Chechens: Culture and Society

Дэла-Малх

THE PROBLEM IS IMPURE CHECHENS

Apparently, there are impure or unclean Chechens walking among the collective, and they cause many problems for Chechens through their un-Chechen behavior, and especially by not remaining loyal to the Chechen nation. The idea of impure denotes Chechens who are a mix of ethnicities: their blood is not pure. A real, pure Chechen should know the names of seven of his fathers (father, grandfather, and greatgrandfather). Describing that original Chechens were redheads, there is otherwise little explanation for how Chechens may have evolved into a range of other skin and hair colors.

Chechens set high standards for themselves, and they foremost value strength physical and psychological, and couragea resistance to intimidation and domination. Chechens are the strongest, bravest, freest, cleanest, most justified nation. Chechens admire those who resemble how they imagine themselves: strong, disciplined, prepared, devoted, and loyal. Chechens have compassion for weak, kind, and gentle people and ways, but they do not admire those people or ways. Braced always for adversity, Chechens begrudge neglectfulness and weakness. Paradoxically, the ancient collective Chechen identity, centered on pride, honor, tradition, and cemented by oppression, remains intact. The collective identity mandates that whatever the mistakes, Chechens are one’s own, and a lesser evil than the unknown and uncertain outside world. Thus, in the end, the self-fulfilling prophesy prevails: Chechens remain outsiders—impervious to friends, and ever-prepared for the advances of foes. Due to many factors, there is limited real access to the complexities of the Chechen nation. Humanitarian and human rights organizations have documented the war to a fair extent, but this analysis focuses mainly on emergency needs. When an extraordinary event occurs, the mainstream media picks it up. Unfortunately, most interpretations of these events are off the mark: the truth is hidden from them via power structures, and limited long-term access means that media must rely on hearsay as a substitute for solid analysis. 

Freedom is perhaps the cornerstone of Chechen cultural identity. Freedom is broad and deep, with multiple meanings that are innate to the constancy and longevity of the collective culture, internalized and manifested at social, political, and personal levels. Related heavily to the historical path of the nation, epitomized by their long struggle against invaders and Russian occupation and domination, freedom, for Chechens, is a matter of destiny. I am a free person, says the Chechen man. Chechen men and women proclaim defiantly: I answer only to God and my Nation. For the most part Chechens are not knowledgeable of Western democratic terminology and structures, and are only vaguely interested. Instead, many Chechens are wary that Western “democracy” may be covertly infiltrated into their ancient modes of existence, in order to destroy the Chechen way of life. This suspicion serves as reinforcement for Chechen resistance to change. We do not need “democracy” - American or European. We do not need America or Europe. We can solve our own problems; we do not need anybody! Chechens are not sheep! Russian people are sheep. However, we are not sheep. It is not possible to herd Chechen people, for they do not readily follow direction, unless they feel it is their own choice to do so.

WE ARE EUROPEAN, ROOTS OF CIVILIZATION

The homeland of the Chechen nation is geographically isolated, rugged, and rarely traversed by people of other nations. Globalization in its current extensiveness is recent, and only in the past decade have Chechen people in the Caucasus begun to have technologically reliable access to global means of communication. Historically, a very small percentage of Chechens have traveled far from the homeland, though the recent conflict has swelled those numbers greatly. Though sprinklings of Chechen diaspora reside outside the homeland, the extended family, clan, and taip system of Chechens binds them to their homeland. The strictness and perpetuity of Chechens’ cultural norms reinforce their collective identity and history, replete with pride and hardship. These are hardened boundaries, woven from the recurring cycle of repression and survival. The integrity of Chechen collective ties is nearly impenetrable and indestructible. These ties are ancient. Through history, and these boundaries, Chechens identify, and distinguish, and separate themselves from the rest of the world, both physically and existentially. A Chechen man says, Chechens are not black, Chechens are European. Russians call Chechens “the blacks,” but we are not black. Hitler talked about the Aryan race the white race, which is similar to people of the Caucasus. This is where the word “Caucasian” comes from. In fact, the earliest Chechens, the original Chechens, were blonde or redheaded. Some Arabs and Mongolians mixed in, and that is why some Chechens are darker now. We are part of the West; in fact, all European languages come from Chechen language. Look at all of the words in English, other European languages, and in fact, international languages, which are so similar to Chechen words. Mount Erbus is the location where Noah’s Ark came to rest after the floods. The Caucasus is the root of European civilization, and probably world civilization.

CHECHEN WOMEN ARE BEAUTIFUL

A Chechen man declares, Chechen women are the most beautiful; they are known in the Caucasus for being the most beautiful. I would never marry a foreign woman. They are dirty.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Chechen women should not be demeaned or lowered, psychologically or physically. To treat a woman thus is disrespectful, antithetical to Chechen culture, and sinful in religion. It is particularly unmanly and cowardly, for a man to psychologically, or physically, abuse a weaker person or creature. A Chechen man says, A man who raises a hand against a woman is a fool. He is not a real man. In our religion, it is forbidden for a man to beat a woman.

Beautiful Chechen Redheads Girl

POWER OF CHECHEN WOMEN

Chechen women are not weak, docile creatures. To characterize Chechen women as such would be a great underestimation of them, their influence, strength, and abilities. Like the proud Chechen man, a Chechen woman should never hang her head to do so would display subservience and weakness, something to which Chechens must never submit. Most Chechen women conduct themselves properly, with outward obedience to men some will actually scurry to a man’s call, and will toil amenably when his guests arrive. This is the responsibility of the Chechen woman, and she safeguards her pride and honor through her conscientiousness. In private though, among women, she may mock this arrangement and men in general. She may be resentful, and sometimes unhappy, if the work is too great, and the man too lazy. She may relish her divorce, because through it she no longer has to toil for a man. If a man is kind and industrious, however, the relationship may be a mutual effort, with each performing his/her duties. If he is working, or undertaking some project to better the family, the woman is happy to support him, by keeping order in the household, and with a patient attitude. If a woman gives birth in a hospital, she often returns home the same day, or certainly the next. She resumes her household duties that day, or the next care of husband and family recommences immediately. The next day she will be outside, hanging clothes or sweeping the ground, her belly still large. Chechen women are the proprietors of the home; as such, they undertake a broad range of duties to maintain its upkeep. If an object is too heavy for a woman to lift, she may enlist the help of another woman, or several, or a wheelbarrow or cart. Chechen women lift, carry and move heavy objects, replace flooring, paint walls, and hammer nails. They repair sewage systems, and often mix and spread cement. Men may have a specialization, such as electrical and plumbing, and initial building construction, but women are skilled in home repair and maintenance. Chechen women respect those among them who show great strength, and work hard. Chechen men admire strong women, who persevere, have great endurance, and are proud of their work. A good woman loves her work, says the Chechen man. The Chechen woman smiles slyly at this remark, holds her head up and her back straight, and shows only her strength. The Chechen man says: If a man and a woman have a good relationship, then a woman can get what she wants. The man, who does not wander, is a man whose wife is on his back all the time. A woman who feeds well the stomach of the man, knows the way to his heart. Chechen men know their dependence on women. The meals women fastidiously prepare are delectable and nourishing, practiced through generations. Though shoes are not worn inside the home, the floor carpets nevertheless will be taken outside often for shampooing, as will the drapes and other hangings. Clean linens are mandatory, dirty dishes should never stand, and a woman need not be asked to ensure that clothes are clean. A Chechen man owns the children, and fear of losing her children can buffer a woman’s discontent in her marriage, give pause to her complaints. Discontented, she may leave and take the children with her, with his blessings and those of their families. However, should he pair with another woman in her absence, she might return to reclaim her husband and household. This is the power of the man over the woman. Yet, the man’s dependence on the woman to raise the children, and to bring him comfort, gives pause to the man’s desire to part with the woman. Chechen women feed the children, care for their needs, teach them, and ensure that they conduct themselves properly. Chechen women are providers of comfort in men’s lives; men remain quite ignorant of the preparation required for this. Chechen women have such power to bring men to their senses and behave as proper husbands.

VICTIMS

500 years! 500 years we have been fighting for our freedom! Russia wishes to exterminate us. Russia and everyone else wants to destroy us, our culture. Russia puts poison in our water, to kill us. There is evidence that Russian doctors poison our women, and that is why women deliver stillborn children. They are killing our children, in order to destroy us. Young people drop dead in the street from some strange illness. There is proof that Russia has used chemical weapons against us. There are secret documents that prove this. They are trying to exterminate us - remove us from the face of the earth.

