Chechnya Today

This semester, I focused on the religious conflict between Chechnya and Russia.  To summarize, the main conflict began in the 90's after the fall of the Soviet Union when Chechnya declared itself to be a separate union.  This secular separatist movement changed into a religious conflict as Islamist discourse was used to mobilize the Chechens and create a common identity to unite the country, who at the time was searching for new identity after the loss of Soviet identity.  Fighting ensued and both sides were not especially friendly.  Russians are seen as the oppressive former government who is violating human rights laws and Chechnya is seen as the radical Muslim terrorists.  Fun times.  As I wrap up my semester with a paper discussion possible peacemaking efforts, I came upon a video that talks about the rebuilding process of Grozny (the capital of Chechnya) after more than a decade of fighting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBGDIwOcp5g

An important fact to realize is that Russia is putting money into the Chechen economy in hope that the money will be able to revitalize Chechnya and create jobs and a sustainable future; specifically a future that does not cause the youth to join the Islamist separatist movement.  This money is being spent on skyscrapers and repairs on physical damage.  The money is being well spent in my opinion to give the Chechens a city that they can be proud of but long term efforts may demand more money to actually see change in the economy.  At least, at this point in history the conflict is not in full swing but at a point of "normalization."  This term may not actually be normal but it is much better than the late 1990's and early 2000's.  Only time will tell if these people can reconcile their differences and rebound completely after a time of great physical and emotional destruction.