Grozny

Grozny or Groznyy (, Chechen: Джовхар-ГӀала / Dƶowxar-Ġala) is the capital of the Chechen Republic in Russia. It is located at .

Name

"Grozny" means "fearsome" or "dangerous" in Russian. By Chechen separatists, the city is sometimes referred to as Dzhokhar or Djohar (Chechen: Djovkhar Ghaala); it was named so after Dzhokhar Dudaev, the first president of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. As of December 2005, the Chechen parliament voted to rename the city Akhmadkala after Akhmad Kadyrov, a proposition which was rejected by his son Ramzan Kadyrov.

According to the 2002 All-Russia population census, the city had a population of 210,720 people, a little more than half of the population a decade before.

History

Russian fort and a Soviet regional capital

The Groznaya fortress was founded in 1818 as a Russian military outpost on the Sunzha River by Terek Cossacks and was a prominent defence centre during the Caucasian War. After the pacification of the region, the military use of the old fortress was obsolete and in December 1869 it was renamed to Grozny. (The change of the name ending follows the rules for adjectives when the modified noun was changed from the feminine gender ("threatening fortress") to masculine ("threatening town"). As most of the residents there were Terek Cossacks, the town grew slowly until the development of Oil reserves in the early 20th century. This spiralled development of industry and petrochemical production. In addition to the oil drilled in the city itself, the city became a geographical centre of Russia's network of oil fields, and also in 1893 became part of the Transcaucasia - Russia Proper railway. The result was the population almost doubled from 15.6 thousand in 1897 to 30.4 in 1913.

After the October Revolution, Grozny was seized the next day (November 8, 1917) Bolsheviks headed by N.Anisimov and established a Proletariat control. As the Russian Civil War escalated, the Proletariat formed the 12th Red Army, and the garrison held out numerous assaults by Terek Cossacks beginning on August 11 1918 and continuing until November 12. However the Bolshevik garrison was not to prove successful against Denikin's armies which captured the town on February 4 1919. Although underground operations were carried out by Communists, only the arrival of the Caucasus front of the Red Army in 1920 allowed the town to be finally end up with the RSFSR on 17 March. Simultaneously it became part of the Soviet Mountain Republic, which was formed on 20 January 1921, and was the capital of the Chechen national district. On 30 November 1922, the mountain republic was dissolved, and the Chechen National District became the Chechen Autonomous Oblast (Chechen AO) with Grozny as capital. At this time most of the population was still Russian, but of Cossack descent. As Cossacks were viewed as a potential threat to the Soviet nation, Moscow actively encouraged the migration of Chechens into the city from the mountains. In 1934 the Chechen-Ingush AO was formed which then grew into the Chechen-Ingush ASSR in 1936.

However in 1944 the whole population of Chechens and Ingush was deported after accusations of collaboration with Nazi Germany, it is rumoured that mass attacks on the Russian population were noted, but these were unconfirmed. Grozny became capital of the Grozny Oblast of RSFSR, and the city at the time was again wholly Russian. In 1957 Chechen-Ingush ASSR was restored, and the Chechens were allowed to return. Once again migration of non-Russians into Grozny continued whilst the ethnic Russian population, in turn, moved to other parts of the USSR, notably the Baltic states. By the late 1960s, Chechens and Ingush outnumbered ethnic Russians.

At the same time much development was fueled into the city. Architecture spiralled and like in many Soviet Cities was marked in periods beginning with the Stalinist apartments in the centre as well as administrative constructions including the massive Council of Ministers and the Grozny University buildings. Late construction include the high rise apartment blocks prominent in all Socialist cities and a city airport. In 1989 the population of the city was almost 400,000 people.

Collapse of Russian Authority

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Grozny became the seat of a separatist government led by Dzhokhar Dudaev. At this time of quasi-anarchy, most of the remaining Russian minority were forcibly expelled by groups of criminals and militants, adding to a harassment and discrimination from the new authorities led by the city mayor Bislan Gantamirov. These events are perceived by some as an act of an ethnic cleansing (and even genocide) although officially this was never confirmed by the Russian state and the International community.

The covert Russian attempts of overthrowing Dudayev by a means of an armed Chechen opposition resulted in a repeated failed assaults on the city. The last one on 26 November 1994 ended with capture of some 70 Russian Army tankists secretly hired as a mercenaries by the FSK (former KGB, soon renamed FSB); Dudayev's televised threat to execute them was sometimes cited as one of the reasons of Boris Yeltsin's decision to launch the open intervention.

First Chechen War

During the First Chechen War, Grozny was the site of an intense battle lasting from December 1994 to February 1995 and ultimately ending with the capture of the city by the Russian military (First battle of Grozny, 1994-1995). Intense fighting and carpet bombing carried out by the Russian Air Force destroyed much of the city. Numerous buildings, including the Presidential Palace, sustained significant mar, and debris littered the streets. Thousands of combatants on both sides died in the fighting, alongside civilians, many of which were reportedly ethnic Russians. Unclaimed bodies were later collected and buried in mass graves on the city outskirts. In the area of Khankhala, the main federal base of one of the "filtration camps" was located, where Chechen suspects were imprisoned without trial and tortured.

Guerrilla units operating from nearby mountains managed to harass and demoralize the Russian Army by means of guerilla tactics and raids, such as the successful March 1996 raid on Grozny, which led to political and public pressure for a withdrawal of Russian troops. In August 1996, a raiding force of 1,500 to 3,000 militants recaptured the city in a surprise attack, and surrounded and routed its entire garrison of 10,000 MVD troops, while fighting off the Russian Army units from the Khankala base. The battle ended with a final ceasefire and Grozny was once again in the hands of Chechen separatists.

The name was changed to Djohar in 1997 by the President of the separatist Ichkeria republic, Aslan Maskhadov. By this time most of the remaining Russian minority fled.

Second Chechen War

Grozny was once again the epicenter of fighting after the outbreak of the Second Chechen War, which further caused thousands of fatalities. During the early phase of the Russian siege on Grozny in October 25, 1999, Russian forces launched five SS-21 ballistic missiles at the crowded central bazaar and a maternity ward, killing more than 140 people and injuring hundreds in the Grozny marketplace. During the massive shelling of the city that followed, most of the Russian artillery were directed toward the upper floors of the buildings to knock out militants that were entrenched in them. Although this caused mass destruction of infrastructure, most of the residents were already hidden in the cellars of the houses, and, during the separatist reign, most of the upper apartments were confiscated as these proved key lookout points. In such a case the civilian casualties were much less than in the first battles.

The final seizure of the city was set in February 2000, when the Russians tipped off the besieged militants that there is a safe way to abandon the city via a safe passage. Seeing that there was no build-up of forces outside, the militants agreed. During one day prior to the planned evacuation, the Russian Army mined the path between the city and the open the village of Alkhan-Kala and concentrated most firepower on that point. The result speaks for itself, both the city major and military commander both were killed. Other prominent separatist leaders were killed or wounded, including Shamil Basayev who lost a foot, but later, gangrene took the whole leg. In addition several hundred militants died and even more were wounded. Afterwards, the Russians slowly entered the empty city and on February 6 raised the Russian flag in the centre. A month later, it was declared safe to allow the residents to return to their homes.

The federal government representatives of Chechnya are based in Grozny. Most of the city's infrastructure is completely destroyed and many continue to live in ruined buildings without heating and running water. Only some 200,000 Chechens, along with several hundreds of Russian civilians remain in the city's debris, most of them lacking employment, electricity, and running water. Even though the war is officially over, political murders, bombings and clashes between the Russian forces and the separatists continue but becoming increasingly less sporadic. Major reconstruction is underway at the same time.

Features

The city is divided into four administrative city districts: Leninsky, Zavodskoy, Staropromyslovsky, and Oktyabrsky. All of the districts are residential, but Staropromyslovsky district is also the city's main illegal oil drilling area, and Oktyabrsky district hosts most of the city's industry. However, nearly all of Grozny was destroyed or seriously damaged during the Chechen Wars.

Grozny was also known for its modern architecture and as a spa town. It has a university and is home to FC Terek Grozny. The city lies on the Sunzha River.

Notable people from Grozny include Lyudmila Turishcheva.

External links

Chechnya | Cities and towns in Chechnya

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