Volume 7, Issue 34 (September 08, 2006) |
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KADYROV CONTRADICTS ALKHANOV ON RENAMING CHECHNYA…
On
September 4, Chechen President Alu Alkhanov called for renaming
Chechnya the “Nokhchiin Republic,” which is the republic’s name in the
Chechen language. The idea, however, received a thumbs-down the
following day from the republic’s prime minister and de facto
strongman, Ramzan Kadyrov, as well as from a number of federal
officials. Some analysts saw this as yet another sign that Kadyrov’s
power is growing at Alkhanov’s expense.
As Kommersant reported
on September 5, Alkhanov made the suggestion in St. Petersburg, where
he was participating in a meeting of the Russian-Arab Business Council.
“I charged the minister of information and press to consult with
scholars, ascertaining the opinions of various public organizations,
and, as a result of this work, the renaming of the republic may be
proposed,” Alkhanov said. He added that his initiative was based on the
fact that the word “Chechnya” has a negative “coloring,” is perceived
negatively and has no legal basis. “Chechens and people of other
nationality living in the republic never use that ugly word. The word
‘Chechnya’ is taken by the inhabitants of the republic as some kind of
chopped-off phrase. We didn’t get used to this phrase. If we proceed
from the name used by the people, then we are Nokhchi. The republic
must have a different name.”
Kommersant quoted Alkhanov’s
press secretary, Said-Magomed Isaraev, as saying that the idea of
changing the republic’s names was merely a proposal and conceded that
it might not receive sufficient backing. “It is a question only of the
possibility of taking such a decision,” he said. “We have no certainty,
of course, that our initiative will be supported.” The idea of renaming
the republic was not spontaneous, Isaraev said. “Already a year ago the
president gathered scholars and proposed that they think over a new
name for the republic,” he said, noting that no official order had then
been given. Now, he said, Alkhanov has decided to seriously push for
the change. “The president gave an official order to the specialists,”
Isaraev said. “And we, understanding that such an issue is not resolved
with the stroke of a pen, are prepared to take all the steps that are
necessary in such cases, including a plebiscite.” Like Alkhanov,
Isaraev said changing the republic’s name would help it get away from
the negative way that the media has portrayed it and its inhabitants.
“The words ‘Chechnya’ and ‘Chechens’ have become synonyms for the idea
of ‘a dangerous territory’ and ‘dangerous people’,” he said. “And we
want to rid ourselves of those tags.”
On September 5, the day
after Alkhanov floated the idea of renaming Chechnya, Kadyrov publicly
rejected the idea. “I believe that the initiative of the president of
the Chechen Republic on this issue is untimely,” Interfax quoted
Kadyrov as saying in a statement. “It is economically inexpedient. It
will take millions of rubles to change the name. It would be more
advisable to use these funds to revive the republic’s social sphere.”
Kadyrov also noted in the statement, “The official name of the [Russian
Federation] subject is ‘the Chechen Republic,’ and the word ‘Chechnya’
is not on one page of the [republic’s] constitution. Moreover, when the
national referendum was carried out and the constitution of the Chechen
Republic … was adopted [in March 2003], more than 80 percent of the
population expressed their agreement with the existing official name.”
Kadyrov’s
rejection of Alkhanov’s call to rename Chechnya was echoed by several
key federal officials, including presidential envoy to the Southern
Federal District Dmitry Kozak, State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov and
Federation Council Constitutional Legislation Committee Chairman Yury
Sharandin. This left the strong impression that the Kremlin had backed
Kadyrov against Alkhanov on this issue.
Nezavisimaya gazeta
noted on September 7 that on top of this, Alkhanov and Kadyrov gave
separate speeches on September 6 marking Civil Unity and Accord Day,
which was introduced in September 2002 by then-Chechen President Akhmad
Kadyrov to replace the Day of the State Sovereignty of the Chechen
Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) that had been observed during the rule of
Djokhar Dudaev, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev and Aslan Maskhadov. “What is
notable is not only the fact that the two leaders gave separate
speeches, but also the orientation of those speeches,” the newspaper
wrote. “If Alkhanov spoke more about the ‘the tangled destiny’ of the
Chechens ‘with the peoples of multi-ethnic Russia,’ then Kadyrov
stressed that ‘the Chechen people learned the lessons of tragedy and
with redoubled efforts are moving on the path to revival.’” According
to Nezavisimaya gazeta, Kadyrov declared in his speech, “Cities and
villages are rising from the ruins; new schools [and] hospitals are
opening, manufacturing facilities [and] agro-industrial complexes are
being put into operation.” In other words, as the newspaper put it,
Kadyrov speech was aimed at showing that “everything is going
perfectly” in the sphere for which he is responsible.
Nezavisimaya
gazeta noted that the split between Alkhanov and Kadyrov is becoming
increasingly sharp and public with the approach of October 5—the day
Kadyrov turns 30 and is constitutionally permitted to assume the
presidency. “Apparently, the approach of that date is making Alkhanov
extremely nervous, forcing him to make, let’s say, unusual statements,”
the newspaper wrote. “It looks like Alu Alkhanov is, as writers of
novels would put it, ‘on the edge of a nervous breakdown.’ It cannot be
ruled out that this breakdown will conclude with a voluntary
resignation.”