Chechnya--Christian Persecution in Chechnya

Political Background: After the fall of the Soviet Union, Chechnya attempted to break away from Russia, triggering off a bloody and rather unsuccessful incursion by Russian troops. The political landscape continues to be extremely tense, violent, and chaotic. It is said that neither the Russian nor the Chechnyan political leadership has an effective control over the area. Senseless violence and bloodshed are almost daily occurrences throughout the region perpetrated by armed bandits, terrorists, as well as organized crime style and para-military groups.

Religious Atmosphere: For centuries, Chechnya has been predominantly a Muslim region. Much of the population leans towards a Sufi mystical form of Islam that originated locally in the 1700's. Resistance against Russian (and therefore Orthodox Christian) control often takes on religious overtones, although the conflict is primarily political. There have been fears that a more militant form of Islam could replace the nominal form that dominates the general population. Recently, terrorist attacks by armed gunmen against Orthodox priests, Protestant ministers, and foreign workers have caused further tension in the minority Orthodox and Protestant Christian community. Russian and other "foreign" Christian groups have either left the region or been advised to do so. The Russian Baptist Union was one organization who advised this. All but two men were said to have left leaving only around 100 members, the majority of whom were reportedly orphaned children and older women.

Extremist Groups: Different fragmented and unorganized extremist groups continue to operate in Chechnya for political or monetary reasons.

• Chechnya under the leadership of General Dzhohkar Dudayev, declared its independence in 1991. President Aslan Maskhadov, the current chief of the republic has recently called for direct Islamic Sharia law to be instituted against the current constitution. The Russian government continues to seek ways to cause the Chechnyan political leadership to return control to the Kremlin. The political future of this breakaway republic is anybody’s guess.

• September 1999 – A letter from Vitaly Korotun, the deacon kidnapped from the Grozny Baptist Church, stated that if his family sold the church building, he would be returned to his family alive. Previously his kidnappers had threatened to send the family Korotun’s head unless they received $110,00 to spare his life and set him free.
• August 1999 — In separate incidents, two Christians were murdered and two were abducted. An 82-year-old woman named Zhenya was strangled to death by unknown assailants after being tortured and raped. She was apparently the only eyewitness to the abduction of Pastor Aleksandr Kulakov in March of this year (see below). An unnamed 70-year-old woman was brutally beaten to death in her apartment. Also during this month were the abductions of Alexandra Zaradniskaya for whom $4000 ransom was demanded and 23-year-old deacon, Vitally Korotun, Pastor Kulakov’s successor, for whom no ransom was demanded and is therefore feared dead. The common factor between each of these is cases is that all were members of the Grozny Baptist Church.

• July 17, 1999 - Three Orthodox leaders were kidnapped by armed men in Grozny. They were part of the Russian Orthodox parish of Michael the Archangel. Those abducted included the priest Father Zakhary Yampolsky, 31 who was the only acting Orthodox priest left in Chechnya, and the acting churchwarden, 26-year-old Yakov Ryashchin. The identity of the third man abducted is uncertain.
• June 29, 1999 - Herb Gregg, a missionary for TEAM, who was kidnapped eight months prior, was released by his captors. One of his index fingers had been sawed off in an attempt to speed up the ransom paying process. No ransom was ultimately paid however.
• April 1999 — Abuzar Sumbulatov, Chechnya’s chief official for religious affairs was kidnapped and is feared dead. No ransom has been requested. Sumbulatov was a moderate Muslim and his disappearance is a blow to religious liberty as now the outside link for human service projects for the church has been severed.
• March 1999 - Aleksandr Kulakov, the current leader of the Grozny Baptist Church disappeared after boarding a bus on March 12^th. It was reported that a member of the church discovered his disembodied head on display at a market place later that month. Beheadings and the public display of the victim’s severed head by armed groups are not too uncommon of an occurrence in the Chechnya. This is an age-old practice designed to instill fear in the population. Pastor Kulakov had taken over leadership of the church after the previous pastor was abducted in October 1998. (See entry for that date.)
• March 28, 1999 - Orthodox priest, Father Pyotr Sukhonosov was abducted from his home in the village of Ordzhonikidzovskaya, in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia. His captors were seen heading towards Chechnya where it is believed the priest is being held.
• March 27, 1999 - Orthodox priest, Father Pyotr Markov was abducted from his home at the Nikolaevskaya church in the Chechnyan village of Assinovskaya.
• March 9, 1999 - Volodya Kargiev, a youth leader at the Central Baptist Church in Vladikavkaz, the capital of the republic of North Ossetia, was abducted. He is reportedly now being held in Chechnya for the equivalent of $100,000 ransom. North Ossetia neighbors but doesn’t share a common border with Chechnya.
• November 11, 1998 — TEAM missionary, Herb Gregg was kidnapped from neighboring Dagestan and is believed to be held in Chechnya. Three suspects have since been arrested but he is still in captivity.

• October 9, 1998 - Alexey Sitnikov, pastor of the Grozny Baptist Church was abducted. To date, there has been no word about his whereabouts or condition.
• October 1998 - Orthodox priest, Father Issihy was abducted but later released. He was reportedly too overwhelmed by the ordeal to discuss what had happened.

• As mentioned, the above named individuals are/were held by unknown assailants in Chechnya.
• The identity of the attackers is unknown. In some cases no ransom was demanded. For this reason, the motives, whether religious or not, is uncertain.

• Pray for the Christians of Chechnya that they may be better protected from harm and that the Christian message may be heard and received by the common people.
• Pray specifically for the President and other leaders within Chechnya that the present secular and democratic constitution will be upheld and that religious liberty will be fervently protected. Pray also for a peaceful settlement of the on-going political crisis between Chechnyan's and the Russian government.
• Contact the elected national officials (Senators, Congressman etc.) for your area as well as the U.S. State Department and express concern for the well being of the Christians in Chechnya asking them to make an official inquiry into the status of those who were abducted and are still unaccounted for.
• Please keep us informed of any replies or results you may receive! Contact ICC by email at icc@persecution.org.

Official Contacts: Due to the political status (or lack thereof), there are none at this time.

*Although we try to make every effort to keep up with and reflect changes in the government of Chechnya and the current human rights situation, it is not uncommon for changes to occur and not be immediately updated in the profiles. We appreciate your feedback if you find any discrepancies in this information. You can contact ICC at the email address above for this purpose.

POSTED:  October 13, 2000

ICC Articles on Chechnya: