Chechens
The main language of the Chechen people is Chechen. Chechen belongs to the family of Nakh languages (Northeast Caucasian languages). Literary Chechen is based on the central lowland dialect. Other related languages include Ingush, which has speakers in the neighbouring Ingushetia, and Batsbi, which is the language of the people in the adjoining part of Georgia. At various times in their history, Chechens used Georgian, Arabic and Latin alphabets; as of 2008, the official one is now the Cyrillic script of Russia.
Chechen–Estonia relations
Dzhokkar Dudayev, before becoming the first president of Ichkeria after winning the democratic election in a landslide had been the commander of the 23rd Strategic Bomber Division in Tartu. In Tartu, Dudayev learned the Estonian language and spent countless hours learning about Estonian and Finnish history, and is thought by some to be an Estophile (a classification given to many Western-minded Chechens). Colonel Ants Laaneots remembers talking to Dudayev when they were wearing civilian clothes in a cafe and discovering that Dudayev was strongly sympathetic to Estonia.