Grozny is the
capitalCapital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
city of the Chechen Republic,
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The city lies on the
Sunzha RiverThe Sunzha is a river in North Ossetia, Ingushetia and Chechnya, Russia, a right tributary of Terek River. It is 278 km long. The Sunzha rises on the Northern slope of the Caucasus Major. Its major tributaries are the Assa River and Argun River. With a turbidity of 3,800 g/m³, it carries 12,2...
. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the
2002 CensusRussian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...
. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the
1989 CensusThe 1989 Soviet census, conducted between January 12-19 of that year, was the last one conducted in the former USSR. It resulted in a total population of 286,730,819 inhabitants...
.
Name
In Russian, "Grozny" means "fearsome", "menacing", or "terrible". During the existence of the separatist republic, it was officially renamed to
Dzokhar-Ghala in 1996, and Chechen separatists sometimes continue refer to the city as
Dzhokhar or
Djohar ; it was named so after
Dzhokhar DudaevDzhokhar Musayevich Dudayev was a Soviet Air Force general and a Chechen leader, the first President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, a breakaway state in the North Caucasus.-Early life and military career:...
, the first
presidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the separatist
Chechen Republic of IchkeriaThe Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
. As of December 2005, the Chechen parliament voted to rename the city
Akhmadkala after
Akhmad KadyrovHajji Akhmad Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov , also spelled Akhmat, was the Chief Mufti of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War...
, a proposition which was rejected by his son
Ramzan KadyrovRamzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
, the
prime ministerA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
and later
presidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the republic.
Russian fort
The
Groznaya fortress was built in 1818 as a Russian
militaryA military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
outpostAn Outpost in military terminology essentially means a detachment of troops stationed at a distance from the main force or formation, usually at a station in a remote or sparsely populated location, positioned to stand guard against unauthorized intrusions and surprise attacks; and the station...
on the
Sunzha RiverThe Sunzha is a river in North Ossetia, Ingushetia and Chechnya, Russia, a right tributary of Terek River. It is 278 km long. The Sunzha rises on the Northern slope of the Caucasus Major. Its major tributaries are the Assa River and Argun River. With a turbidity of 3,800 g/m³, it carries 12,2...
by Cossacks which was a prominent defence centre during the
Caucasian WarThe Caucasian War of 1817–1864, also known as the Russian conquest of the Caucasus was an invasion of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire which ended with the annexation of the areas of the North Caucasus to Russia...
. Two Moscow Times foreign reporters state that it was built on the site of thirteen leveled Chechen villages, including Kuli-Jurt, Alkhanchu, Khankala, Bugan-Jurt, Yandara, Sunzha-Jurt, Maas and Zhima-Chechen. The villages were destroyed and the fortress was built. After the annexation of the region by the
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, the military use of the old fortress was obsolete and in December 1869 it was renamed Grozny and granted town status. (The change of the name ending follows the rules for
adjectiveIn grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
s when the modified noun was changed from the feminine gender ("threatening fortress") to masculine ("threatening town"). As most of the residents there were Terek Cossacks, the town grew slowly until the development of
oilPetroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
reserves in the early 20th century. This encouraged the rapid development of
industryIndustry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and petrochemical production. In addition to the oil drilled in the city itself, the city became a geographical center of Russia's network of
oil fieldAn oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
s, and in 1893 became part of the Transcaucasia — Russia Proper railway. The result was the population almost doubled from 15,600 in 1897 to 30,400 in 1913.
