Russia’s War in Chechnya.”
International Security, Vol. 29, No. 3 (Winter, 2004/2005), pp. 5-63.

Parkes, Peter. “Fosterage, Kinship, and Legend: When Milk Was Thicker than
Blood?” Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 46, No. 3 (July
2004), pp. 587-615.

Souleimanov, Emil. An Endless War: The Russian-Chechen Conflict in Perspective.
Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2007.

Souleimanov, Emil and Ondrej Ditrych. “The Internationalization of the Russian
Chechen Conflict: Myths and Reality.” Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 60, Issue 7,
2008. Pp. 1199-1222.

Tishkov, Valery Aleksandrovich. Chechnya: life in a war-torn society.

Předběžná náplň práce

The Northern Caucasus is one of the most volatile regions in the world. Russia has fought two wars within its own borders in the last fifteen years in an attempt to stabilize the region and keep its breakaway republic, Chechnya, in the Russian Federation. These two wars, along with the notorious terrorist attacks originating from this region, have produced a multitude of material on how the Russian Federation and its security forces’ actions have impacted the crisis in the Northern Caucasus. Contrarily, surprisingly little has been written on how Chechen culture itself has influenced the conflict and violence, specifically the traditional culture of the highlands and blood feuds. These ancient traditions and customs, which died out during the Middle Ages in many parts of the world, still survive and thrive today in the mountainous North Caucasus.
These traditions and customs still alive in Chechnya play a crucial part in the conflict, which have been overlooked by many, and will surely impact the solutions for peace and stability in the region. In fact it is the culture of the highlands and the ancient practice of blood feuds that has intensified much of the violence in modern Chechnya and radicalized many in the population. Examination into Chechen society will show that the continuation of traditional culture and ancient customs has played a major role in the conflict. The relative isolation of the mountainous North Caucasus from Russia due to geography, language, and culture made it difficult for the Russian regimes to first conquer and then successfully Russify the region. Thus, the traditional culture of Chechnya has persisted and thrived through the centuries. There are aspects of this culture that are revered, such as local hospitality and the concept of honor, which at times can promote peace and stability in the region. Even further, some of the customary laws found in traditional culture can be seen as appropriate for the administration of remote mountain villages, but others such as blood feud are detrimental. The practice of blood feud through the years, or even generations, creates an escalation of violence even in times of relative peace in the North Caucasus. But couple the perpetuation of blood feuds with the Chechen conflicts of 1994 and 1999 and the violence escalates exponentially.
To understand how these wars unfolded in certain ways and why Chechnya still remains an unstable and violent region, one must first delve into its past. Chechnya’s history and the development of the Chechen identity play an important role in modern Chechen life and how the people act and react against Russian forces. As with any study of a separatist movement, an examination of the particular nationalism and its beginnings is necessary. But perhaps even more important than the nationalism that sprang up in Chechnya after the fall of the Soviet Union is the Chechen identity itself, which had been crafted and molded over the centuries. In the case of Chechnya, nationalism led to two separate wars within as little as fifteen years, and at the core of these wars is the question of Chechen identity.
Much attention has been paid to how Islam impacted the wars and the radicalization of the Chechen separatist movement. Indeed the Islamist movement had a great impact of the politicization and ideologization of violence in the Chechen separatist movement and both wars, but a too often overlooked contribution to the radicalization of violence is Chechen culture itself. The continued practice of blood feud in the North Caucasus in particular had a major impact on how the people of Chechnya, and neighboring Dagestan, view the conflict and Russian Federal forces. In the mentality of this traditional culture, the invasion of federal forces the ensuing acts of violence against the people of the highlands were acts that deserved and even required retaliation in the practice of the blood feud. Parallel to the modern war that raged between Russian troops and separatist rebels was an ancient kind of war: a war of vengeance and blood retaliation as set by the concept of honor and the code of blood feud in Chechen clannish society.
The violence of the blood feud runs parallel to the war and the actual violence of the war, and became more and more interwoven as the conflict escalated. And over time even the concept of the blood feud became politicized and ideologized in Chechen society. Just as the Islamist movement became a mobilizing force for the separatist movement, so did the concept of the blood feud. In the end, the mentality that prevailed in many of the traditional villages of the highlands was that the Russian forces were now their sworn blood enemy and therefore deserved vengeance. Within Chechnya, blood feuds were also used to consolidate power and the legitimate use of force. Looking at the Chechen conflict in this aspect changes the motives and consequences of the violence. Thus reshaping how people perceive and understand the conflict.

Předběžná náplň práce v anglickém jazyce

The Northern Caucasus is one of the most volatile regions in the world. Russia has fought two wars within its own borders in the last fifteen years in an attempt to stabilize the region and keep its breakaway republic, Chechnya, in the Russian Federation. These two wars, along with the notorious terrorist attacks originating from this region, have produced a multitude of material on how the Russian Federation and its security forces’ actions have impacted the crisis in the Northern Caucasus. Contrarily, surprisingly little has been written on how Chechen culture itself has influenced the conflict and violence, specifically the traditional culture of the highlands and blood feuds. These ancient traditions and customs, which died out during the Middle Ages in many parts of the world, still survive and thrive today in the mountainous North Caucasus.
These traditions and customs still alive in Chechnya play a crucial part in the conflict, which have been overlooked by many, and will surely impact the solutions for peace and stability in the region. In fact it is the culture of the highlands and the ancient practice of blood feuds that has intensified much of the violence in modern Chechnya and radicalized many in the population. Examination into Chechen society will show that the continuation of traditional culture and ancient customs has played a major role in the conflict. The relative isolation of the mountainous North Caucasus from Russia due to geography, language, and culture made it difficult for the Russian regimes to first conquer and then successfully Russify the region. Thus, the traditional culture of Chechnya has persisted and thrived through the centuries. There are aspects of this culture that are revered, such as local hospitality and the concept of honor, which at times can promote peace and stability in the region. Even further, some of the customary laws found in traditional culture can be seen as appropriate for the administration of remote mountain villages, but others such as blood feud are detrimental. The practice of blood feud through the years, or even generations, creates an escalation of violence even in times of relative peace in the North Caucasus. But couple the perpetuation of blood feuds with the Chechen conflicts of 1994 and 1999 and the violence escalates exponentially.
To understand how these wars unfolded in certain ways and why Chechnya still remains an unstable and violent region, one must first delve into its past. Chechnya’s history and the development of the Chechen identity play an important role in modern Chechen life and how the people act and react against Russian forces. As with any study of a separatist movement, an examination of the particular nationalism and its beginnings is necessary. But perhaps even more important than the nationalism that sprang up in Chechnya after the fall of the Soviet Union is the Chechen identity itself, which had been crafted and molded over the centuries. In the case of Chechnya, nationalism led to two separate wars within as little as fifteen years, and at the core of these wars is the question of Chechen identity.
Much attention has been paid to how Islam impacted the wars and the radicalization of the Chechen separatist movement. Indeed the Islamist movement had a great impact of the politicization and ideologization of violence in the Chechen separatist movement and both wars, but a too often overlooked contribution to the radicalization of violence is Chechen culture itself. The continued practice of blood feud in the North Caucasus in particular had a major impact on how the people of Chechnya, and neighboring Dagestan, view the conflict and Russian Federal forces. In the mentality of this traditional culture, the invasion of federal forces the ensuing acts of violence against the people of the highlands were acts that deserved and even required retaliation in the practice of the blood feud. Parallel to the modern war that raged between Russian troops and separatist rebels was an ancient kind of war: a war of vengeance and blood retaliation as set by the concept of honor and the code of blood feud in Chechen clannish society.
The violence of the blood feud runs parallel to the war and the actual violence of the war, and became more and more interwoven as the conflict escalated. And over time even the concept of the blood feud became politicized and ideologized in Chechen society. Just as the Islamist movement became a mobilizing force for the separatist movement, so did the concept of the blood feud. In the end, the mentality that prevailed in many of the traditional villages of the highlands was that the Russian forces were now their sworn blood enemy and therefore deserved vengeance. Within Chechnya, blood feuds were also used to consolidate power and the legitimate use of force. Looking at the Chechen conflict in this aspect changes the motives and consequences of the violence. Thus reshaping how people perceive and understand the conflict.