Will the North Caucasus be the key to the disintegration of Russia? On July 18, a conference on this topic, organized by the Caucasus Union, was held in the Ukrainian Parliament.
From the speech of Djambulat Suleymanov of the Chechen United Force movement:
“Democratization without decolonization inevitably ends with the preservation of the center’s dominance over colonized nations. An empire cannot transform itself into a non-imperial structure through reforms. Empires are characterized by only two states – attempts at constant expansion or disintegration. The word ‘disintegration’ may evoke negative associations with something destructive. In our case, however, this word carries an entirely constructive meaning.”
Other speakers
Adam Osmayev, commander of the Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion
“Perhaps the contribution, the involvement that Caucasians can provide, will be the very straw that breaks the camel’s back. Therefore, at this historic moment, Caucasians should decide whose side they stand on and what they want to do, so that later, in the future, they can tell their descendants about it with honor and answer before the Almighty for how they used an opportunity that none of their ancestors ever had.”
The founder, Brigadier General of Ichkeria Isa Munayev, died in 2015 while defending Debaltseve. After that, I became the commander – and back then, when Isa was still alive, we made a strategic decision that Ukraine and Ichkeria must go together, because it so happened that Russia is our neighbor, and only together will we have a better chance to win and achieve the freedom of our nations. That is why we embarked on this path more than ten years ago. To date, we have achieved integration into the Armed Forces of Ukraine; we are already part of Ukraine, participating in various parts of the front. Today, a struggle is taking place between organizational structures, namely the Russian structure against the Ukrainian one, which is also being helped by the free world. It is no exaggeration to say that today the fate of not only Ukraine and the Caucasus, but the entire European continent is being decided.
It is so, according to geopolitical laws; it simply is. Therefore, Caucasians should understand that today we are closer to victory than ever in our history, closer than ever. We were not this close under Imam Shamil, nor under Dzhokhar Dudayev, because we see that Russia is ready to let a million or two million people die to achieve its goal. Thanks to the heroism and the surge of the Ukrainian people, Russia’s potential is significantly weakened today, as never before in its history. And perhaps the contribution, the involvement that Caucasians can provide, will be the very straw that breaks the camel’s back. Therefore, at this historic moment, Caucasians should decide whose side they stand on and what they want to do, so that later, in the future, they can tell their descendants about it with honor and answer before the Almighty for how they used an opportunity that none of their ancestors ever had.
That is why we made our decision back in 2014. We are following this path, sacrificing everything most precious on this journey. Today, thanks to the influence of certain Ukrainian generals, we have the opportunity to work, to work effectively. And we call on all Caucasians to end mutual skirmishes and unite today with the forces of Ukraine, the defense of Ukraine, where they can best show what they can do and act. There is not much time left. Mobilization in Russia may occur as early as this autumn. If Ukraine falls, Caucasians will not have freedom for a long time. Therefore, it is necessary to pull oneself together and act wherever one can be effective. We are ready to help with what we can, to share our experience and contribute, helping however we can. To date, we do not belong to any civil organizations, we do not engage in political activity; as soldiers, we cannot do that, nor do we want to, as we are occupied by the war.
But today, with the military and organizational experience gained, we believe that every state will later manage to build itself up, with the help of Ukraine in the first place and the free world. Therefore, as Taras Shevchenko said – specifically about Caucasians, in the poem “The Caucasus”: “Keep fighting — you are sure to win! God helps you in your fight! For fame and freedom right are on your side!” Thank you.
Dzhabrail Mirzoev, Chairman of the Caucasus Union
“The Caucasian diaspora in Europe and the Middle East has very extensive combat experience and hates the Russian occupiers. It is relatively mobile, its members are interconnected and have their own communication links. If necessary, they can gather very quickly in the Caucasus and fight for the freedom of their country.“
The Caucasus is one of the most important regions of Russia and, at the same time, one of the most dangerous for Russia.
Moscow is mobilizing a large number of Caucasians for the war against Ukraine not only because they are good soldiers, but also to reduce the number of combat-ready Caucasians. The more of them are killed in the war against Ukraine, the easier and more peacefully Russia will live.
Very significant forces of the Russian Federation and its secret services are concentrated in the North Caucasus. Nevertheless, the underground resistance operates there and is very active. The potential for resistance is great, and it is necessary to be aware of this.
We all understand that the Caucasus is the key to the disintegration of Russia and that only the Caucasus can spark an uprising. No other region of Russia will be capable of this. We must be aware of this.
