Twentieth issue of the monthly Chechen Society Today releasedPRAGUE, April 30 - The twentieth issue of the monthly Chechenskoye obshchestvo segodnya (Chechen Society Today) has been released.
News items, some culled from the Chechen government news and information service Grozny-Inform but also from a wide range of other Russian and Chechen press and media sources, include details of the recent award to the newly-restored Chechen capital Grozny of the title of "Best City in the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States)", and reports on developments in the republic's economy and infrastructure, such as a new brick factory that is to be built by a South Korean company in the village of Ilskhan-Yur, located in the Gudermessky district, and a 500 million rouble investment by Russian Railways (RZhD) in a project aimed at the restoration of Chechnya's railway system.
This mainly positive news is followed by a series of analyses and reports republished from the websites of human rights monitoring centres such as SNO and Caucasian Knot, focusing on the often acute problems that still persist in the republic: the seasonal intensification of conflict between the Moscow-backed government forces and the guerrilla units which occurs each spring, the present one being no exception; the problem of the more than 3,000 people who have disappeared without trace and still remain unaccounted for, most probably as a result of abduction by federal Russian forces; and the closure of the TACs (temporary accomodation centres), a government-inspired step that is causing much hardship among refugees and homeless families who now must fend for themselves.
The issue maintains the customary wide range of items on Chechen culture and society. An illustrated article by anthropologist Said-Megomed Khasiyev analyzes Chechen attitudes towards women, focusing on the unique historic courtship rituals, which give equal rights to men and women. There is an account of the 70th birthday celebrations of the noted Chechen stage and screen actor Musa Dudayev, and this is followed by a continuation of Indarbi Byzov's essay on the Chechen "abreks". There is another chapter from Lecha Ilyasov's historical study "Shadows of Eternity" , with a further list of Chechen place-names and their meaning. Items on Chechen sport include a report from Dnepropetrovsk on Chechen boxer Zaurbek Baysangurov's March 23 victory over Ukrainian challenger Roman Dzhuman in the European Boxing Championships, and Chechen team Terek's recent victory over the Russian army team at the newly opened Grozny soccer stadium.
Visit this page to see and download the issue.
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The black-and-white Russian-language publication Chechen Society Today is a joint project of Prague Watchdog and the Moscow-based Center for Journalism in Extreme Situations, which is being implemented thanks to support from the US-based National Endowment for Democracy. The journal’s aim is to strengthen Chechen civil society, promote independent media in Chechnya, and provide objective information to Chechens living in Russia and Europe.
A thousand copies are published in Moscow; additional copies are printed and distributed by Prague Watchdog for Chechen exiles in Europe. In addition, a printer-friendly PDF version can be downloaded from the PW (http://journal.watchdog.cz) and CJES websites (http://chechnya.cjes.ru). Free e-mail subscription to the PDF version is also available.
Prague Watchdog welcomes proposals from both organizations and individuals for participation in this project, especially the distribution of the paper version of the journal. (D,P/T)
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