Soviet regional capital
The day after the
October RevolutionThe October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
(November 8, 1917), the Bolsheviks headed by N. Anisimov seized Grozny and established a Proletariat control. As the
Russian Civil WarThe Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
escalated, the Proletariat formed the 12th Red Army, and the garrison held out against numerous attacks by Terek Cossacks from August 11, 1918 until November 12. However, with the arrival of Denikin's armies, the Bolsheviks were forced to withdraw and Grozny was captured on February 4, 1919 by the White Army. Underground operations were carried out, but only the arrival of the Caucasus front of the
Red ArmyThe Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in 1920 allowed the town to permanently end up with the RSFSR on March 17. Simultaneously it became part of the
Soviet Mountain RepublicMountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or Mountain ASSR was a short-lived autonomous republic within the Russian SFSR in the Northern Caucasus that existed from January 20, 1921 to July 7, 1924....
, which was formed on January 20, 1921, and was the capital of the Chechen National Okrug inside it.
On November 30, 1922, the mountain republic was dissolved, and the national okrug became the
Chechen Autonomous OblastChechen Autonomous Oblast , or Autonomous Oblast of Chechnya , was an autonomous oblast of the Russian SFSR, created on November 30, 1922 when it was separated from the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic....
(Chechen AO) with Grozny as the administrative center. At this time most of the
populationA population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
was still Russian, but of Cossack descent. As Cossacks were viewed as a potential threat to the Soviet nation, Moscow actively encouraged the migration of Chechens into the city from the mountains. In 1934, the
Chechen-Ingush Autonomous OblastChechen-Ingush Autonomous Oblast was an autonomous oblast of the Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, created on January 15, 1934 by merging Chechen and Ingush Autonomous Oblasts....
was formed, which was transformed into the Chechen-Ingush ASSR in 1936.
In 1944, the entire
populationA population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of Chechens and Ingush was
deportedOperation Lentil was the Soviet expulsion of the whole of the native Chechen and Ingush populations of the North Caucasus to Siberia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan during World War II....
after rebelling against
Soviet ruleThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Large amounts of people who were not deemed fit for transport were 'liquidated' on spot, and the situation of the transport and of the stay in Siberia caused many deaths as well. According to internal NKVD data, a total of 144,704 were killed in 1944-1948 alone (death rate of 23.5% per all groups). Authors such as
Alexander NekrichAleksandr Moiseyevich Nekrich was a Soviet Russian historian, since 1976 in emigration to the United States, known for his works on the history of the Soviet Union, especially under Joseph Stalin’s rule....
,
John DunlopJohn Dunlop may refer to:*John Boyd Dunlop , Scottish/Irish inventor of the pneumatic tyre and founder of the Dunlop rubber company*John Colin Dunlop , Scottish historian*John L...
and Moshe Gammer, based on census data from the period estimate a death toll of about 170,000-200,000 among Chechens alone, thus ranging from over a third of the total Chechen population that was deported to nearly half being killed in those 4 years (rates for other groups for those four years hover around 20%). All traces of them in the city, including books and graveyards, were destroyed by the
NKVDThe People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
troops. The act was recognized by the
European ParliamentThe European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
as an act of genocide in 2004.
Grozny became the administrative center of
Grozny OblastGrozny Oblast was an administrative entity of the Russian SFSR that was established as Grozny Okrug on March 7, 1944 and abolished on January 9, 1957.-Formation:...
of the Russian SFSR, and the city at the time was again wholly Russian. In 1957, the Chechen-Ingush ASSR was restored, and the Chechens were allowed to return. The return of the Chechens to Grozny, which had been lacking of Nakh for thirteen years, would cause massive disruptions to the social, economic and political systems of what had been a Russian city for the period until their return. This caused a self-feeding cycle of ethnic conflict between the two groups, both believing the other's presence in the city was illegitimate. Once again migration of non-Russians into Grozny continued whilst the ethnic Russian population, in turn, moved to other parts of the USSR, notably the
Baltic statesThe term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, after the
interethnic conflict broke briefly out in 1958The Grozny Riots of 1958 occurred between 23-27 August that year in Grozny. Although seemingly a small-scale event, it was a major event in the history of the city, of Chechnya and of Russo-Chechen relations.-Immediate and Long-term Causes:...
.
