Memorial to the Victims of the Deportation of 1944

The Memorial to the Victims of the Deportation of 1944 (Chechen: 1944 шарахь дIабохийначеран хIоллам, Russian: Мемориал жертвам депортации 1944 года) was a Chechen memorial in the center of Grozny, capital of Chechnya, opened in 1992[2] to commemorate the Chechen victims of the Stalinist regime during and following their forced relocation to Central Asia in February 1944. The monument was sculpted by Chechen sculptor Darchi Khaskhanov.[3]

Postcard with the image of the Memorial. The inscription on the wall means: "We will not weep! We will not break! We will not forget!" ("Духур дац! Доьлхур дац! Диц дийр дац!")[1]

Partially destroyed by bombing of the Russian army during the periods 1994–1996 and 1999–2000, the memorial complex was again defaced in an attempt to demolish it conducted in 2008 by the authorities. At the time, the uproar of human rights defenders at this "barbarism"[4] and "vandalism"[5] saved "the only really Chechen monument of the city"[6] from the complete demolition, although, inevitably regarded as a symbol of independence, it was then enclosed by a fence, so that nothing was indicating to the uninitiated that a memorial or anything else was out there somewhere.

However, in February 2014, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the deportation of the Chechen people, the memorial was finally and secretly dismantled "by order from above".[7][8] Tombstones which were an integral part of the composition were found planted on the Akhmad Kadyrov Place next to granite steles honoring the losses of the local pro-Russian power.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ "Чеченские власти демонтируют Мемориал памяти жертв депортации в Грозном". Кавказский Узел. 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  2. ^ "Мемориал жертвам депортации чеченцев и ингушей в 1944 г." Сахаровский центр (in Russian). Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Мемориал в Грозном: ликвидация памяти чеченского народа". BBC.
  4. ^ "В Чечне демонтируют Мемориал памяти жертв депортации 1944 года". Кавказский узел (in Russian). 29 May 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  5. ^ Муслим Ибрагимов (4 April 2012). "В столице Чечни обнаружены надмогильные плиты, использованные в качестве фундамента". Кавказский узел (in Russian). Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  6. ^ (in French) Isabelle Astigarraga, Tchétchénie : Un peuple sacrifié, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2000, p. 260.
  7. ^ Алексей Андреев (18 February 2014). "Память не слышит приказы сверху". Слово без границ (in Russian). Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  8. ^ Елена Снежная (15 February 2014). "В Грозном убирают Мемориал памяти жертв сталинской депортации". ЮГ (in Russian). Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  9. ^ Муслим Ибрагимов; Александр Иванов (14 February 2014). "Чеченские власти демонтируют Мемориал памяти жертв депортации в Грозном". Кавказский узел (in Russian). Retrieved 19 July 2019.