Chechnya is a located in the North Caucasus region and has been considered a part of Russia since the 18th century despite resistance against the empire. Chechnya is well known for it’s tough mountainous terrain as it is located at the edge of Russia neighbouring Georgia and near both the Caspian sea and black sea, it is also right next to the Dagestan region which is well renowned for its tough fighters most notably UFC Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and Khamzat Chimaev which match the terrain of the region.
For decades in the 19th century the North Caucasus region opposed the Russian empire spearheaded by Imam Shamil and lasting from 1817-1864. The figurehead of this war was a Chechen-Dagestani leader and led decades long guerrilla resistance against the imperial force of Russia. Despite this conflict ending, tensions would never completely settle In the region as in World War II Stalin ordered the mass deportation of nearly the entire population Chechnya into modern day Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. This was ordered upon the suspicion and accusation of collaborations with the Nazis and this led to many of them dying or living in exile in the process of deportation. Understandably causing a deep identity crisis within Chechens relating to the Russian identity, despite the return of Chechens to their homeland in 1957 under Khrushchev, the damage had been done and was irreparable.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the already separate at heart Chechnya declared independence in 1991 being led by Dzhokhar Dudayev. This sparked a bloody conflict
with Russia which would last from 1994 till 1996, despite the obvious advantage Russia had they were left defeated by the Chechen warriors. This Chechen victory would not last long as the second Chechen War was initiated by Vladmir Putin in 1999. A series of apartment bombings in Russia were blamed on Chechen militants under controversial circumstances and by 2000 the War was over and Russia re-established control over Chechnya putting an end to their 3-year de facto independence.
Chechnya and Dagestan remain deeply intertwined culturally and one of the standout features of their culture which is evidently not aligned with the remainder of the country is their practise of Islam. With Kadyrov having placed himself in the light of the protector of the practise of Sufi Islam in the region whilst maintaining conservative Islamic practices.
As of recent Chechen forces have been affiliated with Putin as they are loyal to Kadyrov however have been deployed in various parts of Russia both as a part of their offensive against Ukraine and as a security measure within the country. Many have identified this as Putin using the Chechens as a militarised society however in times of war decisions such as this have to be made to strengthen the bonds within the different regions of the country as other countries have been cautious with helping or contributing to Russia’s efforts during the War on Ukraine. This can also be seen as a way to heal the scar on the Russian-Chechen relations and ingratiating himself with the region after the second Chechen war in 1999 by showing he needs all parts of Russia.