This is a short report on what the Ukrainian side can do to help its Chechen allies, why it matters, and how such an alliance might weaken Russian imperialism.
The suffering of the Chechen people is closely connected with the suffering of the Ukrainians. Back in the days of Tsar Russia, both nations were deprived of the right to self-determination. In the Soviet period, both nations experienced genocide: the Ukrainians became victims of the Holodomor, and the Chechens were deported from their lands in 1944 under the pretext of being allegedly Nazis. Both nations were unfairly accused of Nazism. Chechens, like Ukrainians, fought in the Soviet Army during World War II. At the same time, Russian propaganda depicted them as collaborators. Ukrainians, especially residents of the Western part of Ukraine, shared a similar destiny.
Finally, the deportation of Chechens, Ingush, Crimean Tatars, and other peoples under the Stalin regime reminds the current narratives about the “denazification” of Ukraine, showing how little the enemy changed its rhetoric, putting the same labels on everyone unwanted.
Ayman Eckford, our expert in Middle Eastern politics, terrorist studies, and gender studies, deserves special thanks for preparing the report.
