How To Spot A Chechen

eXile Classic / April 19, 2013

By Aslanbek Dadaev

This article was first published in The eXile on August 10, 2007.

I am one of 100,000 Chechens in Moscow. There are another 30,000 Ingush living here. Together, we belong to the “Vainakh” ethnolinguistic group and make up roughly one per cent of Moscow’s population.

Yet very few Muscovites have any idea what we look like, or what makes us different from other “chernozhopye” (“black-asses,” a pejorative used by Russians when referring to peoples from the Northern and Southern Caucasus, as well as those from Central Asia).

With a total population of 1.5 million, Vainakhs form one percent of Russia’s total population of 145 million, and so would seem a natural presence in the capital. Still, a lot of people think, “What the fuck are they doing here! Let them go back to their Chechnya and die under our bombs!”

Who is that average, one-in-a-hundred Vainakh lurking among you, and how can you spot him or her? I will help you answer that question. Because it’s important that you should be able to spot in a crowd the very species that’s survived a grinding 15-year war.

The truth is there is no average when we talk about Chechens. Not that I mean each Chechen is so unique, or that the very word “average” grates on our ears. It’s just that Chechens are, well, “different.” Different from each other and different from you. And long live different. Fuck average.

In the late 1990s and the early 2000s, when the level of persecution and harassment against Vainakhs was particularly high, many Vainakhs living in Moscow and other Russian cities did their best not to look Vainakh – to blend in. They wore “futsinsky” clothing (from the word “futsin,” meaning innocent and stupid weakling), practiced the difficult-to-imitate gait of a typical botanik, (“walks like botanik,” meaning a guy who has an unassertive, non-proud and non-aggressive walk and stance – what you call a “twerp”), purchased fake prescription glasses, and did a lot of other things to fool the militsia’s Vainakh-radar. And you know what? They soon gave up. It almost never worked against Petrovka 38’s operatives, who knew their Vainakhs well. The reason was simple: Chechen pride always remained in their eyes, in their expressions, and in their every move.

I remember being stopped once in a bank in the center of Moscow in 1997 by a group of six police operatives. I’m fair-complexioned; at the time I had a Belarusian passport; and I speak Russian without an accent. They took a quick look at me and my passport, asked a couple of questions, and were about to leave me alone when one operative, who was clearly the most experienced with Chechens, almost screamed, “Guys, don’t let him go! Let’s bring him to Petrovka and study him and his docs well! I’ve got a hunch that he is a Chechen – look in his eyes! Look in his cold insolent eyes! It’s a purely Chechen type of expression!”

Unfortunately for him, I was too hard a target. I shouted back in my special “nachalnichesky” (big boss) deep-voiced bass-tone, which I use on special occasions like these. “Are you fucking crazy!? I will turn your lives into misery, idiots!” And they slinked off.

But that taught me a good lesson. We are very easy to spot, indeed. One just needs to grasp the profound pride in our eyes, because we cannot get rid of it, not like we can change our clothing or the way we walk. We can’t hide, not even behind fake prescription glasses.

This pride is present in the way we walk and in the way we talk, especially in the way we look; but mostly in the way we live and understand the universe. This makes us a nation and this holds us together.

Ours is not a haughty pride, not the pride of a medieval Spanish Baron. It’s the pride of a free man, of one who has earned that pride and is continuing to earn it. And every generation of our ancestors has done so by their blood and sweat. It’s not easy to describe, but once you spot and study the outward manifestations of Chechen pride, you will be able to spot us without doing headcounts or asking for passports. It’s the kind of pride that only dies with its bearer. It’s not paraded about arrogantly, but you always feel it. It’s totally different from the display of pride you find in peoples from other southern nations, including the Caucasus. The Vainakhs’ pride is cold, not boastful and full of vanity. It’s not for show; it’s kept inside.

What are we proud of? Chechens are one of the most culturally self-sufficient nations in the world. Some may get closer to other peoples’ cultures and even enjoy it, but the complex Chechen system of moral codes doesn’t really allow for any alien ideas and values. The Chechen perception of the world is dominated by a philosophical category of beauty known as hozal. Everything we do is judged according to this standard. If you record even a very casual conversation between Vainakhs (any Vainakhs) in their language, do a word-for-word translation, and put it on paper, you will be shocked at the number of words which have “beauty” as the root-word. Being morally subdued or broken is the ugliest thing a Vainakh can think of. And pride in oneself is the most beautiful thing that any Vainakh can ever achieve.

Think you can spot a Vainakh? Take this photo. This whole crew shown above is made up of Chechens. But do they look like they all belong to the same tiny ethnic group? That’s where your vigilance is required. As my babushka would say: “Nothing worth doing is easy in this world!” Or as a Chechen saying goes: “It’s a hard work to be a Vainakh.” So if it’s hard work to be a Chechen, why should it be easy for you to be able to recognize one?

These crafty Chechen females are camouflaging themselves as innocent graduating students from a Russian vocational school. Even the one at the far end would easily pass for, let’s say, an Armenian. But they are all Chechens, believe me. Scared yet?

And this Chechen girl? If you were a Moscow metro policeman, would you approach her and demand to see her passport? I always say that the best investment in security is through public education.

How about this guy? If you were a Russian skinheads or soccer hooligan, would you attack him with metal pipes from behind? No, you’d walk right past him, totally ignorant that you’d just missed a good opportunity.

How to tell these Chechen gopniki apart from other black-assed gopniks?

The body language and the expression can be different, depending on background and education but pride exudes from every Vainakh, as it exudes from these two masons from rural Chechnya.

I am pretty sure that you would suspect this group of guys. But how do you really know that they are Chechens, and not, let’s say, Georgians, or Armenians?

And what about this Ruslan Baisarov-type?

This article was first published in The eXile on August 10, 2007.

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67 Comments

Add your own

1. Terry Washington | April 20th, 2013 at 4:45 am
Hmm- are you CERTAIN that the men and women in these photos are REALLY Chechen – they seem so fair skinned that they could almost “pass” for Russians, Ukrainians or even Poles!( Full disclosure here: I tend to go by what I see on the media, I was surprised to come across blonde Irish women because I though they were all dark!)
Terry
2. Stepan | April 20th, 2013 at 12:53 pm
I am russian from Moscow – fuck all muslim chechen, they are silly monkeys.
THE A.E.C. RESPONDS:
So you had your asses handed to you by “silly monkeys”?
3. joe | April 22nd, 2013 at 2:48 am
Fuck yeah, comments are back. You should re-post the War Nerd about the battle of Grozny where a Russian tank column waltzed right into a spanking machine of Chechen rpgs.
Here it is:
http://exiledonline.com/war-nerd-whats-a-chechen/
Here is another interesting article:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/study-majority-of-americans-not-informed-enough-to,32124/
4. George | April 22nd, 2013 at 7:09 am
Chechens deserve their freedom. The problem is, that USA is playing against Russia with every nation around. If leaving Chechnia to America is too dangerous to Russia (and it is) – than the Russians prefer to deal with a lesser trouble, the Chechnia itself.
When Russians left Poland or Czecho-Slovakia (now two different countries) at the beginning of 1990-ties, than USA soon filled the place. Now the NATO or American rockets or radars protrude toward Russia.
But no Russian rockets or radars, so far, in Mexico or Canada. Not even in Venezuela or Cuba.
USA didn’t keep its promises after retracting of the Soviets from East Germany and several other countries. That creates the problem today for Chechnia. Russia will not retreat from Causassus, to weaken further itself.
I understand this.
I am from Poland, a country formerly Chechen-like.
It is interesting to observe the American occupation of Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, presence in dozen other countries (over 200 bases, they say…). Never left. Always ready to deploy MORE troops if only any of those countries will came to the stupid idea of removing the bases. But they won’t, thee political systems there is corroded. Corrupt. Like the Polish one – allowing for tortures on the Polish soil. And this crime nullified the Katyn, Sobibór, Smoleńsk massacres by the Soviet KGB in 1941 and later.
George
5. Fissile | April 22nd, 2013 at 12:17 pm
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US has engage in a covert policy of destabilizing Russia. The “oligarchs” would not have been able strip mine the economy of Russia without the help of Washington and London. Most of the so called “militant” separatists in Russia receive CIA backing….money, weapons but most importantly, intelligence.
The most vicious and murderous of this group have been the Chechens, and initially they were the darlings of the CIA. The Chechens were motivated by revenge. During WWII Stalin had them all deported to Siberia for collaborating with the Nazis. Only in the 1950s were they allowed to return to their homes. Since then they have harbored a deep resentment against the Russians. The CIA took advantage of this, and helped them plot an “insurrection” against Russia which resulted in a the First Chechen War. The Chechens were really tops in slitting the throats of Russian grandmothers, and raping Russian school kids, and this gave guys like Dick Cheney a stiffy, but there was a problem. The Chechens are Muslims, and this inserted a wildcard into the game. So the same Chechens who the US media/gov dubbed “freedom fighters”, when they were blowing up subways in Moscow, began turning up as Jihadists in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The CIA tried to find replacement proxies in the Georgians. The Georgians were also from the Caucus Mountains, and they hated the Russians, but the Georgians were nominally Christian. What’s not to like? A few years ago, the CIA instigated a war between the Russians and Georgians, and the Georgians promptly got stomped. No one has heard a peep out of them since. Oh well, so much for that idea. Back to the Chechens. In 2011 the Chechens managed to bomb the airport in Moscow. Apparently the CIA was able to get them focused again.
Well, Pooty-Poot had enough. Yes he could air-fuel bomb a dozen Chechen villages in retaliation, but that is not his real problem, his real problem is the CIA and Murica. Since then the Russians have been very carefully infiltrating Chechen terror cells. Eventually, the same kind of human bomb nitwit that the CIA was using to blow up Moscow waltzed into one of these Russian controlled “Chechen” camps. From there on out, it was easy to convince this Chechen/Murican that US of Murica was the Great Satan. “Here’s some money, training and map of greater Boston. Soon you be in paradise with 72 virgins!”
To sum up: Boston is Putin’s payback.
6. VVV | April 23rd, 2013 at 5:43 am
I’m sorry, George, but your post doesn’t really add up. There are American troops in the countries you mentioned, large because either 1) those countries do not want to pay for their own defense; or 2) if those countries DID build up their own armies it would trigger regional arms race (i.e., Japan and China). To suggest that these are occupying forces — no different from US forces in Afghanistan — is nonsense. (Though, like many Americans, I would like to stop paying for our troops to serve as a tripwire defense for other prosperous countries.) And while I agree that the US torturing suspected jihadis on Polish soil is horrible, to suggest that it “nullifies” Soviet massacres of hundreds of thousands of Poles is a bizarre thing to say.
