International reactions to massive human rights violations: The case of Chechnya

Europe - Asia Studies

Volumn 51, Issue 1, 1999, Pages 85-100

  Cornell, Svante E ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

FOREIGN POLICY; GEOPOLITICS; HUMAN RIGHTS; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS;

ARTICLE; CIVIL DISORDER; CULTURAL FACTOR; ECONOMICS; EDUCATION; ETHNIC GROUP; ETHNOLOGY; EUROPE; HISTORY; HUMAN; HUMAN RIGHTS; HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE; JURISPRUDENCE; LEGAL ASPECT; POLICY; POLITICAL SYSTEM; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; PUBLIC HEALTH; PUBLIC OPINION; RUSSIAN FEDERATION; SOLDIER;

CIVIL DISORDERS; CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS; ETHNIC GROUPS; EUROPE; HISTORY, 20TH CENTURY; HUMAN RIGHTS; HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES; HUMANS; JURISPRUDENCE; MILITARY PERSONNEL; POLITICAL SYSTEMS; PUBLIC HEALTH; PUBLIC OPINION; PUBLIC POLICY; RUSSIA;

RUSSIAN FEDERATION;

EID: 0032922957     PISSN: 09668136     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09668139999137     Document Type: Article

References (91)

1. See Abdullah Saydam, 'Freedom Movements in Northern Caucasia', Eurasian Studies, 2, 1, Spring 1995, p. 111.
2. See Abdurrahman Avtorkhanov, 'The Chechens and Ingush during the Soviet Period and its Antecedents', in Marie Bennigsen Broxup (ed.), The North Caucasus Barrier (London, Hurst, 1992), p. 155.
3. The authoritative works on the subject of the deportations are Robert Conquest, The Nation Killers - The Soviet Deportation of Nationalities (London, Macmillan, 1970) and Aleksandr Nekrich, The Punished Peoples (New York, W. W. Norton, 1978). Recent data and analyses have also emerged, mainly in Russian, since 1991.
4. The authoritative works on the subject of the deportations are Robert Conquest, The Nation Killers - The Soviet Deportation of Nationalities (London, Macmillan, 1970) and Aleksandr Nekrich, The Punished Peoples (New York, W. W. Norton, 1978). Recent data and analyses have also emerged, mainly in Russian, since 1991.
5. For a good account of the deportations see also Carlotta Gall & Thomas de Waal, Chechnya - A Small Victorious War (Basingstoke, Pan Books, 1997), Chapter 4, pp. 56-75. Figures here from p. 60.
6. See Vera Tolz, 'New Information About the Deportation of Ethnic Groups under Stalin', Report on the USSR, 26 April 1991.
7. Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, "Punished Peoples" of the Soviet Union - the Continuing Legacy of Stalin's Deportations (New York, Human Rights Watch, 1991).
8. See Charles Blandy, 'The Battle for Grozny', Jane's Intelligence Review, February 1995.
9. According to Russia's peace-broker in the region, General Aleksandr Lebed, between 80 000 and 100000 people may have perished in the war. This included 3726 federal troops and 1906 missing soldiers. See 'Discussion of Chechnia', in Open Media Research Institute (Prague, hereafter OMRI), Daily Digest, 3 October 1996.
10. Elisabeth Hedborg & Lena Jonson, 'Tjetjenien och Rysk Demokrati' (Chechnya and Russian Democracy), Internationella Studier (Stockholm, Foreign Policy Institute), March 1995; Mark Galeotti, 'Decline and Fall: Moscow's Chechen War', Jane's Intelligence Review, February 1995.
11. Elisabeth Hedborg & Lena Jonson, 'Tjetjenien och Rysk Demokrati' (Chechnya and Russian Democracy), Internationella Studier (Stockholm, Foreign Policy Institute), March 1995; Mark Galeotti, 'Decline and Fall: Moscow's Chechen War', Jane's Intelligence Review, February 1995.
12. Soli Nystén-Haarala, 'Does the Russian Constitution Justify an Offensive against Chechnia', Central Asian Survey, 14, 2, 1995.
