Chechen Revolution
All-National Congress of the Chechen People Checheno-Ingush ASSR Dzhokhar Dudayev Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev / Ruslan Khasbulatov / Aslambek Aslakhanov Doku Zavgayev The Chechen Revolution was a series of anti-government protests in the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic against the local Communist Party officials.The chain of events led to the collapse of Zavgayev's authority and assumption of power by the Provisional Supreme Soviet consisting of Dudayev's supporters and former Communist Party members.The snap elections were held and Dudayev declared Chechnya's independence from Russia, which ushered the republic into a decade of de facto but internationally unrecognized self-rule.The increasing decentralization, however, led to a power struggle between the Soviet central government and the leaderships of its constituent republics, which included ex-Communist Boris Yeltsin of Russian SFSR.On 26 April 1990, a Soviet law was adopted which granted the autonomies full power in their territories and made them "subjects of the USSR", thus upgrading their status so they could participate within "renewed federation" on "equal footing" with the union republics.The National Congress elected Dzhokhar Dudayev, a Soviet air force major general serving in Estonia, as a chairman of its executive committee.[11] Despite the ambitious tone of the declaration, Soviet Chechen leader Doku Zavgayev only intended it to provoke economic and political concessions from Moscow.According to Emil Pain and Arkadii Popov, Yeltsin's team "promised to maximize the autonomy of Russia's constituent republics, and was willing to ignore the anti-constitutional games played by republican authorities and nationalist movements that advocated different versions of ethnic sovereignty".The group accused Gorbachev and his leadership of implementing political and economic reforms which, as they argued, caused chaos in the country and threatened the collapse of the Soviet Union.[22][23] In contrast, on August 19, All-National Congress of the Chechen People issued a decree denouncing the GKChP as "a group of government criminals" and called for mass protests to oppose the coup in Chechnya.In the late morning or early afternoon of 19 August, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev was arrested by the secret police and the protest meeting was forcibly dispersed by the republican militia.On 22 August, Dudayev and National Congress led the mass rally in Grozny calling the Supreme Soviet to resign, accusing it of failing to take principled position regarding the coup.According to then acting RSFSR Supreme Soviet chairman Ruslan Khasbulatov, Yeltsin called him and informed him his plan "to replace Zavgayev with Salambek Khadzhiyev".On 1–2 September, the third session of the National Congress declared the Supreme Soviet disbanded and passed a resolution granting full power in the republic to its executive committee.[41] On September 6, Dudayev's National Guard stormed a Zavgayev's meeting of all elected deputies of Chechen-Ingush republic at all levels, taking control of Supreme Soviet building and rendering impossible for it to continue its work.[42] Aslambek Aslakhanov, chairman of the Committee on Questions of Legality, Law and Order, and the Struggle with Crime of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet and a leading ally of Khasbulatov, flew to Grozny.On September 25, five members of the Provisional Council headed by Yurii Chernyi, who was close to Khasbulatov, condemned this development as an attempt by the National Congress to "usurp" power in the republic.On 5 October, a thirteen members of the Provisional Supreme Council, allegedly supported by the local KGB, decided to oust that body's chairman, Khusein Akhmadov.In response, On 6 October, the National Congress dissolved the Provisional Council for "undermining and provocative activity" and declared itself "the revolutionary committee for the transition period with full powers".[52] A delegation headed by the Russian vice president General Aleksandr Rutskoi arrived in Grozny and met with the National Congress and the Provisional Supreme Council.[55][56] On 19 October, in his televised address Yeltsin gave the National Congress three days to "end its rebellion", free government buildings and surrender its arms to the interior ministry.