The Chechnya Deportations of 1944
Why Was the Chechnya Population Exiled During the Second World War?
Aug 17, 2009
The entire period of Russian rule over Chechnya has been marred with violence and unrest. The onslaught of the Second World War did not stop the Chechens from continuing their fight for independence.
Chechen Insurgency against Soviet Russia
Whilst Russia was fighting against Nazi Germany during the Second World War, Chechen separatists were fighting against the Russians. A number of the separatists were Red Army deserters; the Chechens were drafted into the army or labour battalions, they were treated harshly and soon deserted. One example of their treatment is that the Chechens were often given pork in their rations although the army was fully aware they are an Islamic people.
The Nazi Invasion of Chechnya
Nazi Germany invaded areas of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR in 1942, although the difficult terrain and Chechen resistance prevented them from taking the entire area. The Chechen guerrillas and separatists fought against both the Nazi invaders and their Russian rulers during the occupation.
Stalin Accuses the Chechens of Collaboration
Because the Chechens caused disruption to Red Army supply lines, Stalin interpreted this as sabotage and accused the Chechens of aiding the Nazis. In effect, the Chechens were made scape-goats for the Red Army’s military losses and the economic crisis brought on by the war.
Preparations for Deportation by the NKVD
Despite the fact the Chechen resistance against the Soviets was not to aid Nazi Germany but was opposition to the continuing Russian rule; Stalin and the NKVD began drawing up plans for a mass deportation in 1943. In the same year the Red Army advanced and expelled the Nazis from the Chechen-Ingush ASSR. In preparation for the deportations the NKVD moved through the area arresting a significant number of separatists and confiscating their weapons.
The Exile of the Chechen People in 1944
Early in 1944 Stalin authorised the planned deportation of the entire Chechen-Ingush population to begin. The NKVD surrounded Chechen villages, forced the residents out of their homes at gunpoint and transported them to areas where they were packed on to trains. The Chechens were taken by surprise by the operation which was carried out quickly and efficiently by the NKVD with little resistance.
The Effect on the Chechen-Ingush ASSR
Stalin ordered the liquidation of the ASSR with areas divided up and incorporated into other regions such as Ossetia. The deportations had a detrimental effect on the economy and food supplied as the Chechen collective farms lay empty. The Kremlin quickly relocated people to replace the Chechen farmers. In doing so; it was hoped that these relocated families would remain preventing the Chechens from ever returning.
The Impact of Exile on the Chechens
From the half a million plus people who were deported, a number died en route, as they were transported in similar conditions to victims of the Holocaust. A number of people died in exile as they had poor living conditions in harsh environments. Only in 1957 were the Chechens allowed to return under the rule of Nikita Khrushchev. Stalin’s false accusations and the deportations left the Chechens with an even fiercer anti-Russian sentiment than ever before. The forced exile certainly contributed to the violence and bloodshed in Chechnya in the decades following the Second World War.
Sources:
Pohl, Otto J. Ethnic Cleansing in the USSR, 1937-1949. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1999.
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