Among the insurgents fighting in Chechnya’s long-running war for independence, Musost Khutiyev is known as a “national traitor.” This is because he forgave the Russians whose troops seized his 18-year-old son, removed his vital organs and then ransomed the body back to Khutiyev for $1,500.
Khutiyev, who commanded the Chechen rebels’ Argun unit until 2002, is now deputy mayor of the same city; his security forces are fighting the rebels in collaboration with Russian troops; and when he goes to the polls in Sunday’s presidential election, he will cast his vote for Alu Alkhanov, the candidate the Kremlin wants to see installed as Chechnya’s next president.
“I have no moral right to accuse the entire Russian people of killing my son,” Khutiyev said Saturday from his heavily secured office at city hall. “Maybe if we had honest and very decent people as our leaders, Chechnya could function on its own. But right now we can’t live without Russia.”
It is with this same sense of resignation–tinged with fear of what happens to people who are not resigned–that most Chechens are preparing for Sunday’s vote, called to replace the last Kremlin-backed president, Akhmad Kadyrov, who was assassinated by a bomb in May.
The insurgents have vowed to disrupt the election and kill Alkhanov if he is elected, and political observers say Russia is taking pains to ensure that there is no other outcome to the balloting.
In the wake of two airline crashes in Russia last week that investigators say may have been caused by Chechen suicide bombers, residents are bracing for potential violence at the polls Sunday. Many people have streamed out of the capital of Grozny for the safety of smaller villages. By late Saturday morning, a usually bustling market on the west side of Grozny was nearly deserted.
“I haven’t had a customer since early morning. Look, no customers at all,” said Inga Magoyeva, who was sitting nervously behind a table of cheap electronic games. “I’ll pack and go myself soon. Everybody’s leaving town. They’re afraid.”
Russia has been at war with Chechen separatists more or less constantly since 1994. At first there was broad support here for the homegrown fighters, but many others argued for remaining inside Russia. So much violence has taken place since that both sides are regarded by many people with equal disdain.
Sunday’s elections–crucial to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to portray Chechnya as a willing volunteer for peaceful integration into the Russian Federation–seem to mean little to many Chechens.
On A.H. Kadyrov Street–renamed a week ago in an apparent attempt to inspire enthusiasm for the ex-president’s legacy–pensioner Alan Dudayev scoffed. “We don’t see anything good in this republic so far, and as far as this election goes, it’s a formality. They have already selected their man.”
With last October’s election of Kadyrov, a former Muslim spiritual leader and rebel fighter who switched sides and joined the Russians, there was some optimism that a leader friendly with Russia would at least be able to end the war. Slowly, compensation for bombed-out homes was beginning to be paid, some reconstruction was under way, and people who have been largely without telephones for a decade have been lining up to buy the republic’s first cell phones.
Kadyrov succeeded in attracting hundreds of former rebel fighters, like Khutiyev, to the pro-Russia side by offering them amnesty and jobs. But Kadyrov’s own security forces, directed by his son Ramzan, became nearly as feared as the Russian troops, and mysterious nighttime arrests and disappearances have continued. Many Chechens regard Kadyrov’s forces, who were unable to protect his life, with as much terror as they feel for Russian troops and the rebels.
People who back Alkhanov, who was interior minister under Kadyrov, say they are hoping to continue the fallen president’s program.
Alkhanov has said he will turn Chechnya into a free economic zone to attract investment and business. He has pledged to cut unemployment from its current 70 percent to about 15 percent by creating 150,000 new jobs over the next five years.
