2010 Chechen Parliament attack
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Chechen Parliament attack took place on the morning of 19 October 2010, when three Chechen
militants attacked the parliament complex in Grozny
, the capital of the Chechen Republic
, a federal subject of Russia. At least six people were killed, including two police officers, one parliament employee and all three suicide commandos. The attack was seen as significant because of its target and timing.
and the 2005 election was seen by critics as a "sham". The reigning government has been labeled by many observers and organizations, including Freedom House
's yearly investigations and Memorial
, as "totalitarian", although Kadyrov has furiously denied these allegations (among others) and characterized them as slander. Just days after the attack, parliament Speaker Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov said the pro-Kremlin and pro-Kadyrov party United Russia
, which has officially won over 99% votes with over 99% of registered voters allegedly participating the 2007 election, could get even "115–120%" of seats in the next election.
The attack happened as a Russian federal delegation including Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev was visiting the republic to "hear how modern Chechnya was faring in peacetime"; some members of the delegation were actually in the parliament complex when the attack took place. However, Vladimir Vasiliev, head of the Russian State Duma
's Security Committee, said that the main goal of the attack may have been local, because of the low number of militants involved.
Following a raid on Kadyrov's home village of Tsentoroi
on 30 August, this was the second major attack since a controversial change of leadership and consequent split amongst rebels in the North Caucasus. A few months before the attack, Dokka Umarov handed over leadership of the Caucasus Emirate
to the Chechen field commander Aslambek Vadalov
, only to retract his resignation a few days later, causing a rift in the leadership of the group. Subsequently, the four leading field commanders in Chechnya removed themselves from Umarov's command, and stepped up attacks against the Kadyrov government.
Following the initial attack, an operation to eliminate the rebels was launched, with President Ramzan Kadyrov personally in charge. The operation lasted 15–20 minutes. The militants broke into the unguarded parliament building but failed to get further than the ground floor, as Chechen Interior Ministry troops from the special police squad Terek entered the building through another entrance and blocked the staircase. Trapped, the militants kept shooting until they ran out of ammunition and then blew themselves up with bombs. Five Terek personnel were hospitalised. Initially it was reported that four militants were killed during the operation, citing the deputy head of the Interior Ministry of Chechnya, Roman Edilov. However, later investigators reported that three militants took part in the attack and all of them blew themselves up, the last two to avoid capture.
According to visiting politicians from Sverdlovsk
, who had actually witnessed the attack but escaped it unhurt, Kadyrov first apologised to them for what happened, and then Nurgaliyev praised the Chechen police for conducting "the special operation to neutralize terrorists" in just 15–20 minutes (eyewitnesses from his delegation and members of the investigation, however, told Kommersant
that shooting continued for at least two hours). Nurgaliyev claimed, "An operational environment such as today's is very rare. Here, there is stability and security." Kadyrov also accused the exiled Chechen nationalist leader Akhmed Zakayev
and his supporters in London of organising the attack from abroad.
to be responsible for the attack. The Caucasian Knot reported that its local experts said the attack was probably organised by Gakayev, Vadalov and others who are now "out of Umarov's hands".
Akhmed Zakayev denied responsility for the attack. His assistant condemned it and said that Zakayev has "always spoken against this sort of actions". Zakayev, who previously had formally acknowledged Gakayev as Chechnya's legitimate wartime leader, disclaimed any connection with the attack, or any knowledge of who was behind it. However, Russia's General Prosecutor's Office put Zakayev back on their international wanted list.
and other criminals will get what they deserve ... I have no doubt that it was the drunk and alcoholic Akhmed Zakayev and his backers in London and other western capitals. I want to say that they will not achieve anything. The Chechen republic is still standing. It is a peaceful and stable region." Russia said it would pay 1 million ruble
s in compensation to the next of kin of the dead.
