Государство кавказских сепаратистов (English)
STATE OF CAUCASIAN SEPARATISTS
Actual problems of modern science, issue 1 for 2017, pp. 104-110.
Pashkov Roman Viktorovich, Specialist of Moscow State Law Academy
to the issue of Islamist quasi-statehood . Meanwhile, this phenomenon is of great interest to military-political conflictology, allowing us to study, among other things, ways to influence this «cancerous» formation within the state.
Such a state can be regarded as an alternative jihadist missionary project of religious statehood of a terrorist-rebel group.
Sharia reform in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
An attempt to transition to an Islamic form of government before the adoption of an Islamic constitution was made by separatists in Chechnya.
Decree No. 39
February 3rd 1999 г.
«And those who do not judge or rule by what Allah has revealed — they are the disbelievers.»
ON THE INTRODUCTION OF FULL SHARI’A RULE
ON THE TERRITORY OF THE CHECHEN REPUBLIC OF ICHKERIA.
In the name of Allah, the Merciful and the Compassionate, to ensure peace and unity among the Chechen people, to implement the laws of Allah, guided by the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, I decree:
- Introduce full Sharia law in the territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
- Bring all spheres of the state structure of the CRI into line with the norms of Sharia.
- The implementation of a comprehensive Sharia reform of the state structure of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria shall begin from the moment the Decree enters into force according to a specially developed program.
- The decree comes into force on the day of its signing.
- I reserve control over the execution of the Decree.
President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria A. Maskhadov
( http://www.igpi.ru/monitoring/1047645476/1999/0299/20.html Issue of political monitoring for February 1999 on the Chechen Republic of the International Institute of Humanitarian and Political Research, author Timur Muzaev)
Decree No. 40
February 3rd 1999 г.
ABOUT THE PARLIAMENT OF THE CRI.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
In pursuance of the Decree on the introduction of Complete Sharia Rule on the territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, recognizing the primacy of the laws of Allah, on the basis of the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, I decree:
- The Parliament of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria shall be deprived of the right to legislative activity in accordance with the Decree of the President on the introduction of Full Sharia Rule on the territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
- Retain control functions for the Parliament of the CRI.
- The decree comes into force on the day of its signing.
President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria A. Maskhadov
Decree No. 41
February 3rd 1999 г.
ON THE SHARIA CONSTITUTION
OF THE CHECHEN REPUBLIC OF ICHKERIA.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
In connection with the introduction of full Sharia rule on the territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, guided by the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet, I decree:
- Idarat of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, together with the State Commission for the Development of State Ideology, shall, within one month, bring the Constitution of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria into full compliance with the norms of Sharia.
- The decree comes into force on the day of its signing.
President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria A. Maskhadov
The fourth document adopted on February 3, 1999, to preempt the use of force by field commanders by the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, A. Maskhadov, was the REGULATION ON THE SHARIAT COMMITTEES OF THE CHECHEN REPUBLIC OF ICHKERIA.
However, Islamists perceived this attempt only as a sign of weakness of the secular authorities and personally of the President of the CRI.
The Supreme Military Majlisul Shura of the United Mujahideen Forces of the Caucasus.
Initially called the Congress (Majlis) of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan, it was formed in July 1998 ( http://studies.agentura.ru/tr/madglisul/ Information on the Supreme Military Majlisul Shura of the United Forces of the Mujahideen of the Caucasus, project of the Research Center Agentura.ru ) . The main Wahhabi group in the North Caucasus. It was aimed at the forcible withdrawal of the North Caucasus from the Russian Federation and the formation of an Islamic emirate as part of the caliphate. The main Wahhabi military units, numbering up to 4,500 people, were transformed into three formations during the invasion of Dagestan in the fall of 1999: the Muslim Caucasian Army, the Dagestani Insurgent Army of the Imam, and the Peacekeeping Forces of the Majlis of Muslims of Ichkeria and Dagestan. The Supreme Majlis al -Shura of the Caucasus was created , uniting the commanders of all three units. The Muslim Caucasian Army included units from Abkhazia and the North Caucasian republics of Russia, totaling up to 1,200 men. The core of the Dagestani Rebel Army of the Imam consisted of up to 1,200 fighters led by the influential Dagestani businessman Nadir Khachilayev. The united mujahideen headquarters was called «Kavkaz.» The Islamic Peacekeeping Army of the Congress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan included 1,300 Dagestanis and 900 Chechens. Each unit included two groups, divided into detachments of 100 men.
The Wahhabi military training center «Caucasus» consisted of five camps with various specializations near Serzhen -Yurt. Between 300 and 600 militants were stationed there monthly. The center also housed the Islamic Institute «Caucasus» or «Caucasus Institute of Islamic Assistance,» which developed ideological programs for the Caucasian Wahhabis. Thus, before the militants’ invasion of Dagestan, autonomous command structures existed: the Majlisul , three formations, the «Caucasus» headquarters, the military training center «Caucasus,» and the Islamic Institute «Caucasus.» These structures were completely self-sufficient for specific military-political tasks. Before the invasion, the Central Front of the United Command of the Caucasian Mujahideen of the Islamic State of Dagestan was formed .