7. zoner | April 25th, 2013 at 5:26 am
To be honest, those guys in the picture all look like they’re from the same ethnic group. I do have trouble distinguishing between different brands of white people, though.
8. tzar | April 25th, 2013 at 10:09 am
It’s easy to recognize Chechen cunts : just tell their boyfriends to 1. undress the bitch for you and 2.go get a beer, and they answer with “Yes Massa Sir”
9. Paulie Buttafucco | April 25th, 2013 at 11:26 pm
“During WWII Stalin had them all deported to Siberia for collaborating with the Nazis.”
Kazakhstan.
Read up on a little wide spot in the road called “KHAIBAK.” Then, if you have Google Earth, find it. It’s still there, but a little difficult to identify. After Stalin and his butt boy Beria finished with it (and fried its citizens for suspected collaboration with Adolf’s ground pounders), all that was left were a few building foundations, which are clearly visible on G-Earth. “That one’s a house. And that one’s a barn. Looky, izzat a KFC outlet? Noooooo. Wasn’t no KFC in 1944. Oh . . . indigenous manufacturing? Right over there. They make 5-Year Plan pressure cookers.”
10. Andy | April 26th, 2013 at 8:19 pm
I only have one question – why do you choose to live in Moscow?
11. Egor Gaidar | April 30th, 2013 at 3:34 pm
The source of Chechen pride escapes me. These people can hardly do a google search on a computer, never had any literature, music, science to speak of. Chechens dislike any work that involves producing anything other than drugs. so what are they proud of?
12. Kurt Reckling | May 4th, 2013 at 1:08 pm
You may hate me because I like russian culture and I don’t like the arabian/turkish hordes that screw Germany, but because russian culture I discovered the amazing world of chechens and another Caucasians. This description… Is very power-nietzschean. I loved it. A pride without vanity, an ancient culture, woah, amazing. Greeks, Chechens, Norseman, are to me, the most interesting and cultural European peoples of Europe. Cheers from Germany.
13. DtD | May 6th, 2013 at 8:39 am
Hey, 12. Norsemen? Seriously? Ahahahahaha
I’m an American of Swedish/Norwegian descent that spent alot of time over there growing up, and I can tell you that the whole damn place is full of pussies.
The only people with any balls up there are the black metal kids. And they aren’t all that different from badass kids in any other country.
Don’t get me wrong, I am sure they have it in them. But they are so terrified of the idea of nationalism and all that, at least form my experience. . .
Also, a German getting a boner off of Scandinavian mythology and culture? Didn’t you guys already try that once?
Someone with a better sense of history remind me how that turned out, please. I think it had something to do with invading Russia and getting bitchslapped, but could be wrong.
14. Rehmat | May 8th, 2013 at 3:57 am
“Chechnya sides more with Turkey-Israel, though Tehran is still hoping to win it over. (In the crazy-quilt pattern of these matters, a leading Chechen figure, Khoj-Ahmed Noukhaev, has asserted that his sympathies are “with the small Jewish nation” against the Arabs; and Chechnya’s defense minister happens to be a Jordanian national and former military officer),” wrote one of the top Jewish Islamophobe Dr. Daniel Pipes in November 1998.
http://rehmat1.com/2010/12/04/chechnya-the-israeli-connection/
15. Saman | May 17th, 2013 at 2:20 am
I’m Iranian/Persian, I got into a fight with a chechen and punched him directley in his mouth and a piece of his teeth jammed into my knuckles, he was bleeding all over the place yet was still coming at me. Chechens are some crazy ars people.
They remind me of the ancient Iranic tribes who used to live in the central asian steppes.. Iranic People like the Scythians and ancient Persians etc.. very warlike yet peaceful people.
16. Chechen | June 20th, 2013 at 3:24 am
All you bastards and russian (I refuse to type it with capitals, slaves are lowlives) subhumans who comments all kind of bullshit here – fuck you. Why we are proud? Because we love freedom and have never submitted to any nation who came to Caucasus to enslave us. We don’t have culture? Either you’re stupid or just liar – just look at the architecture, arts, language and culture of the Chechen people. It’s rich and it’s ancient. And to iranian cunt over here – yeah well, anyone can get his ass kicked, Chechens aren’t superhumans, but they way you type sounds more that you just had a dream. Once Islamic nations rise- first thing we will do is to wipe off the earth all you shit/shite/shiite/fuckever it’s spelled.
17. Фёдор | June 20th, 2013 at 9:20 pm
Let them go home to feed the sheep!!!!
18. jantarmantar | July 30th, 2013 at 8:20 pm
Lol French look like him = poor guy?
Looks like one angry writer had his gf get stolen away by a Frenchman again 😉
19. crazy | August 23rd, 2013 at 8:47 am
Perhaps blowing up flights, buildings killing unarmed school children, passenger and other civilians, raping women are also the cause of chechen Pride!!
20. Chechen | September 18th, 2013 at 5:22 pm
To that Tzar piece of shit. Say to that to mine or any other Chechens face and see what happens to you fucking russian scum. I’d kill you in cold blood if you would dare say a word.
21. Zurab | October 7th, 2013 at 8:12 am
I Georgians living in Russia . This article made me laugh . I know many Chechens. I was also born in the Caucasus . In this article, a lot of hype and boasting. Chechens love to show off. But it is actually not the case.