13. For a general overview of the Chechen conflict, see Chapter 5, 'Russia's war with Chechnia', in my Small Nations and Great Powers - A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus (Richmond, Curzon Press, forthcoming 1999). For a good analysis of the military aspects of the war, see Ib Faurby, 'Kirgen i Tjetjenien: Baggrund, Operationer og Fremtidsudsigter' (The War in Chechnya: Background, Operations and Forecasts), Kungl. Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar och Tidskrift (Royal [Swedish] Academy of War Sciences, Proceedings and Journal), 200, 3, 1996; also Benjamin S. Lambeth, 'Russia's Air War in Chechnya', Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 19, 4, October-December 1996.
14. For a general overview of the Chechen conflict, see Chapter 5, 'Russia's war with Chechnia', in my Small Nations and Great Powers - A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus (Richmond, Curzon Press, forthcoming 1999). For a good analysis of the military aspects of the war, see Ib Faurby, 'Kirgen i Tjetjenien: Baggrund, Operationer og Fremtidsudsigter' (The War in Chechnya: Background, Operations and Forecasts), Kungl. Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar och Tidskrift (Royal [Swedish] Academy of War Sciences, Proceedings and Journal), 200, 3, 1996; also Benjamin S. Lambeth, 'Russia's Air War in Chechnya', Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 19, 4, October-December 1996.
15. For a general overview of the Chechen conflict, see Chapter 5, 'Russia's war with Chechnia', in my Small Nations and Great Powers - A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus (Richmond, Curzon Press, forthcoming 1999). For a good analysis of the military aspects of the war, see Ib Faurby, 'Kirgen i Tjetjenien: Baggrund, Operationer og Fremtidsudsigter' (The War in Chechnya: Background, Operations and Forecasts), Kungl. Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar och Tidskrift (Royal [Swedish] Academy of War Sciences, Proceedings and Journal), 200, 3, 1996; also Benjamin S. Lambeth, 'Russia's Air War in Chechnya', Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 19, 4, October-December 1996.
16. For a view opposing Chechnya's right to independence, see among others Tarcisio Gazzini, 'Some considerations on the Conflict in Chechnia', Human Rights Law Journal, 17, 3-6, October 1996. See also Christian Altmann & Frank Nienhuysen, Brennpunkt Kaukasus - Wohin Steuert Russland (Bergisch Gladbach, Bastei-Lübbe, 1995).
17. For a view opposing Chechnya's right to independence, see among others Tarcisio Gazzini, 'Some considerations on the Conflict in Chechnia', Human Rights Law Journal, 17, 3-6, October 1996. See also Christian Altmann & Frank Nienhuysen, Brennpunkt Kaukasus - Wohin Steuert Russland (Bergisch Gladbach, Bastei-Lübbe, 1995).
18. See Svante E. Cornell, 'A Chechen State?', Central Asian Survey, 16, 2, 1997. For a concurring argument see Marie Bennigsen Broxup, 'Tchétchénie: Une Guerre Coloniale', Politique Internationale, 1995, 67.
19. See Svante E. Cornell, 'A Chechen State?', Central Asian Survey, 16, 2, 1997. For a concurring argument see Marie Bennigsen Broxup, 'Tchétchénie: Une Guerre Coloniale', Politique Internationale, 1995, 67.
20. See Gall & de Waal, Chechnya - A Small Victorious War, p. 267.
21. See Michael S. Serril, 'Blown Away', Time, 29 January 1996.
22. See Gall & de Waal, Chechnya - A Small Victorious War, p. 289.
23. Ibid., p. 259.
24. This latter strategy was used by the Soviet army in World War II, for example in the battle of Stalingrad.
25. Strictly legally speaking these persons were internally displaced persons and not refugees as they did not cross a recognised international boundary.
