23 February 2025, 23:14
Anniversary of deportation becomes occasion for Chechen authorities to remind of Aukhovsky District
At a rally dedicated to the 81st anniversary of the deportation of the Vainakhs, Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov demanded that the housing in the former Aukhovsky District of Dagestan should be returned to descendants of the repressed people.
On February 23, 1944, the operation “Chechevitsa” (Lentil) was started, during which almost 500,000 Chechen and Ingush people were deported from the territory of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR to Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
“Every year, people come to the streets with a demand for the restoration of the Aukhovsky District. They say that if there is a law on rehabilitation and housing was built for those who seized their lands, then the Aukh residents should have a possibility to return to their homes ... Sooner or later, the Chechen people will restore justice in this matter,” stated Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov as quoted by the “Chechnya Segodnya” (Chechnya Today) news agency.
The deportation of the Vainakhs is connected with the unresolved issue of the rights of the Chechens of Dagestan, who have been waiting for the restoration of the Aukhovsky District for about 30 years.
At the same time, it follows from the publication of the “Grozny-Inform” news agency that Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov made harsher statements at the rally, speaking about those who live in the territory of the former Aukhovsky District.
On February 23, 2023, Magomed Daudov also stated that houses in the former Aukhovsky District should be returned to descendants of the repressed people. The Magomed Daudov’s speech was an attempt to speed up the restoration of the Aukhovsky District, but the demand of the Chechen Prime Minister is unfeasible, and the situation can only be resolved by political means, experts note.
Let us remind you that the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow was marked in Chechnya on February 23 until 2011, until the authorities decided to celebrate all Russian state holidays on an equal basis with other regions. In April 2011, a special commission announced that the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow of the Peoples of the Republic would be marked on May 10, the day of the Akhmat Kadyrov’s funeral.
Political analyst Ruslan Kutaev, who spoke out against the ban on February memorial events in 2014, was convicted and sent to prison for almost four years.
The Chechen authorities also demanded that residents stop using the term “deportation,” replacing it with the words of “eviction” or “repression.” At the same time, analysts have noted that the Chechen authorities will not be able to erase the date of the beginning of the deportation from the people’s memory.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 23, 2025 at 06:54 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
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