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Accepted Paper:
The clash of collective memories in the post-war Chechnya
Marat Iliyasov
(College of the Holy Cross)
Established at the beginning of the Second Russo-Chechen war in 1999, Russia’s-backed Chechen government is actively engaged in a reinterpretation of the nation’s history. The Chechen political elite that ruled the republic during its independence (1991-1999) opposes these efforts and promotes a version of history that dominated Chechen public discourse in the 1990s. The focus of these opposing political forces is the most sensitive historic periods that form Chechen collective memory, which both parties refer to in their interpretations and memory politics. This paper explores Chechen memory politics of the last three decades through these two dominant clashing interpretations. The article answers the question: What Chechen collective memories are the most contested and why? Relying upon qualitative methodology the article uses four primary sources of data: Chechen state TV, the interviews with Chechens from Chechnya, the opposition’s addresses on YouTube, and the interviews with Chechens residing in Europe. The analysis regards collective memory as a powerful political tool that enables the dominance of a political elite.