Among the Chechens have good people , but they are few. Since ancient times, the Chechens are known as bandits . The main occupation of their tribe are attacks on Georgia and neighboring nations . Plow the land and work with them was considered a disgrace . Men have been taught from childhood to be warriors . They only knew how to fight. Therefore, they have never had the great artists , musicians and scientists. Even the society was based on the military system . The Chechen nation has “tukhums”. ” Tukums consist of” tayps . ” ” Tayps “consist of families. Chechens do not recognize nor any laws other than sharia and adats . Adat laws are ancient peoples of the Caucasus . Example vendetta . Still exist tayps and tuhumov . Still exist there is a blood feud . girls from Chechnya prohibited from marrying people of other nations. If Chechen girl is friends with Russian guy, Georgian, German or Kazakh , she is killed or driven out of the tribe.
Children of the exiled Chechen woman called prohibited . Chechens live by the laws of the barbarians.
Many modern Chechens working in the crime. Extortion. Trafficking in human beings . The arms trade . The drug trade . Contract killings . Therefore, the police treated them more closely.
We all remember the Chechens seized Dagestani women and children Budeonovsk . The Chechens were beheaded European ambassadors . The Chechens attacked Dagestan . The Chechens seized a theater in Moscow. Remember metro bombings . The explosions at the airport. Explosions in Volgodonsk. Explosion in Boston in the United States. Chechens killed many innocent people . Chechens killed many women and children . Therefore, other nations do not like the Chechens.
Of course, not all Chechens are terrorists . There Chechen businessmen , farmers, and so on. But the terrorists have tarnished the face of the Chechen people . And the police in Russia , the U.S., Georgia and Poland inspect the Chechens , not because the evil police . Police stick to the Chechens because there are reasons . It is to be understood .
If the Chechens want a good relationship to him, let him change. Let be given the terrorists. In tuhumov everyone knows where they are, but are silent. Let Chechens refuse adats and of Sharia law. Let Chechens leave the crime. Stop slaughter sheep on the streets during Ramadan. Stop shooting at weddings. Let the will of European civilization . Then we’ll feel good about the Chechens.
22. oweu | November 9th, 2013 at 5:06 am
There used to be another kind of very “proud” people in that region and they also fought for their “freedom” against Russians once. The Circassians.
23. Erik | December 31st, 2013 at 4:05 pm
Haha. Proud? Of what? Goatfckng? Killing russian children? Chechen extremists sure seem like the worst scum on on the planet. Terrorist-jihad-rapist-criminal-drugdealer filth. Please stay in your shithole country.
24. Mr Pakistan | January 1st, 2014 at 4:05 pm
I think all russians are not supporting the invasion of chechan land, for god sake leave chechan alone, Irony with russian people is most of the time russians love to kill each other, good example when stalin purged russia with death of 20-30 million killing after WW2, gosh for what communism hah.. my friends in this chat room please respect each other and there limits we have no right to invade some country and dictate them what to do, too many wars create too many problems so dont complain if you see chechan walking down moscow subway and living down in your neighbour, question is why your govt (russian forces at that time ) invaded chechan country why …look at the distruction caused by russian in chechan land dont you see ? you only see retaliations caused by stupid terror groups poor kids lost lives in school due to mad action of chechan mad men. my point is every action have a re-action some time re-action is so dirty we forget about action. no chechan wants to leave his country and live in foreign land, give them freedom and everything will be fine. Russian people should blame war for refugees in russia instead of refugees any way its my opinion and i stick to that.
to irani boy who mentioned he punched chechan man 🙂 really this irani man is from iran but he have little brain, dear dont think on national bases when you fight with someone lol, if i got punched by mexican does it mean all maxican hates pakistani no. so please think wise. finally i know all russians are not same and now most of the people love peace and respect. enjoy life dont think with narrow mind we are all same,difference of skin is to make this world more beautiful.
25. Roman Melnychuk | January 7th, 2014 at 2:27 am
While I could give a fuck about Chechens, I don’t like them.. but would not attack them.. in fact I would like their help inn ridding Ukraine of the ZIONIST pieces of shit in our land. Russians are my biggest enemies.. I don’t like Katsapy in my land at all.
Ukraine is for Ukrainians only ! Zionists, Gays, Russians.. GET THE FUCK OUT!!! SLAVA UKRAYINI ! HEROYAM SLAVA !! SLAVA BILIJ RASI!
26. Ramzan | February 21st, 2014 at 3:57 pm
It’s interesting to see so many negative comments. Many argue about terrorism and terrorist attacks. Pride of Chechen nation is not in killing innocents. Innocent people die in wars. That’s a sad consequence of wars. Pride of Chechen nation consists in the fact that they never stopped fighting such a brutal, inhuman, cannibalistic empire of slaves who love being slaves and feel that everyone around them must be and do the same. Russia will never be welcome in Chechnya. Yes we slaughtered Russians. And we will continue until the last Russian pig snout has left our country. That’s a natural reaction – anybody will take same actions toward invaders.
Chechnya is home of Chechens, Russian pigs have nothing to do there. As for the negative comments here – keep barking. It really doesn’t bother us that much.