WE DO WHAT WE HAVE TO DO

When Chechens were deported in 1944, one-half of our people died from cold-they deported us in the winter, and we slept on ice. All along the road, there were bodies, frozen to death. Even more people died when we got to Siberia and Kazakhstan. There was discrimination there: they did not give us jobs, and so our people were starving. We had to steal to survive, to feed our families. For this reason we believe that taking care of our children, our families, is the most important thing. We must do what we have to, to take care of our families.

EVERYONE FEARS CHECHENS

Chechen men boast: We are a tiny nation, but for 500 years, we have pushed back invaders. For 500 years Russia has not been able to defeat us, with their huge army, hundreds of thousands of soldiers - we never surrender, and they can never defeat us. Russia is afraid of us. Everyone is afraid of us, because we are strong warriors. We are small, but we are strong, and we never surrender.

Ruslan Gelayev

CHECHENS ARE NOT SLAVES

Chechen men proclaim, Peoples all over the world have taken slaves. Chechens have never taken slaves. This is not in our history, not in our culture. Chechens love freedom, we are not slaves. A man, who allows himself to be a slave, deserves to be a slave. Chechens divide people into slaves, and free men. In other words, those who do not subordinate themselves or appear subservient to others.

SEVEN FATHERS

Chechens admire those who are clean Chechens, pure Chechens -who are strong patriots, who are proud of and deeply love the nation, especially those who are rich in knowledge of Chechen history and customs. Those who adhere meticulously to Chechen adat are esteemed. Chechens who speak clean Chechen language are revered. Those who know the names of seven of their fathers are the real Chechens. Having seven Chechen fathers proves the purity of a Chechen man, and knowing their names proves his honor. The dead are respected and honored by the living: In passing a cemetery, one must be silent, and the Chechen man who drives must turn his car radio off and cease talking, to pay homage to those who rest, and not to disturb their peaceful sleep.

IMPURE CHECHENS

The same ties that bind Chechens together provide a barrier between Chechens and the rest of the world. Chechens rarely intermarry with other nationalities. This is general but not universal. Chechens emphasize the importance of pure Chechen blood, and many explain the transgressions of particular Chechen individuals, especially those who ally with Russia, as being the result of impurity of those Chechens. After all, a pure, clean Chechen would never commit such offenses.

LIES AND BETRAYALS

The cycle of repression and survival has taught Chechens to be wary, suspicious, and, often, paranoid. Lies that Chechens tell to themselves and others are justified as a normal matter of cautiousness, for the sake of survival in a hostile world, and since the enemy is likely near. Chechens are always prepared for a trap, and are primed to avoid capture. Chechens have plenty of concerns with trusting other Chechens. The lines of division, and the serious grudges connected with these divisions, render Chechens unable to trust one another. Anyone could be a spy. Anything could happen. You do not know to whom you are talking. Importantly, what one does or says could harm an individual’s entire family. Yet non-Chechens are always outsiders, and because Chechens are guardedly secretive, they remain perpetually misunderstood. It is hard to be a Chechen, but even harder to know one.

When the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria claimed her independence, as Chechens retell, The only country in the world that recognized the independent Chechen state was Georgia. Not E.U., not U.N. Not one Muslim country recognized us. Chechens feel greatly offended, strongly betrayed. After 500 years of conflict with Russia, a genocide that was recognized by the European Parliament, along with the current conflict that has killed thousands of Chechens and destroyed many of their villages, towns, and cities, Chechens find this lack of recognition to mean that they have no reliable friends. This realization stretches the boundaries between Chechens and others into chasms.

Many Chechens have strong views of Russians, many stereotypical, some stemming from personal experience: I have nothing against the Russian people. Russian people are sheep. They are stupid and weak. The only thing they know how to do is drink vodka. The problem is with the Russian government. There are actually very few pure Russians. They are intermixed with Mongolians. The people who are actually in power in Russia are Jews. In our neighborhood, there lived an old, Russian woman. She used to send cooked dishes to neighbors; she was very kind and never bothered anybody. When the war began, she had to flee her home, because she was very afraid. Chechen men say: Winston Churchill said it correctly: “A Russian promise [agreement] isn’t worth the paper it’s signed on.” They are liars.