Usman Ferzauli, spokesman for the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
government-in-exile (in opposition to the Caucasus Emirate), declared that they condemn the attack. Zakayev and the rest of the Ichkerian government-in-exile had already distanced themselves from the Islamists three years before the attack. Zakayev blames them for associating with figures which "spit on Chechen Independence", that the existence of the Caucasus emirate damaged Chechen goals of independence by weakening the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, and alleging that a member of the Caucasian Emirate government, Movladi Udugov
, is an agent provocateur for Russia. The Caucasian Emirate retaliated by alleging that Zakayev worked in the interest of Russia.
foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the attack, saying that "no circumstances can justify the use of terrorist violence and suicide attacks." She also said that the EU is ready to support Russia in its fight against international terrorism. In a message of condolence, European Parliament
ary President Jerzy Buzek
said that violence and murder could not be accepted "as a form of protest. It is of utmost importance for the Russian authorities to show their full commitment to enhancing the rule of law and to ensure that it is properly and equally applied. We confirm our readiness to strengthen cooperation with the Russian Federation in the fight against international terrorism."
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
, said he was "shocked and angered" to learn of the terrorist attack, describing it as all the more shocking because it targeted a parliament, "the symbol of the people".
Another expert on the region, Alexei Vanchenko, described it as the rebels showing that the situation in Chechnya was "out of the control of central government" and said that it, together with problems in Central Asia, spelled great danger for Russia.
Yevgeny Volk, an analyst at the Yeltsin Foundation, read the attack as a proof that "the bet on Kadyrov, who promised to place everything under control, proved wrong" and added that "the Kremlin has run out of ideas for a solution to this problem".
Laurence Lee of Al Jazeera English suggested the attack could indicate a tactical change by the Mujahideen
in the region, calling it a "direct attack on Moscow's rule in Chechnya".
The Caucasian Knot suggested that the verbal attacks on Zakayev by Kadyrov were mainly for the self-seeking motives of the latter:
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
militants attacked the parliament complex in Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
, the capital of the Chechen Republic
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, a federal subject of Russia. At least six people were killed, including two police officers, one parliament employee and all three suicide commandos. The attack was seen as significant because of its target and timing.
Background
A majority of the seats in the Chechen Parliament are held by loyalists of the Chechen President Ramzan KadyrovRamzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
and the 2005 election was seen by critics as a "sham". The reigning government has been labeled by many observers and organizations, including Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
's yearly investigations and Memorial
Memorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
, as "totalitarian", although Kadyrov has furiously denied these allegations (among others) and characterized them as slander. Just days after the attack, parliament Speaker Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov said the pro-Kremlin and pro-Kadyrov party United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
, which has officially won over 99% votes with over 99% of registered voters allegedly participating the 2007 election, could get even "115–120%" of seats in the next election.
The attack happened as a Russian federal delegation including Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev was visiting the republic to "hear how modern Chechnya was faring in peacetime"; some members of the delegation were actually in the parliament complex when the attack took place. However, Vladimir Vasiliev, head of the Russian State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
's Security Committee, said that the main goal of the attack may have been local, because of the low number of militants involved.
Following a raid on Kadyrov's home village of Tsentoroi
Tsentoroi
Tsentoroy is a rural locality in Shalinsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located east-southeast of Grozny, the republic's capital, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains....
on 30 August, this was the second major attack since a controversial change of leadership and consequent split amongst rebels in the North Caucasus. A few months before the attack, Dokka Umarov handed over leadership of the Caucasus Emirate
Caucasus Emirate
The Caucasus Emirate also known as the Caucasian Emirate is a self-proclaimed virtual state entity, partially successor to the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and was officially announced on October 31, 2007 by former President of Ichkeria Dokka Umarov, who became the first Emir...
to the Chechen field commander Aslambek Vadalov
Aslambek Vadalov
Aslambek Ilimsultanovich Vadalov , also known by his nom de guerre Emir Aslambek, is a Chechen rebel leader fighting in the North Caucasus. He was appointed the supreme leader of the Caucasus Emirate on 1 August 2010, though this was later retracted....
, only to retract his resignation a few days later, causing a rift in the leadership of the group. Subsequently, the four leading field commanders in Chechnya removed themselves from Umarov's command, and stepped up attacks against the Kadyrov government.