The Caucasian diaspora in Europe and the Middle East has very extensive combat experience and hates the Russian occupiers. It is relatively mobile, its members are interconnected and have their own communication links. If necessary, they can gather very quickly in the Caucasus and fight for the freedom of their country.
Caucasians are also fighting in the ranks of the defenders of Ukraine, where they are performing very well. I believe that these units will become the basis of the new leadership of the Caucasus after liberation.
Ukraine should focus more on the Caucasus and better utilize its potential.
In the event of the destabilization of the Russian Federation, the only local ally of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian intelligence services will be the Caucasian units, which, thanks to the specifics of Caucasian society, can organize themselves very quickly.
I propose to create a special Caucasus Office under the leadership of the DKR SBU (Counterintelligence), which will include officers from the HUR (Intelligence), SZR (Foreign Intelligence), certain politicians, and representatives of Caucasian organizations.
The Office should concentrate in its hands propaganda aimed at the Caucasus, work with diasporas, and work with the intelligence network.
It should help raise a new generation of Caucasian politicians and participate in creating an ideology and an attractive program for Caucasians.
Currently, Ukraine does not carry out systematic activity in the Caucasus, and this needs to change.
Because we have a common goal: to dismantle the Russian imperial empire called Russia – to put it bluntly.
Thank you for your attention.
Lado Gamsakhurdia, commander of the Zviad Gamsakhurdia Caucasian Legion, head of the military wing of the Caucasus Union
“I believe that our positions and our vision today coincide 100% with the positions of Ukraine and will continue to coincide in the future – both in the economic sphere and in the sphere of the defense of the Caucasus. We understand that today we are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, we will be subordinate to it, and we will stand by its side. At the same time, however, it is necessary to consider further cooperation for the future and our history, which is being written today…”
Good day.
I would like to support the words of Mr. Dzhabrail Mirzoev, but at the same time, I would like to say one more thing. We need not only tactical training for our units, but also officer and command education. It would be a great benefit for us, and it will be useful for us in the Caucasus in the future.
We also want to structure ourselves, to grow, so to speak, from field commanders to strategic-level commanders and the like. This requires training not only in the use of weapons with which we began fighting against the Soviet Union, but also new weapons that are being used in Ukraine today.
It would also be good if we were involved in international training programs for commanders, which we are today, and if those of us who are interested could undergo training according to NATO standards – further work with applications, military applications, means of communication, radio communication, and the like.
We are therefore asking for strategic education at an appropriate level, if such a possibility exists.
Regarding the intelligence services mentioned here, which are to be part of the office being created and which will train us, it needs to be presented correctly.
It can be a mechanism for monitoring us as foreigners staying in Ukraine, but it cannot be a project of Ukraine or a project of the Ukrainian intelligence services.
Freedom of the Caucasus – we are fighting for the freedom of the Caucasus and we must remain completely free, subordinate to no one.
Therefore, we believe that we should primarily be recognized as representatives of our nations who are here and voluntarily helping Ukraine.
I believe that our positions and our vision today coincide 100% with the positions of Ukraine and will continue to coincide in the future – both in the economic sphere and in the sphere of the defense of the Caucasus.
Therefore, we must maintain the free face of the Caucasus already today.
We understand that today we are subordinate to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, we will be subordinate to it, and we will stand by its side.
At the same time, however, it is necessary to consider further cooperation for the future and our history, which is being written today, so that we remain free and can continue to act as befits a free nation in all matters concerning the Caucasus.
Thank you, I will end with that.
Mikhail Baturin, field commander of the Sarangi tactical unit within the Caucasian Legion, director of the intelligence center of the Caucasus Union
“If more attention had been paid to the problems in the Caucasus at the time – in Chechnya, in Sakartvelo, and in the entire Caucasus – perhaps it would have been possible to prevent the casualties that Ukraine is suffering today. Today, it is not fighting only for its own freedom. It is not fighting only for the freedom of the Caucasus. It is fighting for freedom from the oppressor, the aggressor, and the enslaver – it is fighting for the truth. European representatives and various states are, thank God, beginning to understand this and are paying more and more attention to this issue.”
Regarding that office – because everyone present agrees that coordination is very important.
Thank God, there is not only coordination among our fighters, but also a very strong friendship. No one has a closer relationship, and it doesn’t matter which unit someone is currently serving in.
But as the esteemed Musa said, there are issues that require operational intervention. And the more operationally they are resolved, the more useful it will be for our common cause. That office will, of course, help greatly in the operational resolution of these issues.