Along with Chechens’ beliefs that Jews hold the power in Russia, many maintain a larger conspiracy theory regarding Jews and Israel. Paradoxically, many Chechens also empathize with Israel as a small, oppressed nation: The world banking system is controlled by Jews, the American government is controlled by Jews and Israel; Jews are everywhere. From their experiences as refugees in Turkey, and derived as well from commonly known historical struggles of the Caucasus people, many Chechens view Turks derogatorily: Turks are slaves. They are fools. There is a Russian saying, “If it’s a Turk, it’s a fool.” Turks have always betrayed us. During the Russian-Turkish war, many people from the Caucasus went to Turkey. The Turks betrayed them to the Russians. It is the same now Turkey has betrayed us to Russia. They have always betrayed us. On the other hand, as Chechens say, Russia has Kurds, and Turkey has Chechens. In other words, on Russian territory, there are Kurds who have fled Turkey, and in Turkey, there are Chechens who have fled Russia. This balance of interests makes room for corrupted compromises. This is what Chechens believed.

Ingush Chechen Brothers

INTRODUCTION: RESOURCES AND LIMITATIONS

Chechens are a unique and ancient cultural group. They share some common norms with specific other cultures worldwide and the human community at large, yet their historical narrative is locally rooted and bound. They are an indigenous people, who place strong emphasis on the past as guidance for the present, seizing their ideals upon themselves and idealizing those beliefs. They are old in custom, changing only slowly as a large portion of the rest of the world grapples with shared global visions. Indeed, one may locate an essence of Chechen in the ideal and the real. The degree of coherency of the Chechen collective is striking, considering the historical hardship of the nation, particularly the 1944 genocide that killed one-quarter to one-half of the Chechen population and nearly erased the nation from the map. Another small population might have been crushed by serious identity crises, casualties of war, and particular sociopolitical-economic transitional cycles. Chechens are suffering serious identity challenges, but the collective narrative remains intact. A mark of Chechen-ness is strength and endurance, solid confidence, and self-identification. Ideal Chechen cultural norms include an array of admirable beliefs and convictions, including compassion, care and responsibility for family and community, love of freedom, and reluctance to establish social and political hierarchies. In psychological terms, the Chechen people are survivors. There is no doubt that Chechens are solid, and in this way they are dependable: their belief system changes very little. For centuries, tweaks may have occurred, but with few major changes. It appears that Chechens’ historical destiny, now ancient, remains perpetual. To some degree, the nature of Chechens is the consequence of their relationship with Russia and other outside invading forces. Tales of battles, fortitude, and triumph dominate the Chechen cultural landscape. Many of today’s Chechens “grew up” under the Soviet Union, and within that oppressive system. For much of those times, Chechens were branded as bandits and unwanted, particularly during the Stalin period. Like other national minority groups, their religious freedoms were repressed or banned. Inside of Chechnya, schoolteachers were mainly Russian, not Chechen. They are often referred to in Russia proper as the blacks. Due to these discriminations and repression, survival mechanisms for Chechens have relied for a long time on living off the radar, and they have had to be self-reliant. Chechens likely, nevertheless, acquired many of the characteristics of the Soviet state, including a tolerance for economic and political corruption.

