Chechnya:  Chechnya is the region of land located in the lower portion of Russia near Georgia and

Dudaev:  He was the former leader of the Chechen Republic and declared Chechyna an independent state.  He attained pwer through a military coup in August of 1991 and was elected president in October of 1991 at which time, he declared independence from Russia.

Deportations:

Grozny:  Grozny is the capital city of Chechnya.  It was founded in the early 19th century by Russia in an effort to conquer the Chechens.

Identity:  The Concept of identity is a complex compilation of theory and application.  For more information and a complete description, see the identity page.

Ingush:  The Ingush are another people living in an area near Chechnya.  Their language is very similar to the Chechen language, and for many years the Chechens and Ingush were united.  It was not until 1991 that these two regions split to take on separate identities.

Islam:  Islam is the main religion practiced by the Chechen people.  It exists in many forms; in addition to following basic islamic beliefs, there are groups within Chechnya that practice fundamentalist forms of Islam (such as Wahhabism) as well as culturally altered forms of the same religion (Sufism).

Nationalism:

Nation State:  An area of land and the people within it seperated by political boundries

Putin, Vladimir:

Russia:  Russia is currently the country "in charge" of Chechnya.  Russia has been warring with Chechnya for hundreds of  years, and is currently the only force preventing Chechnya from gaining independence and recognition as a separate, individual country.

Soviet Union:  The Soviet Union was a communist nation founded in 1917 under the leadership of Joseph Stalin.  It lasted until 1991 when communism fell, then breaking up to form modern Russia.

Stalin, Joseph:   Stalin was the leader and creator of the Soviet Union and was responsible for the deportations of thousands of Chechens out of the Chechen-Ingush Republic.  He caused considerable amounts of genocide during his tenure as leader of the Soviet Union

Sufism:

Wahhabism:

Yeltsin, Boris: