On anniversary of restoration of Chechen-Ingush ASSR, Chechen residents commemorate deportation victims
On January 9, the day of restoration of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), abolished after the deportation of Chechens and Ingushes in 1944, residents of Chechnya commemorated victims of Stalin's deportation.
On January 9, 1957, the Presidium of the USSR's Supreme Soviet adopted a decree "On Restoration of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR and Abolition of the Grozny Region". In 2009, this date was declared in Chechnya the memorable day of restoration of the statehood of the Chechen nation.
On the occasion of the 58th anniversary of restoration of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR, the Parliament of the Republic held a solemn event.
Today in Chechnya, few people know about the exact meaning of January 9, while many know the date of Stalin's deportation – February 23, 1944, say representatives of the older generation.
The operation under the code name "Chechevitsa" (Lentils), during which Chechens and Ingushes were deported en masse to Kazakhstan and Central Asia from the territory of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR, was conducted from February 23 to March 9, 1944. The mass desertion, draft evasion in wartime and preparation of an armed uprising by these nationals in the Soviet rear were declared to be the reasons for such repressions.
"After the death of Stalin in 1953, people began talking that Chechens and other deported nationals would soon be allowed to return back, but it was still four years later, when, finally, the country's leadership took the above decision," Viskhan M., a resident of Grozny, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.
Source: CK correspondents