There is also the question of communication. Our leaders appear on the international stage – the esteemed Djambulat, the esteemed Ibragim, I don’t want to forget anyone.
The current trend in this hybrid war is such that Russia uses information risks very well. The Ukrainian side is well aware of this and helps us on the international stage. And this office will facilitate communication.
We all remember well how Caucasians were demonized, how all sorts of falsehoods were spread about them. At the same time, one thing was forgotten: the Caucasus fought, is fighting, and will fight for its freedom and independence just like Ukraine.
You correctly noted that if more attention had been paid to the problems in the Caucasus at the time – in Chechnya, in Sakartvelo, and in the entire Caucasus – perhaps it would have been possible to prevent the casualties that Ukraine is suffering today.
Today, Ukraine is not fighting only for its own freedom. It is not fighting only for the freedom of the Caucasus. It is fighting for freedom from the oppressor, the aggressor, and the enslaver – it is fighting for the truth.
European representatives and various states are, thank God, beginning to understand this and are paying more and more attention to this issue.
There is no alternative to Ukraine’s victory. Ukraine will undoubtedly win this war. Along with Ukraine, the Caucasus will also win – there is no doubt about that.
Therefore, the sooner this office is created, the more productive our further work will be.
We all have our own experiences on the battlefield and could talk about these nuances and individual issues for a long time, but I want to save your time…
In conclusion, I want to say:
May Ukraine live in peace, may the Caucasus be free – and of course, may it be as soon as possible…
Magomed Toriev, co-founder of the Committee for Independent Ingushetia, which he represents on the international stage
“In Ukraine, I often hear the question: ‘When will the uprising in the North Caucasus, in Chechnya, finally break out?’ And I answer: ‘You might as well ask when the uprising will break out in Donetsk, Luhansk, or Mariupol.’ We cannot live in a waiting mode. By simply waiting for a result, we have achieved nothing in the last four years of war. It has brought no real result. Therefore, something needs to change.”
The last step that we could describe as “communication” was on September 29, 2022, here on Hrushevsky Street, when the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stood at the memorial plaque of Imam Shamil and addressed the Caucasians.
He addressed the Caucasians and other nations of Russia with a call not to fight (for Russia, editor’s note). It worked like an explosion, but it was the last act of communication. Since then, no further communication has taken place.
The second point is what Dzhabrail spoke about – that it is necessary to create a Caucasus office that will deal with building this communication.
But there is also ideology. It consists in the fact that Ukraine must clearly and unequivocally say what it wants from these nations, what it offers them, and what it calls them to do. In the army, it is said that the accuracy and success of fulfilling a task directly depend on how accurately and clearly the order is issued. If Ukraine wants something today, it must formulate it clearly and understandably.
The third main point is for Ukraine to finally start utilizing the fruits of its victories.
Because today in the former post-Soviet space… Everyone today is turning their gaze to the West and waiting for what will come from the West. However, I think that what is happening in the former post-Soviet space is of no less importance than what is happening in the West.
Why?
You have all seen how the Armenian Prime Minister deals with Putin today. You have all heard how the President of Azerbaijan speaks. I apologize for the phrasing, but it is something absolutely extraordinary – nothing like it has happened in the last three hundred years.
Where did it come from? From the Ukrainian battlefield. Because everyone saw that it is possible not only to speak but also to defend one’s position. The Ukrainian nation, the Ukrainian armed forces, and the defense forces of Ukraine showed that it is possible.
For when victory came in Chechnya, Russia made every effort to minimize its impact, to stifle and suppress it. The harshness of the Kadyrov regime – that North Korea they created there – is directly related to the fact that it was necessary to devalue as much as possible everything that Dzhokhar Dudayev achieved and the state he built.
Today, therefore, everyone is looking at Ukraine. And Ukraine must start saying clearly what it wants and what it needs.
Only by building communication can a result be achieved. If Russia is declaring mobilization today, Ukraine must respond by speaking to these nations.
It is extremely complex. Russia is a country where 190 nations and nationalities live. Believe me, managing all that is a very complex process. These are very sensitive spots. When you touch one of them, the whole system can start to fall apart.
And if Ukraine does not start utilizing this, it will waste its opportunity. The ball is in its court today. Because if Ukraine clearly says today what it wants from these nations, tomorrow these nations will respond by disrupting mobilization.
They cannot come out in front of the camera from there and say, “Yes, we agree,” or “No, we don’t agree.” That can be done from here, because the possibilities for it exist here.