26. See Nicolas M. L. Bovay, 'The Russian Armed Intervention in Chechnia and its Human Rights Implications', International Commission of Jurists - The Review, 54, 1995, p. 34.
27. 'Russian Troops Accused of Human Rights Violations in Chechnya', OMRI Daily Digest, 27 February 1995.
28. See M. Bindig, Report on the Human Rights Situation in Chechnya, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 29 June 1995 (hereafter Bindig Report).
29. See Zelim Tskhovrebov, 'An Unfolding Case of Genocide: Chechnya, World Order, and the "Right to be Left Alone" ', Nordic Journal of International Law, 64, 4, 1995.
30. Respect for Human Rights in Armed Conflicts, United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2444, 19 December 1969.
31. See discussion in Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, Russia: (Chechnya and Dagestan) Caught in the Crossfire - Civilians in Gudermes and Pervomayskoye (New York, Human Rights Watch, March 1996), pp. 8-10.
32. Protocol 1, Art. 51(4), quoted in ibid., p. 9.
33. See Morten Kjaerum et al., Human Rights and the Crisis in Chechnia: Four Nordic Human Rights Centres/Institutes' Mission to Moscow (Stockholm, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, February 1995).
34. See Michael R. Lucas, 'The War in Chechnya and the OSCE Code of Conduct', Helsinki Monitor: Quarterly on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 1995, 2.
35. See Bovay, pp. 36-39 for a detailed overview. Many primary sources referred to below are listed in this account.
36. Tamara Dragadze, 'Report on Chechnya', Central Asian Survey, 14, 3, 1995.
37. Kjaerum, Human Rights and the Crisis in Chechnia, p. 3.
38. International Herald Tribune, 30 January 1995; Le Monde, 3 February 1995.
39. International Herald Tribune, 30 January 1995; Le Monde, 3 February 1995.
40. See e.g. The Guardian, 25 February 1995.
41. See, e.g., 'Russian Forces Step Up Operations in Chechnia', OMRI Daily Digest, 25 March 1996.
42. See the reports of Human Rights Watch/Helsinki: Three Months of War in Chechnia (New York, Human Rights Watch, February 1995) and Russia's War in Chechnia: Victims Speak Out (New York, Human Rights Watch, January 1995).
43. See the reports of Human Rights Watch/Helsinki: Three Months of War in Chechnia (New York, Human Rights Watch, February 1995) and Russia's War in Chechnia: Victims Speak Out (New York, Human Rights Watch, January 1995).
44. Bovay, p. 37.
45. 'New Russian Offensive in Chechnia', OMRI Daily Digest, 22 May 1995.
46. 'Chemical Weapons Used in Chechnia?', OMRI Daily Digest, 10 August 1995.
47. Moscow News, 1995, 5, p. 2.
48. Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Appeal of the Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the Mass Extermination of Young Chechen Nationals (Grozny, 14 February 1995).
49. See the evidence and accounts provided in Gall & de Waal, Chechnya - A Small Victorious War, chapter 11, 'War Against the People', pp. 228-255.
50. For a first-hand account of the event see Memorial (Russian independent human rights organisation), Samashki (Moscow, 1995) (available in its totality at http:www.smn.co.jp/chechen/).
51. See Gall & de Waal, Chechnya - A Small Victorious War, pp. 242-247 for an account of the Samashki massacre.
52. Bovay, pp. 39-40.
53. For a recent analysis of the condition of the Russian army see Pavel K. Baev, The Russian Army in a Time of Troubles (London, Sage, 1996), especially the section on Chechnya, pp. 141-147.
54. See Taras Kuzio, 'International Reaction to the Chechen Crisis', Central Asian Survey, 15, 1, 1995.
55. Ibid., p. 105.
56. 'Chechnya "No Longer Just a Russian Issue" ', OMRI Daily Digest, 11 January 1995.
57. See Bovay, p. 53.
58. See 'FSB on Turkish Involvement in Chechnya', OMRI Daily Digest, 15 August 1995.