Following the retreat of the Islamic Peacekeeping Army of the Congress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan and the complete defeat of the Dagestani Insurgent Army of the Imam and the Caucasian Muslim Army in the fall of 1999, the Supreme Military Majlis ul Shura of the United Forces of the Mujahideen of the Caucasus was formed on the basis of the Congress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan by transforming the Supreme Majlis ash -Shura of the Caucasus, which retained only supporters of Shamil Basayev . This Shura included, at various times, between 30 and 40 Islamist field commanders. After Russian troops occupied Chechen territory, the forces of this Shura became the so-called «Easterners,» or Islamists, in opposition to the «Westerners,» or Maskhadov’s forces. This resulted in the formation of the Wahhabi Islamists of the Caucasus Emirate and the secular separatists of Ichkeria.
, the Supreme Military Majlisul Shura of the United Mujahideen Forces of the Caucasus identified:
- Joint Headquarters «Caucasus».
- Military counterintelligence » Mukhabarat «
- Islamic Institute «Caucasus»
- Reconnaissance and sabotage brigade of Chechen shahids » Riyadus -as- Salihiyn «
- Detachments of volunteer mercenaries from Chechen Arabs «Shahid», «Khalif», «Black Stork»,
- Supreme Sharia Court (military collegium, tribunal).
Shamil Basayev led the Shura, and Amir Khattab served as its military naib (deputy). Units were grouped into seven directions within Chechnya and then into sectors within district boundaries, that is, three to five districts within a direction. A sector included units of several jamaats of 10 to 15 people. In the summer of 2002, an attempt was made to unite the Shura forces with Aslan Maskhadov’s State Defense Committee of Ichkeria, but after the events at Nord-Ost, this attempt failed. Shortly before October 2002, Shamil Basayev planned to proclaim an emirate led by Maskhadov, seeing himself as its military naib. After the US occupation of Iraq, Chechen Arabs largely left the Caucasus, having fulfilled their role as instructors. From 500 people in 2001, only 30 to 50 remain today. After Maskhadov’s assassination in early 2005, the unification of separatist and Islamist forces became a reality, and the Islamic element ultimately prevailed. The Supreme Military Majlis-ul -Shura of the United Caucasus Mujahideen Forces became the Majlis-ul -Shura—State Defense Committee of the Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
Separatists’ views on state building.
civil line , or now the London-based government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) led by Akhmed Zakayev, envisions the Caucasus as a community of independent mountain states united in a Caucasian Union similar to the European Union. In this scenario, the Chechen Islamic State is envisioned as the guarantor of the Caucasian Union’s military independence. The Caucasian Union would have a coordinating parliament and a council of presidents of the mountain republics.
The military line of resistance sees the Caucasus as a rigidly centralized, unified Islamic Caucasian state:
- the head of the Caucasian Emirate will be the emir ( amir ) of the state,
- The Majlis al-Shura of the Mujahideen is the highest parliamentary body,
- legitimacy comes from the mujahideen, not from the general population,
- territorial division into national naibs (vilayets) headed by naibs ( walis ) appointed by the emir,
- Sharia judicial system headed by the Supreme Sharia Court.
Management structure.
The supreme authority in the Caucasus Emirate today is the State Defense Committee ( Majlisul Shura). It replaced the parliament of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI), which was deemed an aberration amid the pan-Caucasian resistance and the shift in legitimacy from the population to the mujahideen. It is postulated that in peacetime, after the victory of the resistance, the State Defense Committee (SDC) will become the parliament of the mujahideen of the Caucasus.
The head of the Caucasus Emirate has a threefold status:
- Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Caucasus Emirate ,
- Amir of the State Defense Committee of the Caucasus Emirate ,
- Amir of the Caucasian Mujahideen.
The Amir of the Caucasus Emirate , as the Amir of the State Defense Committee of the Caucasus Emirate, is elected by a majority vote according to the principle of » an Amir for the Shura, not a Shura for the Amir .» During wartime, the Amir of the Islamic State has an unlimited term of office. The Majlis-ul -Shura includes the highest military leadership of the Islamists, the highest political leadership, senior judges, and the most respected scholars . The Majlis-ul -Shura has between 40 and 60 members.
