Chechnya - The Chechen/Russian Conflict

GEOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND: Physical and cultural
The area known as the Caucasus of Russia is made up of six autonomous Russian republics nestled between Russia and Turkey, to the north and south respectively and the Black and Caspian seas to the West and East.1 The northern portion of the Caucasus is home to the territory known to us as Chechnya, located in southwestern Russia. Chechnya extends over approximately 15,000+ square kilometers on the northern slope of the Caucasus Mountains and covers several natural regions. Chechnya spans from her highest point at 14, 741 feet in the south to the northern plains and lowlands. 2
Chechnya boasts a fertile soil in the valley regions, with dry steppe vegetation in the northern plains. The mountain slope areas of the country have forests of beech, birch and oaks.3

The semi-desert and highland climates account for the occasional rain and greatly varying temperatures depending specific altitude. Precipitation falls somewhere between 5 - 20 inches per year. Temperatures range from 40 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter months to 60 - 80 degrees in the summer.4

Set between the Black and Caspian Seas, the latter being the closest, Chechnya has been known for its rich mineral waters.5 Below the surface of the Chechen territory are Caspian oil deposits, which have been drilled and the 30 or so fields have been known to provide 4,000 tons of oil per day. The area also contains natural gas deposits.6

The Caucasus region is known for its ethnic variety. Dozens of languages and many different religions are part of the cultures of the various groups in this territory. Chechnya is home to millennia-old peoples who work as mountain-based herdsman and farmers.7 The country's population as of 2002 was approximately 625,000, which represents a reduction in the once 1 million+ population as a result of the Russian/Chechen war during the 1900s. Groznyy, the Chechen capitol, is home to more than ½ of the total population. The Chechen people refer to themselves as Nokhchii and speak a Caucasic language and are Sunni Muslims.8