According to sociologist Georgy Derluguyan, the Checheno-Ingush Republic's economy was divided into two spheres—much like French settler-ruled Algeria—and the Russian sphere had all the jobs with higher salaries, while non-Russians were systematically kept out of all government positions. Russians (as well as Ukrainians and Armenians) worked in education, health, oil, machinery, and social services. Non-Russians (excluding Ukrainians and Armenians) worked in agriculture, construction, a long host of undesirable jobs, as well as the so-called "informal sector" (i.e., illegal, due to the mass discrimination in the legal sector).
At the same time a great deal of development occurred in the city. Like many other Soviet cities, the
Stalinist styleStalinist architecture , also referred to as Stalinist Gothic, or Socialist Classicism, is a term given to architecture of the Soviet Union between 1933, when Boris Iofan's draft for Palace of the Soviets was officially approved, and 1955, when Nikita Khrushchev condemned "excesses" of the past...
of architecture was prevalent during this period, with apartments in the centre as well as administrative buildings including the massive Council of Ministers and the
Grozny UniversityChechen State University is a university located in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. The school is home to the North Caucasian Centre of Pedagogics. The university traces its roots back to 1938.-Soviet period:...
buildings being constructed in Grozny. Later projects included the high-rise apartment blocks prominent in many Soviet cities, as well as a city airport. In 1989, the population of the city was almost 400,000 people.
Collapse of Russian authority
After the collapse of the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Grozny became the seat of a separatist government led by Dzhokhar Dudaev. According to some, many of the remaining Russian and other non-Chechen residents fled or were
expelledPopulation transfer is the movement of a large group of people from one region to another by state policy or international authority, most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion...
by groups of militants, adding to a
harassmentHarassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
and
discriminationDiscrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
from the new authorities. These events are perceived by some as an act of an
ethnic cleansingEthnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
of non-Chechens, which has been reflected in the materials of General Prosecutor's office of the Russian Federation.
This view is disputed by authors, such as Russian economists Boris Lvin and Andrei Illarionov, who argue that Russian emigration from the area was no more intense than in other regions of Russia at the time. According to this view of the ethnic situation in Ichkeria, the primary cause of Russian emigration was the extensive bombing of Grozny (where 4 out of 5, or nearly 200,000 Russians in Chechnya lived before the war) by the Russian military during the First Chechen War.
The covert Russian attempts of overthrowing Dudayev by a means of an armed Chechen opposition forces resulted in repeated failed assaults on the city. Originally, Moscow had been backing the political opposition of Umar Avturkhanov "peacefully" (i.e. without supplying the opposition with weapons and encouraging them to try a coup). However, this changed in 1994, after the coups in neighboring in
GeorgiaGeorgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
(both of which Moscow was involved with), and Russia encouraged armed opposition and occasionally assisted. In August 1994 Avturkhanov attacked Grozny, but was repelled first by Chechen citizens who were then joined by Grozny government troops and Russian helicopters covered his retreat. On September 28, one of these interfering helicopters was indeed shot down and its Russian pilot was held as a prisoner-of-war by the Chechen government.
The last oneNovember 1994 Battle of Grozny was a November 26, 1994, failed attempt by the Chechen opposition forces to seize the city of Grozny, the Chechen capital, and overthrow the separatist government of Dzhokhar Dudayev....
on 26 November 1994 ended with capture of 21
Russian ArmyThe Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
tankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
crew members, secretly hired as
mercenariesA mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
by the FSK (former
KGBThe KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
, soon renamed FSB); their capture was sometimes cited as one of the reasons of
Boris YeltsinBoris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
's decision to launch the open intervention. In the meantime, Grozny airport and other targets were bombed by unmarked Russian aircraft.
First Chechen War
During the
First Chechen WarThe First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
, Grozny was the site of an intense battle lasting from December 1994 to February 1995 and ultimately ending with the capture of the city by the Russian military. Intense fighting and
carpet bombingCarpet bombing is a large aerial bombing done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase invokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in the same way that a carpet covers a floor. Carpet bombing is usually achieved by dropping many...
carried out by the
Russian Air ForceThe Russian Air Force is the air force of Russian Military. It is currently under the command of Colonel General Aleksandr Zelin. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, which is the former Soviet Aviatsiya Voyenno Morskogo Flota , or AV-MF).The Air Force was formed from...
destroyed much of the city. Thousands of combatants on both sides died in the fighting, alongside
civilianA civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
s, many of which were reportedly ethnic Russians; unclaimed bodies were later collected and buried in mass graves on the city outskirts. The main federal
military baseA military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
in Chechnya was located in the area of Grozny air base.
Chechen
guerrillaGuerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
units operating from nearby mountains managed to harass and demoralize the Russian Army by means of guerilla tactics and raids, such as the attack on Grozny in March 1996, which added to political and public pressure for a withdrawal of Russian troops. In August 1996, a raiding force of 1,500 to 3,000 militants recaptured the city in a surprise attack. They surrounded and routed its entire garrison of 10,000 MVD troops, while fighting off the Russian Army units from the
KhankalaKhankala is a settlement in Groznensky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located to the east of Grozny, the republic's capital. Population:...
base. The battle ended with a final
ceasefireA ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be declared as part of a formal treaty, but they have also been called as part of an informal understanding between opposing forces...
and Grozny was once again in the hands of Chechen separatists. The name was changed to Djohar in 1997 by the President of the separatist Ichkeria republic,
Aslan MaskhadovAslan Aliyevich Maskhadov was a leader of the Chechen separatist movement and the third President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.He was credited by many with the Chechen victory in the First Chechen War, which allowed for the...
. By this time most of the remaining Russian minority fled.
Second Chechen War
Grozny was once again the epicenter of fighting after the outbreak of the
Second Chechen WarThe Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
, which further caused thousands of fatalities. During the early phase of the Russian siege on Grozny on October 25, 1999, Russian forces launched five SS-21
ballistic missileA ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...
s at the crowded central
bazaarA bazaar , Cypriot Greek: pantopoula) is a permanent merchandising area, marketplace, or street of shops where goods and services are exchanged or sold. The term is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work that area...
and a maternity ward,
killing more than 140 peopleThe Grozny ballistic missile attack was a wave of devastating Russian ballistic missile strikes on the Chechen capital Grozny on October 21, 1999, early in the Second Chechen War. The attack killed at least 118 people according to initial reports, mostly civilians, or at least 137 immediate dead...
and injuring hundreds. During the massive shelling of the city that followed, most of the Russian artillery were directed toward the upper floors of the buildings; although this caused massive destruction of infrastructure, civilian casualties were much less than in the first battles. The enormous scale of the devastation prompted numerous comparisons with
Hiroshimais the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and other cities leveled during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The final seizure of the city was set in early February 2000, when the Russian military lured the besieged militants to a promised safe passage. Seeing no build-up of forces outside, the militants agreed. One day prior to the planned evacuation, the Russian Army mined the path between the city and the village of Alkhan-Kala and concentrated most firepower on that point. As a result, both the city mayor and military commander were killed; a number of other prominent separatist leaders were also killed or wounded, including
Shamil BasayevShamil Salmanovich Basayev was a Chechen militant Islamist and a leader of the Chechen rebel movement.Starting as a field commander in the Transcaucasus, Basayev led guerrilla campaigns against the Russian troops for years, as well as launching mass-hostage takings of civilians, with his goal...
and several hundred rank-and-file militants. Afterwards, the Russians slowly entered the empty city and on February 6 raised the Russian flag in the centre. Many buildings and even whole areas of the city were systematically dynamited. A month later, it was declared safe to allow the residents to return to their homes, although demolishing continued for some time. In 2003 the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
called Grozny the most destroyed city on earth.
