to a continuation of certain Soviet policies toward
Islam. In Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, state-
sanctioned Islam is all that is allowed. Especially
in Uzbekistan, authorities have used the fight
against “fundamentalism” and “terrorism” to
crush any political opposition. Immediately fol-
lowing the collapse in Tajikistan, a civil war broke
out between central secular authorities and self-
proclaimed Islamists. This war lasted until 1997,
with some Islamists brought into government and
a moderate Islamist party allowed. A politicized
Islam has also been prominent in the North Cau-
casus, particularly in chechnya.
See also basmachi; bUkhara; commUnism;
islamism; karimov, islam; naqshbandi sUFi order;
shamil.
David ReevesFurther reading: Devin DeWeese, Islamization and
Native Religion in the Golden Horde (University Park:
Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994); Ahmed
Rashid, Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia
(New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2002); Anna
Zelkina, In Quest for God and Freedom: The Sufi Response
to the Russian Advance in the North Caucasus (New York:
New York University Press, 2000).
chador See burqa; hijab; purdah; veil.
charity See almsgiving.
Chechnya
Chechnya is located on the northeastern slopes
of the Caucasus Mountains, within the interna-
tionally recognized borders of the Russian Fed-
eration. The most recent Russian census placed
Chechnya’s population at nearly 1.1 million, but
many estimates place the actual number between
600,000 and 780,000 people.
In the late 18th century, the Russian Empire
started serious military incursions into the North
Caucasus, and from the beginning, the fiercest
resistance came from the people of Chechnya and
neighboring Dagestan. The first major leader of
this resistance was Shaykh Mansour, who com-
bined Islamic preaching with military struggle.
The most successful uprising against the Russians,
however, took place from the 1830s to 1859 and
was led by Imam shamil (1796–1871). A Naqsha-
bandi Sufi leader, Shamil for a period was able to
create an Islamic proto-state in most of present-
day Chechnya and Dagestan. With Shamil’s defeat,
the region passed into Russian control and relative
stability, though outbreaks of violence did occur.
With the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the
demise of central control, the Chechens declared
their independence and were briefly a part of a
federation of North Caucasian peoples called the
Mountain Republic. The Bolsheviks were able to
reestablish some control only after much costly
fighting in the early 1920s, though sporadic resis-
tance continued. The Chechens were deported
to Central Asia in 1944 for alleged collaboration
with the Nazis, and as a consequence a quarter
to a half of the population died. They were not
allowed to return home until the 1950s.
With the demise of the Soviet Union, tension
returned to the region. In 1991, the President of
Chechnya, Jokhar Dudayev (1944–96) declared
Chechnya independent and, though not recog-
nized by any foreign government or Russia, was
de-facto independent until the Russians launched
full military operations on New Year’s Eve 1994.
An extremely bloody war ensued, with Russia ini-
tially making significant gains, but the Chechens
launched a major counteroffensive in 1995. By
1996 the Russians were defeated and agreed to
a cease-fire. Altogether, there were an estimated
70,000 casualties. The end of the war, however,
did not bring political or economic stability to
Chechnya. In 1999, following unexplained ter-
rorist bombings in Russia, which were blamed
on Chechens, and a Chechen military incur-
sion into Dagestan, Russia invaded Chechnya
again, sending almost 100,000 troops and creatingChechnya 135 J