Bringing Peace to Chechnya? Assessments and Implications

The Congressional Research Service, a department of the Library of Congress, conducts research and analysis for Congress on a broad range of national and international policy issues. Some of the CRS work is carried out specifically for individual members of Congress or their staff and is confidential. However, there is also much CRS compiled material which is considered public but is not formally published on the CRS website.

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In some cases hyperlinks allows you to access all versions of a report, including the latest. Note that many reports are periodically updated.Russia’s then-Premier (and current President) Vladimir Putin ordered military, police, and security forces to enter the breakaway Chechnya region in September 1999, and these forces occupied most of the region by early 2000. The conflict has resulted in thousands of military and civilian casualties and the massive destruction of housing and infrastructure. Putin’s rise to power and continuing popularity have been tied at least partly to his perceived ability to prosecute this conflict successfully.

In the run-up to Russian legislative el ections in December 2003 and a presidential election in March 2004, Putin endeavored to demonstrate that peace had returned to the region. Since Chechen terrorists held hundreds of Moscow theater-goers hostage in late 2002, the Putin administration has appeared unequivocally opposed to talks with the rebels and more dedicated to establishing a pro-Moscow government in Chechnya.

Such a government will use its own forces to battle the remaining rebels, ostensibly permitting the disengagement and withdrawal of most Russian troops from the region. This ‘Chechenization’ of the conflict, along with related pacification efforts, constitute the main elements of the Russian government’s campaign to wind down the fighting. Pacification efforts aim to gain the support or acquiescence of the population to federal control and include rebuilding assistance and elections. The assassination of a newly elected pro-Moscow Chechen leader in May 2004, and the attack on a school in the town of Beslan, Russia, in September 2004, by Chechen terrorists have raised questions about whether Chechenization and pacification are succeeding.

A consistent theme of U.S. and other international criticism of Russia is that Russian troops use excessive and indiscriminate force to quell separatism in Chechnya and committ serious human rights abuses. Several analysts have discerned a decrease in Bush Administration criticism of Russian policy in Chechnya, perhaps spurred to some degree by the Moscow theater hostage crisis and stepped-up terrorist bombings and armed attacks throughout Russia in 2003-2004. U.S. concerns before the Iraq conflict with gaining Russia’s support also may have contributed to the shifts. There appeared to be fewer Administration suggestions to Russia that it should open peace talks with former Chechnya leader Aslan Maskhadov, more tolerance for Russia’s argument that it was battling terrorism in Chechnya, and some hope that elections and rebuilding in Chechnya could contribute to a ‘political settlement.’ But some in the Administration also argue that Russia is showing declining interest in the adoption of Western democratic and human rights ‘values,’ and that such slippage could ultimately harm bilateral relations.

Consolidated Appropriations for FY2005, including foreign operations (H.R. 4818; P.L. 108-447) continues a provision first included in FY2001 appropriations that cuts aid to Russia unless the President determines that Russia is not hampering access to Chechnya by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). One issue for the 109th Congress is whether to continue this ban in FY2006 legislation.

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Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Congressional Research Service [CRS] Reports https://fas.org/sgp/crs/index.html

EveryCRSReport.com https://www.everycrsreport.com/

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