The Museum issued a Genocide Watch for Chechnya in 2001. The Committee’s concern in Chechnya stems from:
Past persecution of Chechens as a people
The demonization of Chechens as a group within Russian society
The level of violence directed against Chechen civilians by Russian forces
A massive Russian military force entered Chechnya on September 30, 1999, supported by air and artillery. Russian officials claimed the "anti-terrorist operation" responded to an incursion by Chechen militias into the neighboring Russian republic of Dagestan and to apartment bombings in Moscow and elsewhere that they blamed on Chechens. In the ensuing months, Chechnya was devastated, including the almost complete destruction of Grozny, the Chechen capital. Russian artillery and air indiscriminately pounded populated areas. Human rights organizations also documented several massacres of civilians by Russian units.
Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed Chechnya pacified by Spring 2000. But peace has been elusive for Chechen civilians, victims of a continuing war of attrition. They are plagued by abuses committed by Russian forces—arbitrary arrest, extortion, torture, murder. Chechen civilians also suffer because there have been no sustained efforts to rebuild basic social services, such as utilities or education. Chechen fighters also commit abuses against civilians, but neither on the same scale nor with the same intensity as Russian forces.