COLLECTIVENESS: BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS

The collective structure of Chechen culture is a great asset to the nation. Chechen narrative is resplendent with tales of fortitude against larger nations and armies, attributed to the ability to amass the collective in times of danger. These are tales of battles won to defend homes and homeland, and the surprise of the enemy, who discovers the strength of this small nation. Collectivity is also optimal for communal care ensuring that individuals do not fall through the cracks, alone in poverty or sickness. Communal care is tied to both Chechen traditional norms and their religious beliefs; the two together reinforce these values. All family members are responsible for one another. Families and neighbors care for the elderly. The youngest child in a family is mandated with direct responsibility for elderly parents, there are no “old-age homes,” and the elderly receive priority attention on important holidays, for visitation and sharing of food. There are few to no Chechen orphans: if a child’s parents die, close or extended family members will take in that child. There should be no abject poverty, because it is weak and dishonorable, a sin to abandon the poor. Values of collectivity also serve to place checks on individuals’ behaviors, and as reminders of responsibilities and correctness. Collective norms are a significant source of the existential survival of the Chechen Nation. Collective management has strong potential as a mechanism for conflict resolution. It contains methods of regulating order and morality, norms and rules, through an encompassing, inclusive decision making. Chechens describe their democracy as horizontal, where there is no hierarchy, no central power. Collective management is not a “winnertake  all” system, since no group is allowed total power. This style of collective management holds the makings of a true egalitarian democracy, where all people have rights, not just the few. Fault lines in Chechen Collectivism In ideal form, Chechen collectivism is constructive. In reality, however, the war context in particular reveals deficiencies in the functioning of this collective approach.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE

The Chechen male ego is the front and center of most of Chechens’ strengths, and mistakes. Chechens are not submissive, have no inferiority complex, and are not slaves. Their hubris leads them to envision their nation as a root of human civilization, a forerunner of languages, a feared people. Perhaps these ideas reflect overcompensation, reflexes of defense and survival. This hubris, however, while a great asset to the survival of the nation, at the same time often trips up Chechens, and can be counterproductive to their cause. Like so many nations, Chechens boast of exceptionalism: they are the strongest warriors, the root of human civilization, having the strictest, the best values and norms, the most beautiful women. Nationalism is a great asset to Chechens, for it cements their collectivity and fuels their tenacity. Yet sometimes this nationalism can be a blinder to selfreflection and growth. Chechens tend to divide their assessment of themselves and others into slaves and those who do not subordinate themselves.

CULTURAL RECONSTRUCTION

Many Chechens claim their collectivity is suffering a degradation of culture, a loss of cultural values and norms, and particularly those norms that play beneficial and benevolent roles in the maintenance of Chechen communities. Many claim this degradation is intentional a strategic aim of outside forces, designed to ultimately destroy the Chechen nation altogether. Others claim foreign extremist ideas and pressures have caused this degradation and divided Chechens against each other. Still others claim stress is the cause. This author is convinced that a major contributor toward Chechen cultural degradation is Islamic extremism. Islam is a part of traditional Chechen culture, and the interweaving of Muslim and Chechen norms produces a multitude of humane, compassionate, and peace-giving understandings and rules of behavior. The Islamic fundamentalism embraced by some segments of Chechen society today, however, is not tolerant or peace loving. Some may say this extremism serves important purposes. Extremist insurgents insist they will gain the freedom of Chechens from Russia. Often in struggles against oppression, extremism plays a dynamic role in highlighting issues, and inciting solutions. This extremism in Chechnya, however, must not prevail. It threatens to destroy the social fabric of the Chechen collectivity, to distill and deform the best of what Chechens have. It does not make for peaceful neighbors it is freedom reducing, not freedom producing. It stifles rather than stimulates the imaginations of Chechen people in this global world. It is another form of oppression.

THE WOLF, THE FLAG, THE ANTHEM

Every Chechen, regardless of political inclination or social status, knows the wolf. The wolf is a multilayered and holistic representation of what it means to be Chechen. The wolf lives beautifully isolated in the forested mountains, sheltered and untouched by the world. The wilderness is not hostile; it embraces the wolf. The wild glory of nature his home, the wolf is one creature among all, flora and fauna, animate and inanimate, that God created. In the wild, the wolf is dominant and brave, but noble and honorable. He is not a scavenger or a follower, picking at the leftovers of others: The wolf does not prey on the small or weak: he hunts that which is larger than he is. “Born of a she-wolf,” a central line in the Chechen national anthem, the Chechen man boasts his origins, and expresses his reverence for Chechen mothers, themselves wolves, who birth their children and are strong. The lone wolf is a symbol of the magnificence of the wolf, his independence and freedom, as well as the individual burden of each Chechen. The Chechen man says, I am a lone wolf, howling at the moon in the night. He worries about his decisions, about the welfare of his family, about the tribulations and future of his nation. The lone wolf, however, is never alone; his existence hinges on the burdens and needs of the collective pack. Alone in this beauty, outside of the pack he needs no other.

Source: Katherine S. Layton, Complete Book