59. On the interactions between the Kurdish and Chechen problems in bilateral Russo-Turkish relations see Robert Olson, 'The Kurdish Question and Chechnya: Turkish and Russian Foreign Policies since the Gulf War', Middle East Policy, 1996, 4.
60. On Turkey's policy in Nagorno Karabakh see Svante E. Cornell, 'A Delicate Balance: Turkey and the Conflict in Nagorno Karabakh', Middle Eastern Studies, 34, 1, 1998.
61. On Iranian-Russian cooperation see Svante E. Cornell, 'Iran and the Caucasus', Middle East Policy, 5, 4, January 1998.
62. See overview in Kuzio, pp. 106-109.
63. See Mohiaddin Mesbahi, 'Russian Foreign Policy and Security in Central Asia and the Caucasus', Central Asian Survey, 13, 2, 1993.
64. See, e.g., Fiona Hill & Pamela Jewett, Back in the USSR - Russia's Intervention in the Internal Affairs of the Former Soviet Republics and the Implications for United States Policy toward Russia (Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, January 1994).
65. Kuzio, p. 106; Bovay, p. 56.
66. Kuzio, p. 106; Bovay, p. 56.
67. 'Council of Europe on Chechnya', OMRI Daily Digest, 28 June 1996.
68. 'Poles Appeal for Peace in Chechnya', OMRI Daily Digest, 31 July 1996.
69. For a recent example see Sevinç Karaca, 'Chechen Conference in Poland', Turkish Probe, 17 January 1997.
70. See Cornell, Small Nations....
71. See Taras Kuzio, 'The Chechnya Crisis and the "Near Abroad" ', Central Asian Survey, 14, 4, 1995, p. 565.
72. 'Estonian Parliament Backs Chechnya Recognition', OMRI Daily Digest, 14 February 1995.
73. Moscow Postures over Baltic Ties with Chechnya', OMRI Daily Digest, 13 February 1995.
74. 'Latvian Deputies Condemn Russian Imperialism in Chechnya', OMRI Daily Digest, 15 March 1996.
75. 'Lithuanian Municipalities Demand Independence for Chechnya', OMRI Daily Digest, 17 July 1996.
76. 'Ukrainian Parliament Avoids Condemning Russia on Chechnya', OMRI Daily Digest, 19 January 1995.
77. See the discussion including the impact on Russo-Ukrainian Relations in Kuzio, 'The Chechnya Crisis ...', pp. 554-557 and 560-562.
78. For an account of the Caucasian mountain peoples' solidarity see Dodge Billingsley, 'Confederates of the Caucasus', Jane's Intelligence Review, February 1997. Interestingly, despite the controversy between Chechnya and Russia that existed during the Abkhaz war, both supported the Abkhaz and seemingly had no problems cooperating in this war.
79. See Svante Cornell, 'Conflicts in the North Caucasus', Central Asian Survey, 17, 3, 1998.
80. See Bovay, pp. 50-52 for an overview of the ICJ's stance.
81. On Human Rights in US-Turkish relations see Mahmut B. Aykan, 'Turkish Perspectives on Turkish-US Relations Concerning Persian Gulf Security in the Post-Cold War Era: 1989-19', The Middle East Journal, 50, 3, Summer 1996.
82. Mark Robinson, 'Aid, Democracy and Political Conditionality in Sub-Saharan Africa', in April A. Gordon & Donald L. Gordon (eds), Understanding Contemporary Africa (Boulder Co., Rienner, 1996).
83. On Russian media in the crisis see Michael Haney, 'Russia's First Televised War: Public Opinion on the Crisis', Transition, 14 April 1995 pp. 6-8.
84. OMRI Analytical Brief, 19 March 1996.
85. 'Lebed on Chechnya Reconstruction Losses', OMRI Daily Digest, 18 September 1996.
86. OMRI Analytical Brief, 19 March 1996.
87. See e.g. Jacob W. Kipp, 'The Zhirinovsky Threat', Foreign Affairs, 73, 3, May/June 1994.
88. Kuzio, 'International Reaction ...', p. 97.
89. See Cornell, Small Nations....
90. For a systematic and detailed analysis of ethnic separatism in Russia see Daniel S. Treisman, 'Russia's "Ethnic Revival" - the Separatist Activism of Regional Leaders in a Postcommunist Order', World Politics, January 1997.
91. I am grateful to an anonymous referee for pointing this, as well as other facts, out to me.