Young Chechens Want to Serve in Russian Army to Avoid Unemployment and Become Kadyrov Siloviki

Paul Goble

            Staunton, January 2 – For many Chechens, service in the Russian military remains controversial given the role Russian units played in the two post-Soviet Chechen wars; but for younger Chechens, born more recently, the risk of unemployment if they do not have a military “ticket” allowing them to serve in Ramzan Kadyrov’s siloviki means they want to serve.

            Despite suspicions about the Russian forces and regular reports of dedovshchina against Chechen and other North Caucasus soldiers (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/344231/), young Chechens view the army “not as part of  the military campaigns in the republic but as a chance to avoid unemployment and to gain the right to serve in force structures,” experts say (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/344249/).

            Three days ago, 400 Chechen draftees entered military service at the conclusion of the fall draft cycle. They will be sent to units in the Southern Military District. Another 100 will be kept in Chechnya itself and serve in republic units of the Russian Guard, according to the republic military commissariat which oversees the draft.

            Between 1992 and 2014, there was no regular draft of Chechens into the Russian military. (There were small experiments but they did not work out.) Since 2014, the Russian authorities have kept the Chechen quota at 500 twice a year, even though there are more than 80,000 potential draftees.

            Maj.Gen.  Ibragim Suleymenov, who served under Dzhokhar Dudayev in the 1990s, says that this draft cycle is the first including young people born after the conclusion of military operations.  They “want to serve, to receive a regular paycheck and have a military ticket which they need if after demobilization, they intend to work in the force structures.” 

            Earlier, their elder brothers couldn’t imagine serving in the Russian military, and Russian officer, many of whom had fought in Chechnya, didn’t want them. But there have been changes on both sides, Suleymenov says. The Chechens fear unemployment, and Russian officers increasingly recognize that the Chechens are good soldiers.

            In Soviet times, Chechens almost never sought to avoid the draft. Suleymenov says. That was considered “unworthy.” The army was “a school of manhood.” Now, again, Chechens want to serve. Indeed, far more want to than the quota allows. Standards are high, and corruption is a problem (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2018/10/chechens-bribing-their-way-into-russian.html).

                Dedovshchina remains a problem, the general says; “but Chechens with their mentality will not allow anyone to denigrate or insult them.”  Nonetheless, it is best that Chechens serve closer to home than in some far away unit.

            According to Ruslan Kutayev, the head of the Assembly of the Peoples of the Caucasus, Chechens who want to be drafted are driven by two considerations – high unemployment and the desire to become siloviki for Ramzan Kadyrov whom many of them want to emulate.  The army provides a paycheck and a way into Kadyrov’s units. 

            “For many young Chechens, Ramzan Kadyrov has become an idol and example for emulation. They dream of getting into the ranks as they consider them of the elect, in the ranks of the National Guard, the police and the special forces. One can work in these structures only after serving in the army,” he continues.