As President Aliyev said: “You can speak here, but remember that you will bear the consequences at home.” Therefore, it is necessary to use this opportunity. And the result will come.
In Ukraine, I often hear the question: “When will the uprising in the North Caucasus, in Chechnya, finally break out?”
And I answer: “You might as well ask when the uprising will break out in Donetsk, Luhansk, or Mariupol.”
We cannot live in a waiting mode. Only when we act, take concrete steps, plan, and create an ideology – on this basis do we achieve results. By simply waiting for a result, we have achieved nothing in the last four years of war. It has brought no real result.
Therefore, something needs to change.
That is all.
Thank you, I am finished.
Muslim Cheberloevsky, commander of the Sheikh Mansur Battalion
“Putin and Kadyrov and others are sending alleged volunteers here, who are said to be very eager to fight. All inconvenient persons, those who do not support them, they catch them and send them here. Why? Because they know that if something broke out tomorrow, these people would stand against them and on our side. They send such people because they know it.”
Regarding these gatherings and meetings, I think that is a matter for politicians, because they understand it better. I will just say a little. Back then, about thirty years ago, Dzhokhar Dudayev, our first president, spoke a lot, spoke with journalists, with correspondents, addressed the whole world saying that ‘we do not expect specific military aid from you, because we know it will not happen. We are not asking for people either, we can manage on our own, but at least take some measures against Russia’.
Because besides some international ones, like PACE, where they gather in Europe, we also sent people to Ukraine, and we sent people to all those breakaway republics. But no one at that time paid serious attention to it and they missed the moment, and that is why today we have what we have. After us, Georgia followed and others, as he said in his time – we see that today.
Therefore today, as we believe and are convinced, these talks are just talks; it is necessary to act, to act concretely, as Dmytro (Korchinsky, editor’s note) said, regarding Ukraine, this important question of Caucasians is indeed not being addressed. Why – I don’t know, either they don’t believe, or they are not up to it, or perhaps some other reasons.
We, in any case, are doing our work and will continue to do it. Someone will help us, someone won’t – we have extended a hand. Someone there will support, someone won’t – that will be a matter for that side. Because we will go until the victorious end, everything is in the hands of the Almighty, so we will do our work until the end. Because we, I mean Chechens and all Caucasians, have paid a very high price for freedom and independence and we are not going to withdraw, nor be satisfied with half the way.
Specifically in our case, perhaps someone doesn’t know, four presidents died, none of them left anywhere, none hid, they participated in the defense of our country along with our fighters. And our entire political leadership, practically all of them perished. Only units of people remained who traveled abroad due to illness, due to injury, due to various reasons. Despite that, nevertheless, we continue our struggle.
What has happened in Chechnya today – we see the inaction of the global community; once, when we were shouting, no one supported us, no one did anything, and therefore the Russians did what they wanted.
From those fighters who fought against them in the first war – which we won – Putin made soldiers, fighters out of them, and he threatens all the rest of the former Soviet Union with them. Therefore, the result is as we see today.
Therefore, it needs to be addressed, already, either by parliament or the government, I don’t know at which level. Not to discuss it, not to postpone it to “sometime later,” but to quickly, immediately take concrete decisions, because without the Caucasus, without Caucasians, this question will of course, I think, not be resolved.
Why? Because – I will mention a few more moments.
Putin and Kadyrov and others are sending alleged volunteers here, who are said to be very eager to fight. All inconvenient persons, those who do not support them, they catch them and send them here. Why? Because they know that if something broke out tomorrow, these people would stand against them and on our side. They send such people because they know it.
Yes, Kadyrov in 2022 sent his clearly marked fighters to the front, to Kyiv. They thought everyone here would scatter, with that quick attack, that they would succeed in something. But when they got a proper beating, they understood the scale of the situation here, he recalled his men and already started hunting these people and sending them.
And the second moment – across the entire Caucasus, the youth are very actively trying to get here, to our side, but they have no way. Those who were forcibly sent – we are trying to bring them over, we have fighters who crossed over and are fighting on our side. Not all at once, of course, we check them, we monitor them. But if we don’t stop this process, it will continue. Here it is necessary to work competently and clearly against them, to both save those people somehow and stop them.
So this is how we see this problem.
In any case, we are doing our work and will continue to do it until the victorious end, to the point of exhaustion. I think we will win, victory will be ours. Today some are not very interested, but here today the last battle of Russia is being decided, I think, and we must win it at any cost.
Well, Inshallah, we will win, victory will be ours.
