09 May 2022, 11:43
Internet users dispute about May 9 celebration in Chechnya
The authorities' plans to solemnly celebrate the Victory Day in Chechnya are correct, because this is a national holiday, Telegram commentators have pointed out. However, relatives of many residents of Chechnya fell victim to deportation in Soviet years; and it is inappropriate to celebrate May 9 on a large scale in this region, their opponents have objected.
The authorities of Chechnya began preparing for the festive events on May 9 back in April, as follows from the post of Akhmed Dudaev, the Minister for National Policy of Chechnya.
The authors of some comments to his post have supported the initiative to celebrate the Victory Day. "On this holiday, it's imperative to pay special attention to all the veterans, because it's thanks to them that this holiday exists! We should celebrate it on a grand scale," the user Estrella wrote, in particular. "This is a great holiday, the victory of our grandfathers and fathers over fascism," the user Ilona Emanueva has agreed.
The user salamy_salamy1 has doubted the need to celebrate May 9. "When my ancestors fought at the fronts, all my people in 1944 were forcibly resettled in the steppes of Kazakhstan; a third of them died during the resettlement," he has explained.
On February 23, 1944, the operation “Lentil” was started, during which almost 500,000 Chechen and Ingush people were deported from the territory of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. According to various estimates, 10,000 people died on the way, and during the first years after the eviction, 100,000 people died.
In Chechnya, there is no need to hold large-scale actions on May 9, the author of the "Chechnya Inside" blog on the "Caucasian Knot" also believes. "Given that our nations and veterans celebrated the Victory Day in inhuman conditions of eviction, without the right to return to their homeland, all these […] events dedicated to the Victory Day are today blasphemous and unacceptable," he wrote on May 7 in his post "Why there is no need to hold large-scale actions in Chechnya by May 9".
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 8, 2022 at 05:53 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: The Caucasian Knot
