Polls & Research

No Progress in Chechnya Situation, Say Russians

(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Adults in Russia express little confidence in their government's policies to deal with problems in a breakaway republic, according to a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation. 53 per cent of respondents say the situation in Chechnya has remained unchanged lately.

Chechen rebels have tried to secede from Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Several terrorist incidents in Russia have been blamed on the loose group, including two airplane crashes, a suicide bombing in Moscow and the assassination of Chechnya's president Akhmad Kadyrov in May 2004.

In September 2004, militants took control of a middle school in Beslan, North Ossetia. The three-day siege left 344 civilians dead, including 172 children. Chechen separatist leader Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for the attack. According to the Russian government, the hostage-takers included Arabs, Chechens, Kazakhs, Tatars, and Uzbeks.

In March, the Russian government announced that Aslan Maskhadov—regarded as one of the Chechen rebel leaders—had been killed during a special operation of the federal security forces.

In June, Chechen president Alu Alkhanov announced that the region would hold a parliamentary ballot on Nov. 27.

On Nov. 4, Konstantin Kosachyov—chairman of the State Duma's international affairs committee—urged the U.S. to provide an "objective and appropriate" assessment of the Chechen election, adding, "The United States actively uses the assessment of elections in various countries as an important political tool. For example, the constitutional referendum in Iraq and the recent parliamentary election in Afghanistan were without any exemptions declared absolutely democratic."

Polling Data

Has the situation in Chechnya improved, worsened or remained unchanged lately?