Attack
According to the investigation, the attack began around 08:45 local time (04:45 UTC) on 19 October, when three men carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles and wearing combat and sand camouflage gear arrived in a Lada taxi at the grounds of the fenced off parliamentary complex. The militants told the driver to follow the deputies' cars, claiming to be bodyguards running late. When the taxi approached the front gate, the three jumped out and headed towards the entrance, opening fire at the two police officers manning the checkpoint as they ran. One policeman was killed and another was severely injured. One of the militants detonated his explosive device near the gates of the complex, while the others managed to enter the parliament building, where they opened fire and killed another policeman guarding the building as well as a parliamentary administrative manager. Six policemen and eleven civilians were wounded. A fierce firefight then ensued, in which at least two rocket-propelled grenades were discharged. Several people, mostly parliament employees, received shrapnel wounds. Meanwhile, people in the building had either escaped to the third floor or been evacuated.Following the initial attack, an operation to eliminate the rebels was launched, with President Ramzan Kadyrov personally in charge. The operation lasted 15–20 minutes. The militants broke into the unguarded parliament building but failed to get further than the ground floor, as Chechen Interior Ministry troops from the special police squad Terek entered the building through another entrance and blocked the staircase. Trapped, the militants kept shooting until they ran out of ammunition and then blew themselves up with bombs. Five Terek personnel were hospitalised. Initially it was reported that four militants were killed during the operation, citing the deputy head of the Interior Ministry of Chechnya, Roman Edilov. However, later investigators reported that three militants took part in the attack and all of them blew themselves up, the last two to avoid capture.
Aftermath
Only a few hours later, when all three buildings of the Chechen parliament were declared "cleared" by the special forces and explosives specialists, the meeting of deputies planned for that morning was held. It was attended by Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, dressed in a parade uniform for the occasion, and by Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev.According to visiting politicians from Sverdlovsk
Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...
, who had actually witnessed the attack but escaped it unhurt, Kadyrov first apologised to them for what happened, and then Nurgaliyev praised the Chechen police for conducting "the special operation to neutralize terrorists" in just 15–20 minutes (eyewitnesses from his delegation and members of the investigation, however, told Kommersant
Kommersant
Kommersant is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Russia. , the circulation was 131,000.- History :The newspaper was initially published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power and the introduction of censorship in 1917.In 1989, with the onset of press...
that shooting continued for at least two hours). Nurgaliyev claimed, "An operational environment such as today's is very rare. Here, there is stability and security." Kadyrov also accused the exiled Chechen nationalist leader Akhmed Zakayev
Akhmed Zakayev
Akhmed Khalidovich Zakayev is the former Deputy Prime Minister and the current Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria , which is unrecognised by other countries...
and his supporters in London of organising the attack from abroad.
Investigation
One of the attackers, all of whose bodies were badly mutilated, was identified as Muslim Chichkanov, a 22-year-old from the Chechen village of Sernovodsk, who had been an active member of "an illegal armed group" since the end of 2009. The other two militants remained unidentified.Responsibility
According to Russia Today, the Chechen Interior Ministry said it suspected a breakaway faction led by Hussein GakayevHussein Gakayev
Khuseyn Vakhaevich Gakayev , also known as Emir Mansur and Emir Hussein, is a mujahid Emir fighting in Chechnya...
to be responsible for the attack. The Caucasian Knot reported that its local experts said the attack was probably organised by Gakayev, Vadalov and others who are now "out of Umarov's hands".
Akhmed Zakayev denied responsility for the attack. His assistant condemned it and said that Zakayev has "always spoken against this sort of actions". Zakayev, who previously had formally acknowledged Gakayev as Chechnya's legitimate wartime leader, disclaimed any connection with the attack, or any knowledge of who was behind it. However, Russia's General Prosecutor's Office put Zakayev back on their international wanted list.
