09:11, 10 May 2026

Day of Remembrance and Sorrow is celebrated in Chechnya

Today, Chechnya marks the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow, formally dedicated to the memory of the victims of Stalin's deportation of the Vainakh people, but timed to coincide with the anniversary of Akhmat Kadyrov's funeral.

As "Caucasian Knot" reported, the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow of the Chechen people is celebrated on May 10, the anniversary of the funeral of Akhmat Kadyrov, who was killed in a terrorist attack on May 9, 2004. Residents of Chechnya noted that they were unwilling to combine the Day of Mourning with the mourning for Akhmat Kadyrov and complained of coercion to participate in memorial events and rituals.

This date was established by Ramzan Kadyrov in 2011 as an alternative to mourning the victims of Stalin's deportation of the Vainakhs. Previously, the Day of Remembrance and Mourning was observed in Chechnya on February 23 – the date the deportation began. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report titled "How Kadyrov Turned a Wake-Up Call on February 23rd".

Today, Chechnya celebrates the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow of the Chechen People. The day before, on May 9th, large-scale religious events dedicated to the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow of the Peoples of the Chechen Republic and the memory of Akhmat Kadyrov were held in the village of Dzhalka, the state-run news agency Grozny-Inform reported.

First and foremost, May 10th is perceived as Akhmat Kadyrov's memorial day, noted Amina Lorsanova, a lawyer with the Chechen human rights organization "Vayfond." "Mourning for the victims of deportation seems to be being pushed into the background," she told the "Caucasian Knot" in 2025.

People have clear associations between when and what event happened.

Few Chechens consider May 10th a day of remembrance for the victims of deportation, political scientist Ruslan Kutayev confirmed to the "Caucasian Knot" in May 2025. "Chechens don't associate May 10th with the deportation because they have a clear association between the events. I haven't seen people outside the regime's control connect these dates or even confuse May 10th and February 23rd," he said.

In 2014, Ruslan Kutayev publicly spoke out against the ban on February mourning events. After this, he was convicted and sentenced to almost four years in prison.

Chechnya residents criticized the attempt to replace the national day of mourning.

Open gates in Chechen-Aul on the anniversary of the deportation. Photo: https://www.instagram.com/chechen_aul_bastion/

18:56 February 22, 2024

The tradition of opening the gates has become a way for residents of Chechnya to remember the victims of deportation

The initiative by residents of Chechen-Aul to open the gates on the anniversary of the deportation, as is done during days of mourning, has become a way for the people to remember the victims of the deportation in the absence of the ability to organize mass events, according to human rights activists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot."

Earlier, residents of Chechnya told the "Caucasian Knot" that they do not agree to combine the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow with the mourning for Akhmat Kadyrov. "For any self-respecting Chechen, February 23rd was, is, and will be a day of mourning for the victims of Stalin's deportation. Even the Soviet regime, for several decades, couldn't make us forget this tragedy, and our current authorities will be even less able to do so," said teacher Raisa on May 10, 2017.

The tragedy of an entire nation cannot be replaced by the tragedy of the Kadyrov family.

Grozny resident Abusaid stated at the time that moving this date to May 10th was immoral. "The tragedy of an entire nation cannot be replaced by the tragedy of the Kadyrov family, as is being done now," he said.

In 2020, on Defender of the Fatherland Day, a rally in memory of the victims of repression was held in Grozny, attended by Ramzan Kadyrov and other officials. The change in the Chechen leadership's attitude toward the mourning date surprised local residents, and analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" explained that the legalization of mourning for the victims of deportation was a consequence of Kadyrov's strengthening of his position. Representatives of the Chechen leadership also held a small rally in memory of the victims of deportation on February 23, 2021. Ramzan Kadyrov, who left for a visit to Dubai, did not participate. This year, Kadyrov and his cronies did not ignore the 78th anniversary of the deportation of the Vainakhs, but dedicated only social media posts to the date.

By order of Stalin, several Caucasian peoples were deported

On February 23, 1944, Operation Lentil began, during which nearly 500,000 Chechens and Ingush were deported en masse from the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. More information about these events and their consequences can be found in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Deportation of Chechens and Ingush". The "Caucasian Knot" also prepared reports on the deportation of the Karachays, the deportation of the Kalmyks, and the deportation of the Balkars.

The Soviet government justified the deportations of peoples with myths about the mass betrayal and desertion of their representatives. Under Stalin, mass arrests, deportations, and executions based on ethnicity were carried out, with entire nations declared "hostile," according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "10 Myths About Stalin's Role in the Great Patriotic War."

There was no mass support for the German fascists in the North Caucasus, and the Soviet authorities' theory that collaborationism was the pretext for the deportation of peoples is unfounded, historians Pavel Polyan and Pieter van Huis previously pointed out. The historians' arguments are supported by Wehrmacht archival documents analyzed by the "Caucasian Knot," cited in the article "Operation Shamil: How the Abwehr's Failure Became the Pretext for the Deportation of the Vainakhs."

The decision on which peoples to target for repression depended directly on Stalin, historian and member of the Association of Researchers of Russian Society Boris Sokolov told the "Caucasian Knot" in 2022.

The Chechen authorities demanded that residents stop using the term "deportation," replacing it with "eviction" or "repression." At the same time, analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" noted that the Chechen authorities will not be able to erase the date of the deportation from the people's memory.

Years of ruling Chechnya allowed Ramzan Kadyrov to build a total family cult, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "In the Name of Father and Son: How the Kadyrov Cult is Being Implanted in Chechnya".

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/423128