Abstract

Chechnya has a new President, Akhmad Kadyrov, and the idea of independence is fading like a dream. The war against terrorism has accelerated this trend. It indeed presents difficulties for the last boivikis, who are now tempted to stir up some kind of “revolutionary war” in order to weaken those Chechens who decided to support Moscow. Their guerilla tactics in this dilapidated piece of territory attempt to whip up mistrust within the population, in order to ensnare new partisans within their ranks. The Russians are for their part trying to foster so-called “chechenisation” in order to quicken the political process, when it is a new round of negotiations with the head of the resistance, Aslan Maskhadov, which is actually required. But Moscow has another goal in mind: the restoration of the old Republic of Chechnya-Ingushetia. All in all, only one thing seems certain: the current Republic is a subject of the Russian Federation, which is to say that it is heralding the end of the era of independence.

Arnaud Kalika is an expert of Russian issues at the French Ministry of Defense.