Graduation Year
2026
Date of Submission
11-2025
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Government
Reader 1
Hilary Appel
Terms of Use & License Information
Abstract
This thesis examines why Chechnya’s independence movement shifted from a secular nationalist struggle in the First Chechen War (1994–1996) to a religiously framed insurgency in the interwar period and Second Chechen War (1999–2000; 2007). Drawing on presidential speeches, interviews, archival materials, and secondary scholarship, it argues that religious radicalization cannot be explained solely by external influence or Russian military brutality. Instead, three underexplored variables–strategic economic appeals to the Islamic world, culturally-embedded practices of vengeance, and the enabling conditions of poverty and mass armament–collectively shaped this transformation. Chechen leaders increasingly emphasized Islamic identity to secure financial and military support from Middle Eastern networks, while cultural norms of honor, oral tradition, and teip (clan) structure amplified desires for retribution. Simultaneously, the collapse of state institutions after the First War created a vacuum filled by radical field commanders who offered welfare, security, and income. The thesis further analyzes how this radicalization laid the groundwork for postwar governance: the rise of an Islamic parallel state during Aslan Maskhadov’s presidency and the consolidation of Russian-aligned Kadyrov rule grounded in neo-traditionalist Sufi Islam. This thesis concludes by assessing the fragility of Chechnya’s current political order and argues that shifts in regional or Russian politics could reignite the independence movement.
Recommended Citation
Moore, Claire, "The Politics of Russian Regional Development" (2026). CMC Senior Theses. 4350.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/4350