The government as a collegial body currently does not exist; ministers report directly to the Emir of the Emirate. The government has been replaced by a Wazirat (literally translated from Arabic as «ministry»), and ministers are wazirs , or executive assistants. Islamic doctrine prohibits the use of the title «minister,» as all are servants of Allah until the Day of Judgment. Official information is disseminated by the Amir’s press service. Under the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, an advisory Shura of the Ulama of the Caucasus was established , later transformed into the Sharia Committee under the General Representation of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Abroad. In place of the General Representation of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Abroad, a Wekalat was established, headed by a wakil . The Wekalat is an external governing body , similar to, but not quite similar to, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; it is responsible for all matters of external relations and foreign representation. Thus, in the structure of the central civil administration of the Emirate, one can distinguish the Amir of the state, under him various services such as the press service, the Mukhabarat , then the Wazirat (the internal structure of the state) and the Wekalat (the external structure of the state).
Territorial structure.
With the beginning of the second Russian-Chechen war, the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Aslan Maskhadov, introduced a sober governance structure: the State Defense Committee of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria – the Regional Executive Directorate of the President (RIEP) of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria – a local government body.
The number of local government bodies in populated areas was determined by the population
- up to 1000 people — 5 representatives ( vekalsh ),
- from 1,000 to 3,000 — 7 representatives,
- from 3,000 to 10,000 — 9 representatives,
- from 10,000 to 50,000 — 11 representatives,
- over 50,000 — 21 representatives.
However, with the increasing level of political control in Chechnya by the regional federal Chechen authorities, represented by the Kadyrov clan, it has become impossible to maintain the public activity of opposition governing structures. Until recently, civil and military authority in the Caucasus Emirate were not separated; the front and sector commanders were simultaneously civilian leaders. Instead of local government bodies, jamaats now operate , headed by amirs and jamaat shuras , which increases the resistance’s survivability. Thus, a sober structure is in place: Majlisul Shura-GKO – front amir – sector amir heading a jamaat or group of jamaats .
With the proclamation of the Caucasus Emirate, a new territorial division was introduced. The Emirate was declared a unitary ideological state. Within the Emirate, vilayets, or provinces (translated from Arabic as «province» or «region»), were established:
- Vilayet of Dagestan,
- Vilayet Nokhchi-Cho (Ichkeria),
- Vilayet GialgIai-Cho (Ingushetia),
- Vilayet of Iriston (Ossetia),
- Vilayet Nogai Steppe,
- United Vilayet of Kabarda , Balkaria and Karachay.
At the head of the vilayet is the wali , waliy Nokhchi-Cho is temporarily the amir Caucasus Emirate . The wali has an administrative apparatus for conducting executive affairs. The wali’s deputy is the chief Sharia judge of the vilayet, who will also be the future head of the vilayet’s Sharia Court of Appeals. The formation of a shura of the vilayet is envisioned, comprising the wali , the chief Sharia judge, the emirs of the sectors (fronts), and the alims . Thus, military authority has been separated from civilian authority, but this is only formal, as the walis also serve as front commanders.
The Dagestan Vilayet was formed on the basis of the Shariat Jamaat , founded by ethnic Avar Rasul Maksharipov . The Dagestani front’s commanders at various times included: ethnic Avar Murad Lakhyalov (2003-2005), ethnic Lak Rappani Khalilov (2005-2007), and ethnic Tsakhur Ilgar. Molachiev (Abdul Majid , 2007-2008), ethnic Lak Umar Sheikhulaev ( Amir Muaz , 2008-2009), ethnic Kumyk Umlat Magomedov ( Amir Al-Bara, 2009), ethnic Avar Ibrahim Gadzhidadaev (2009-2010), ethnic Dargin Magomedali Vagabov ( Amir Seyfullah, 2010), ethnic Dargin Israfil Validzhanov ( Amir Hasan, 2010-2011), ethnic Dargin Ibrahimkhalil Daudov ( Amir Saleh , 2011-2012).
The Dagestan Vilayet is divided into the following units: northern, central, mountainous, and southern sectors. The northern sector includes the Khasavyurt , Kizlyar, Novolak , Kizilyurt , and Kazbeg jamaats . The central sector includes the Kadar , Gubden , Izberbash , Shamkhal , Sergokali , Levash , and Buynak jamaats . The mountainous sector includes the Didoy, Tsumad , Utsunkali, and Botlikh jamaats . The southern sector includes Azerbaijani jamaats operating in Tabasaran, Derbent , and the districts of southern Dagestan ( Mageramkert , Kurakh, Suleymanstal ). There are also separate Gimry , Makhachkala, and Caspian jamaats .
The Galgaiche Vilayet (Ingushetia) encompasses the Republic of Ingushetia and the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. It is noteworthy that until May 11, 2009, an independent entity, the Iriston Vilayet, existed within North Ossetia-Alania, but following an order from Dokku Umarov, it was annexed to the Galgaiche Vilayet. The predecessor of the Galgaiche Vilayet can be considered the Ingush sector of the Caucasus Front, created in 2004 by Ilyas Gorchkhanov . After the death of Ilyas Gorchkhanov in 2005, the Ingush Front was led by former traffic police inspector Ali Taziyev ( Amir Magas), who was captured and detained by FSB forces in 2010. His replacement, Isa Khashulgov, suffered the same fate.