In Russia
President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov vowed to intensify the fight against militants in the republic, calling them "bandits". He also blamed the UK and Poland saying they were "harbouring criminals. Why do they shield bandits who have shed blood where there is western democracy? Where is the justice? ... Sooner or later Zakayev, Gakayev, Umarov, VadalovAslambek Vadalov
Aslambek Ilimsultanovich Vadalov , also known by his nom de guerre Emir Aslambek, is a Chechen rebel leader fighting in the North Caucasus. He was appointed the supreme leader of the Caucasus Emirate on 1 August 2010, though this was later retracted....
and other criminals will get what they deserve ... I have no doubt that it was the drunk and alcoholic Akhmed Zakayev and his backers in London and other western capitals. I want to say that they will not achieve anything. The Chechen republic is still standing. It is a peaceful and stable region." Russia said it would pay 1 million ruble
Ruble
The ruble or rouble is a unit of currency. Currently, the currency units of Belarus, Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria, and, in the past, the currency units of several other countries, notably countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union, are named rubles, though they all are...
s in compensation to the next of kin of the dead.
Usman Ferzauli, spokesman for the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
government-in-exile (in opposition to the Caucasus Emirate), declared that they condemn the attack. Zakayev and the rest of the Ichkerian government-in-exile had already distanced themselves from the Islamists three years before the attack. Zakayev blames them for associating with figures which "spit on Chechen Independence", that the existence of the Caucasus emirate damaged Chechen goals of independence by weakening the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, and alleging that a member of the Caucasian Emirate government, Movladi Udugov
Movladi Udugov
Movladi Saidarbievich Udugov was the First Deputy Prime Minister of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria...
, is an agent provocateur for Russia. The Caucasian Emirate retaliated by alleging that Zakayev worked in the interest of Russia.
In the European Union
European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the attack, saying that "no circumstances can justify the use of terrorist violence and suicide attacks." She also said that the EU is ready to support Russia in its fight against international terrorism. In a message of condolence, European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
ary President Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Buzek
Jerzy Karol Buzek is a Polish engineer, academic lecturer and politician who was the ninth post-Cold War Prime Minister of Poland from 1997 to 2001...
said that violence and murder could not be accepted "as a form of protest. It is of utmost importance for the Russian authorities to show their full commitment to enhancing the rule of law and to ensure that it is properly and equally applied. We confirm our readiness to strengthen cooperation with the Russian Federation in the fight against international terrorism."
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is the current president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He also represents Antalya Province in the Turkish Grand National Assembly...
, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , which held its first session in Strasbourg on 10 August 1949, can be considered the oldest international parliamentary assembly with a pluralistic composition of democratically elected members of parliament established on the basis of an...
, said he was "shocked and angered" to learn of the terrorist attack, describing it as all the more shocking because it targeted a parliament, "the symbol of the people".
Analysis
Alexei Malashenko, an analyst at the Carnegie Centre, called the attack "a slap in the face for Ramzan Kadyrov" and said it was symbolic because it occurred during the Interior Minister's visit, amid high security.Another expert on the region, Alexei Vanchenko, described it as the rebels showing that the situation in Chechnya was "out of the control of central government" and said that it, together with problems in Central Asia, spelled great danger for Russia.
Yevgeny Volk, an analyst at the Yeltsin Foundation, read the attack as a proof that "the bet on Kadyrov, who promised to place everything under control, proved wrong" and added that "the Kremlin has run out of ideas for a solution to this problem".
Laurence Lee of Al Jazeera English suggested the attack could indicate a tactical change by the Mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
in the region, calling it a "direct attack on Moscow's rule in Chechnya".
The Caucasian Knot suggested that the verbal attacks on Zakayev by Kadyrov were mainly for the self-seeking motives of the latter:
Firstly, Kadyrov 'had forgotten' that to accuse a person of committing a crime, a respective judgment is necessary. Secondly, Kadyrov, in the presence of the deputies of the legislative body and the Minister of Interior Affairs of Russia, has openly called for [the] murdering of not only Zakaev, Gakaev and [the] other gunmen's leaders but also members of their families and relatives. That is, he meant the principle of collective responsibility, a criminal one in its essence, and in fact he called for reprisal against quite innocent people...neither the Minister of Interior Affairs of Russia nor the deputies who are under his control expressed any reaction to all these.
See also
- Chechen suicide attacksChechen suicide attacksIn June 2000, the North Caucasian Chechen separatist-led Islamic insurgents added suicide bombing to their tactics in their struggle against Russia. Since then, there have been dozens of suicide attacks within and outside the republic of Chechnya, resulting in thousands of casualties among Russian...
- Insurgency in the North Caucasus