After the war
Today, the federal government representatives of Chechnya are based in Grozny.
Reconstruction is progressing. By June 2006, out of more than 60,000 apartment buildings and private homes destroyed, 900 have been rebuilt. Out of several dozens of industrial enterprises, three have been partially rebuilt — the Grozny Machine-Building Factory, the
Krasny Molot (Red Hammer) and
Transmash factories.
Most of the city's infrastructure was destroyed and many continue to live in ruined buildings without heating and
running waterRunning Water may be:* Running Water, Tennessee, former name of Whiteside, Tennessee* Running Water, South Dakota, a community in Bon Homme County, South Dakota* "Running Water" from the 1983 album The Present...
, even as
electricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
was mostly restored since 2006, as the city has undergone substantial reconstruction. Before the war, Grozny had about 79,000 apartments, and the city authorities expect to be able to restore about 45,000 apartments; the rest were in the buildings that were completely destroyed.
The railway communication was restored in 2005, and Grozny's
SevernyGrozny Airport is a mixed-use military and civilian airport located 5km east of Grozny, Russia. There is another similar Grozny Airport North, which is today abandoned. It's about 8km north of Grozny, Russia.-Airlines and destinations:-External links:...
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
was reopened in 2007 with three weekly flights to Moscow. In 2009 the IAC gave Grozny's Severny airport the
international certificateAn international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...
after checking and evaluating the airport's
airworthinessAirworthiness is a term used to describe whether an aircraft has been certified as suitable for safe flight. Certification is initially conferred by a Certificate of Airworthiness from a National Airworthiness Authority, and is maintained by performing required maintenance actions by a licensed...
. On November 16, 2009, the airport had its first international flight; taking Pilgrims on
HajjThe Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
to Saudi Arabia via a
Boeing 747The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
.
After four years of construction, the Grozny Mosque was formally opened to the public on October 16, 2008 and is considered one of the largest mosques in Russia. In 2009 the city of Grozny was honored by the
UN Human Settlements ProgrammeThe United Nations Human Settlements Programme is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It was established in 1978 and has its headquarters at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Kenya...
for transforming the war scarred city and providing new homes for thousands.
Features
The city is divided into four city districts: Leninsky, Zavodskoy, Staropromyslovsky, and Oktyabrsky. All of the districts are residential, but Staropromyslovsky District is also the city's main illegal oil drilling area, and Oktyabrsky District hosts most of the city's
industryIndustry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
. Grozny was known for its
modern architectureModern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
and as a
spa townA spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
but nearly all the town was destroyed or seriously damaged during the Chechen Wars. It is home to Chechen State University and
FC Terek GroznyFC Terek Grozny is a Russian football club, currently playing in the Russian Premier League....
, which after a fifteen year absence from its hometown returned to Grozny in March 2008. Also in Grozny is Chechen State Pedagogical Institute.
Tram and trolley
On November 5, 1932, Grozny Tram was opened to the public, and by 1990 was 85 kilometres long, and 107 factory-fresh KTM-5 trams that it received in the late 1980s, and two depots. The Grozny Trolley, began operation on December 31, 1975, and by 1990 was approximately 60 kilometres with 58 buses and one depot. Both versions of transport came under difficult pressure in the early 1990s, with frequent theft of equipment, lack of pay to the staff and resultant strikes. A major planned Trolley extension to the airport was cancelled. With the outbreak of the
First Chechen WarThe First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
both transport services stopped operation. During the destructive battles, the tram tracks were blocked or damaged, cars and buses were turned into barricades. The trolley was more lucky, as most of its equipment, including the depot survived the war. In 1996 it was visited by specialists from the
VologdaVologda is a city and the administrative, cultural, and scientific center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the Vologda River. The city is a major transport knot of the Northwest of Russia. Vologda is among the Russian cities possessing an especially valuable historical heritage...