The United Vilayet of Kabarda , Balkaria, and Karachay is a vilayet operating in the republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. Its predecessor, the Karachay Vilayet , was formed in the 1990s by ethnic Circassians and Karachay-Balkars trained in the Pankisi Gorge. jamaat (leaders Adam Semenov, Ramazan Borlakov , Achimez Gochiyaev and Ruslan Khubiev ), and the jamaat Yarmuk ( leaders Muslim Atayev , Rustam Bekanov, Artur Mukozhev ). After the declaration of the Caucasus Emirate , the united vilayet of Kabarda , Balkaria and Karachay was headed by the ethnic Circassian Anzor Astemirov ( Amir Seyfullah ). He also served as qadi of the Caucasus Emirate . After his death in 2010, the vilayet was headed by ethnic Karachay-Balkar Asker Dzhapuyev (Abdullah, 2010-2011). The subsequent succession of emirs of the vilayet is as follows: ethnic Circassian Alim Zankishiyev ( Ubeydullah , 2011-2012), ethnic Karachay-Balkar Timur Tatchayev (2012). A visible rotation of Circassian and Karachay-Balkar emirs should be conditioned by maintaining ethnic balance in the vilayet.
jamaats take place .
Judicial system.
It should be noted that according to Islamic doctrine, the Sharia judicial system looks like this:
- The Supreme Judicial Shura, headed by the head of state, appoints judges and is the highest appellate court for the most important cases.
- The Sharia court system is the Supreme Sharia Court, then regional appellate courts (against decisions of district courts), district qadi courts
- The system of administrative tribunals, in Islam, law is divided into private (relations between citizens) and relations with the state (public), that is, issues of public law are dealt with by the system of administrative tribunals by analogy with the general system of courts,
- Separate Labor Court (employee-employer relations),
- Separate court for disputes involving foreigners and non-Muslims .
The judicial system of the Caucasus Emirate is headed by the Court and Fatwa Committee , headed by the Committee Chairman. Committee members are elected by the State Committee of the Caucasus Emirate for an indefinite term. It is easy to see that the formation of the Committee, oddly enough, echoes the Western tradition of the Supreme Council of Magistracy. However, a Supreme Judicial Council also exists, for example, in Saudi Arabia. The Committee includes members of the Supreme Sharia Court, district qadis, and alims . In the future, it should include members of the Supreme Sharia Court, chairmen of the Sharia Courts of Appeal of the provinces (chief Sharia judges of the provinces), and the most respected alims (experts, sheikhs). The Chairman of the Court and Fatwa Committee is the Chairman of the Supreme Sharia Court.
Court and Fatwa Committee :
- is authorized to issue fatwas in court cases, that is, to interpret Sharia norms in law enforcement practice,
- and appoint qadis (judges) of all levels of the judicial system of the Caucasus Emirate .
The Supreme Sharia Court operates within the Military Collegium or the Supreme Military Sharia Tribunal, as well as the civil and criminal collegiums. In reality, only the Military Collegium operates during wartime. There are no Sharia courts at the front level. The Sharia court ( makhkamat ) operates at the sector level ( republics within the Caucasus Front and districts within the fronts in Chechnya and Dagestan) and jamaat detachments .
The Emirate’s Sharia judicial system operates under wartime conditions, and therefore Sharia courts routinely impose death sentences on federal forces. Its own Sharia legislation is poorly developed; criminal law is governed by the 1997 Criminal Code of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which is modeled on the Sudanese Criminal Code. Procedural legislation is largely borrowed from Russian law. When interpreting legal norms, the opinions of authoritative mujtahids (scholars) of the Shafi’i school of thought (the dominant Islamic school of law in the Caucasus) are directly applied. A further step in the development of the Emirate’s Sharia judicial system could be the introduction of vilayet appellate courts. Thus, the Sharia judicial system of the Caucasus Emirate would then look as follows:
- The Court and Fatwa Committee ( in the future, the Sharia Judicial Shura),
- The Supreme Sharia Court – cases on the most complex issues and those of public significance,
- The Sharia Court of Appeal of the Wilayat,
- Sharia court of the district, qadi’s court.
At this stage, the wali of the vilayet appoints the chief Sharia judge—the deputy wali . The amir-judge, in turn, appoints district qadis and hears appeals against the qadis’ decisions. This measure is considered temporary while the transition to the full-scale development of a Sharia judicial system is underway. The introduction of administrative tribunals and the development of a system of administrative courts are not planned for the coming years.
Conclusion.
This article thus provides a basic understanding of the state-building efforts and evolution of a terrorist jihadist state such as the Caucasus Emirate. The evolution of the state
