chechen chechen johanna nichols university california berkeley author note linguistic field work chechen close relative ingush many years though ethnographer historian tried bring together general information chechen people language order increase public awareness people situation put human face people great dignity refinement courage paid heavily resistance conquest assimilation paper may copied freely disseminate electronically print welcome reformatting font spacing etc ok please edit johanna uclink berkeley edu fax 510 6426220 phone 510 6422979 introduction chechens western neighbors ingush distinct ethnic groups distinct languages closely related similar convenient describe together term chechen russian ethnonym taken name lowlands chechen village chechnya derived words accented last syllable russian term evidently entered russian turkic language probably kumyk spoken northern eastern caucasian plain chechens call nokhchi singular nokhchuo similarly ingush selfdesignation russian ethnonym based village name ingush call ghalghay demography 1989 census figures 956 879 chechen 237 438 ingush chechens largest north caucasian group second largest caucasian group georgians location settlement chechen ingush lands lie east principal road crossing central caucasus via darial pass extending foothills plains alpine highlands lowlands enjoy fertile soil ample rainfall long growing season small oilfield neighbors east various peoples daghestan many speaking languages related chechen plains north turkic speaking kumyk last three centuries russians west ingush west ossetians speak language iranian branch indo european south across central caucasus range southern ossetians georgians two true cities chechen ingush territory grozny pop 400 000 1995 modern chechen capital founded russian fort russian conquest caucasus vladikavkaz pop 300 000 known ordzhonikidze soviet times ingush highlands ingush ossetic territorial boundary also originally russian military fort founded control darial pass nazran ingush lowlands traditionally large important market town cities substantial russian non chechen ingush population vladikavkaz mixed ingush ossetic significant numbers russians georgians groznyj destroyed mostly depopulated russian bombing vladikavkaz adjacent ingush lands ethnically cleansed ingush late 1992 russian governments czars soviets post soviet russia used various means remove chechen ingush population economically important areas encourage settlement russians russian cossacks hence mixed population cities lowlands language caucasus famed since antiquity sheer number diversity languages exotic grammatical structures language families indigenous diversity testifies millennia generally peaceable relations among autonomous ethnic groups chechen ingush together batsbi tsova tush moribund minority language georgia make nakh branch nakh daghestanian northeast caucasian language family 30 languages northeast caucasian family spoken daghestan east chechnya split nakh branch rest family took place 50006000 years ago thus nakh daghestanian family comparable age indo european language family ancestral english french russian greek hindi etc though split chechen ingush probably dates back middle ages entire family indigenous caucasus mountains demonstrable relations language group either caucasus like indigenous caucasian languages chechen wealth consonants including uvular pharyngeal sounds like arabic glottalized ejective consonants like many native american languages large vowel system somewhat resembling swedish german like sister languages chechen extensive inflectional morphology including dozen nominal cases several gender classes forms long complex sentences chaining participial clauses together case system ergative e subject transitive verb appears oblique case direct object nominative subject intransitive verb basque verbs take person agreement agree gender direct object intransitive subject 97 chechens claim chechen first language though also speak russian generally quite fluently chechen ingush close practice speaker one fair comprehension two languages contact used together chechen addresses ingush chechen ingush replies ingush communication proceeds less smoothly chechen traditionally written language orthography using russian alphabet created 1930 used various kinds publication although chechens chief vehicle literacy russian traditionally north caucasian societies many individuals bilingual multilingual using important lowlands language e g kumyk spoken market towns prestigious speakers early converts islam interethnic communication literacy arabic russian displaced kumyk arabic functions particularly chechen ingush economies continue destroyed unemployment mass homelessness continue undermine social structure danger chechen ingush functionally reduced household languages yield completely russian concomitant loss much cultural heritage history chechens evidently near present territory 6000 years perhaps much longer fairly seamless archeological continuity last 8000 years central daghestan suggesting nakh daghestanian language family long indigenous caucasian highlands apparently relatively populous prosperous ancient times late middle ages 19th century worldwide cooling phase known little ice age caused glacial advances shortened growing seasons alpine highlands weakening highland economies triggering migrations lowlands abandonment alpine villages period economic hardship coincided russian conquest caucasus lasted late 1500 mid 1800 recorded history inferable prehistory chechens matter ingush never undertaken battle except defense russian conquest caucasus difficult bloody chechens ingush extensive lowlands territory access central pass prime targets among tenacious defenders russia destroyed lowlands villages deported exiled slaughtered civilian population forcing capitulation highlands numerous refugees migrated deported various muslim countries middle east day chechen populations jordan turkey since various chechen rebellions russian soviet power well resistance collectivization antireligious campaigns russification 1944 chechens ingush together karachay balkar crimean tatars nationalities deported en masse kazakhstan siberia losing least onequarter perhaps half population transit though rehabilitated 1956 allowed return 1957 lost land economic resources civil rights since soviet post soviet governments objects official unofficial discrimination discriminatory public discourse recent years russian media depicted chechen nation nationality thugs bandits responsible organized crime street violence russia late 1992 russian tanks troops sent north caucasus ostensibly peacekeepers ethnic dispute ingush ossetians traditional ingush lands politically incorporated north ossetia 1944 deportation forcibly removed ingush population north ossetia destroyed ingush villages many deaths said 60 000 refugees ingushetia onequarter total ingush population developments reminiscent today invasion chechnya weeks leading action ingush depicted inaccurately regional media heavily armed poised largescale organized attack ossetians russian military deployed appears undertaken ethnic cleansing least partly initiative sources information paragraph russian western news reports helsinki watch preparing report publication early 1995 invasion chechnya presently underway meant great human suffering residents chechen lowlands including russians chechens risk ethnic cleansing wholesale economic ruin loss linguistic cultural heritage religion chechens ingush sunni muslims hanafi school converted late 17th early 19th centuries islam since conversion moderate strongly held central component culture ethnic identity economy customs traditionally lowlands chechen grain farmers highlanders raised sheep time russian contact lowlands wealthy produced grain surplus highlands selfsufficient food traded wool eggs lowlands grain chechen social structure ethnic identity rest principles family clan honor respect deference one elders hospitality formal dignified relations families clans courteous formal public private behavior kinship clan structure patriarchal women full social professional equality prospects financial independence equivalent men academics writers artists intellectuals general well versed cultures european islamic worlds society whole said regard heritages together indigenous north caucasian artistic intellectual tradition social organization russian conquest chechens independent nation language territory formal political organization villages autonomous clans villages mutual defense obligations times war clans mutual support relations linked larger clan confederations generally coincided dialects clan headed respected elder social classes differences rank apart age kinship earned social honor select bibliography anonymous 1992 ethnic cleansing comes russia economist november 28 1992 p 60 blanch lesley 1960 sabres paradise new york viking comrie bernard 1981 languages soviet union cambridge cambridge university press conquest robert 1970 nation killers soviet deportation nationalities london macmillan critchlow james 1991 punished peoples soviet union continuing legacy stalin deportations helsinki watch report new york washington human rights watch friedrich paul norma diamond eds 1994 encyclopedia world cultures vol vi russia eurasia china boston g k hall co gamkrelidze v e gudava various dates caucasian languages encyclopedia britannica e g 1979 edition macropedia vol 3 pp 101115 1992 edition vol 22 pp 73640 languages world nekrich aleksandr 1978 punished peoples new york norton nichols johanna 1994 chechen ingush rieks smeets ed indigenous languages caucasus vol 4 northeast caucasian languages pp 177 chechen 79145 ingush delmar ny caravan books wixman ronald 1980 language aspects ethnic pattern processes north caucasus university chicago department geography research paper 191 chicago university chicago press