Trolley Company, who repaired some of the lines, with service planned to be re-started in 1997. However after they returned, most of the equipment was stolen, and instead the surviving buses were transported to
VolzhskyVolzhsky is an industrial city in Volgograd Oblast, Russia, located on the east bank of the Volga River and its distributary the Akhtuba, northeast of Volgograd. Population:...
where they were re-paired and used in the new Trolley system.
After the
Second Chechen WarThe Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
, little of the infrastructure of both systems was left. The created Ministry of Transport of the Chechen Republic in 2002, decided not to build the tram (rated as too expensive, and not answering to the city's needs, which lost half of its population since). The trolley however was more fortunate, and despite delays, Grozny hopes to open it by 2010.
Sport
Grozny is home to
Russian Premier LeagueThe Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
club
FC Terek GroznyFC Terek Grozny is a Russian football club, currently playing in the Russian Premier League....
. After winning promotion by coming 2nd in the Russian First Division in 2007, Terek Grozny finished 10th in the
Russian Premier LeagueThe Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
in 2008. The team still plays in the top tier. The club is owned by
Ramzan KadyrovRamzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
and play in the recently built city's
Ahmad ArenaTerek Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Grozny, Russia. It was completed in May 2011, and is used mostly for football matches. The stadium hosts homes matches of FC Terek Grozny. The stadium was designed with a capacity of 30,000 spectators. It replaced Sultan Bilimkhanov Stadium as the home of...
.
Ruud GullitOON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
was the team manager from the beginning of the season 2011, but was later sacked by the club in June.
Climate
Grozny has a semi-arid climate (
KöppenThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
BSk) with hot summers and cold winters.
Twin towns/sister cities
Grozny is
twinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
| Ardahan Ardahan is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border.-Ancient and medieval:In Ancient times the region was called Gogarene, which is assumed to derive from the name of Gugars, who were a Proto-Kartvelian tribe...
in TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
IstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
in TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
Sivas in TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
|
Warsaw Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(since 1997) KrakówKraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
in PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(since 1997) Łuków in PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
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LvivLviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
in UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
OdessaOdessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
in UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
TatabányaTatabánya is a city of 69,988 inhabitants in north-western Hungary, in the Central Transdanubian region. It is the capital of Komárom-Esztergom County.- Location :...
in HungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
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Notable people from Grozny
- Timur Aliev
Tamerlane Magomedovich Aliev, better known as Timur Aliev , is a prominent Chechen journalist and the former editor-in-chief of the Grozny-based publication The Chechen Society....
, journalist
- Meseda Bagaudinova
Nu Virgos is the name used to promote the group VIA Gra outside of Russia, Ukraine and other nearby countries. The name VIA Gra is both a reference to the drug Viagra and a play on words, since the first three letters stand for "vocal-instrumental ensemble" in Ukrainian, and "gra" means "game" in...
, member of RussianThe Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
pop group Nu VirgosNu Virgos is the name used to promote the group VIA Gra outside of Russia, Ukraine and other nearby countries. The name VIA Gra is both a reference to the drug Viagra and a play on words, since the first three letters stand for "vocal-instrumental ensemble" in Ukrainian, and "gra" means "game" in...
/Via Gra.
- Mamed Khalidov
Mamed Khalidov is a Chechen-Polish mixed martial artist, competing in the Middleweight division of Polish MMA promotion KSW. Khalidov is currently undefeated in the promotion and holds the KSW Light Heavyweight Championship belt...
, Chechen-Polish mixed martial arts fighter
- Makka Sagaipova
Makka Umarovna Sagaipova is a singer from Chechnya. She is also a dancer in the Chechen dance ensemble, Lovzar.-Biography:...
- Gennady Troshev
Gennady Nikolayevich Troshev was a Russian Colonel General in the Russian military and formerly the commander of the North Caucasus Military District, including Chechnya, during the Second Chechen War...
- Lyudmila Turishcheva, gold medal-winning gymnast from the 1972 Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
.
External links