27. Rayana | March 12th, 2014 at 11:11 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYuxqNG3Jjg please check it out and then judge us please i need this so people know what is happening to us!!!!!!Why is everyone against us before you judge find all the facts and then say bad stuff.we are not terrorist.Please look up every fact.An yes i am chechen got a problem then tell me cause i don’t care what you and the others think but i do care for my country and seeing how much Russians killed us don’t you feel sorry for us.You judge without getting facts right.
28. Borz | March 31st, 2014 at 8:56 pm
If you don’t know something, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
Chechen people have many artists, musicians, scientists, writers, but if all your interest in Chechens are just to insult them, how can you know them? You don’t want to know anything real about Chechens, that’s why you openly say that we don’t have any culture… You just don’t want to know about it, and that’s not our fault, leave your hatred to yourselves.
Yes we have a war-like culture in some ways, but that can be understood if you look at where Chechnya is situated, Caucasus throughout the history was a magnet for all kinds of enemy armies who tried to conquer those lands( Mongols, Tamerlane, Persians,Turks, Arabs, Russians and etc) and Chechen people often was on edge of extinction, and had to protect itself.
And about those hostage takings, you all like to talk about how bad chechens took hostages in Dagestan, or Ossetia, but why nobody talks about how Russian forces took our women and children in hostages, when the got surrounded by our forces? For example in village Shatoy Ulyanovsky specnaz did such things. And that was a common thing in chechen wars, our people and our country was devastated and destroyed for only one reason, that we wanted to live freely, in our own state. And whole world kept silent as thousands of civillians was murdered, bombed, terrorised by Russian war machine. So now you think you have any moral right to judge our people? Since when?)
29. Nima | April 8th, 2014 at 8:52 am
I am an Iranian man and I hate chechen people. I don’t capitalize it when I write chechen because they’re nothing but trash.
Let me break it down for you. The author says chechens are full of pride. I say they are full of crap. I am an Iranian and Iranian people are peaceful and they mind their own business. This doesn’t mean we’re cowards; on the contrary, I can challenge any chechen man my size and the fight will end with the chechen lying on the ground unconscious. We Iranians are peaceful and we love peace a lot. Yet we have more right to be proud. Why, we have ancient kingdoms, we have a very deep-rooted culture, we have a very rich literature, we have one of the best cinema, cuisine, one of the best music, one of the best-looking people. What right do chechens have to be proud? They are destructive and all they know about is fight like filthy low-life dogs. If you’re that able, that strong, why don’t you try to actually build something, not destroy?
I don’t know why I hate chechens more, for they’re scums or that I love the Russians?
Well, whomever chechen has objection to this, don’t bother to comment back, just come to Babol, Mazandaran and ask for me from any shop in the city center, and then I’ll show you who’s the boss.
Hey, an advice: Just be simple, don’t go brat about how badass you are. Being simple and peaceful is the best.
30. Bers | May 16th, 2014 at 5:48 am
Ha ha. You guys are so funny. Do we Chechens trouble you that much? We are just a million out of the 7 billlion world population.
A lot of things have been said, but I would like to point out a couple of points about our Chehen mentality, so some of you may avoid getting trapped in the web of misconceptions.
– Chechens are very enthnocentric, yet are not nationalist or racist.
This is just the reality on the ground. We do avoid mixed intermarriagess, but there are exceptions. Understandably, it’s hard to grasp for someone who comes from a multicultural and multiethnic society such as USA.
We are stuck at the national preservation stage, which Japan has undergone after WW2.
This is due to constant genocides under various pretexts, throughout history.
Last war with Russia and international terrorist infiltrators has reduced our population by 20%. it’s a fact.
– Yes, we are proud, but so should every human being be. It’s a normal state of mind of a healthy human being.
We reject slavery, and we always did. Not just last 200 years like most of the nations do. it’s a fact.
– We are democratic at the very core. We reject the notion that someone is superior to another. We don’t kneel, we don’t beg. Never had kings or masters. Parlamentatism was always a form of government for last 1000 years at the very least. it’s a fact.
I could go on about the things we are proud of, but I would like to end this here with an example.
The guy from Mazandaran wants to challenge any Chechen with HIS SIZE and complection. That is the difference between you and I.
It would be a shame for a Chechen/Vainakh/Caucasian to put such a condition.
The bigger you are, the louder will be the sound of your dropping body 🙂
Our motto is: We are best friends and worst enemies.
You decide which side you want to approach us from.
Come free and go free. (we use these words for greetings for us long as we exist.)
Arsssssa!
–
31. Gregor | May 24th, 2014 at 2:07 am
i kiss the feet of chechen woman and apologize for russian agressions
32. sam | June 29th, 2014 at 10:24 am
Hey, Im a Persian guy from mazandaran aswell and I actually like chechens. Theyre badass people.
33. Mark | September 2nd, 2014 at 11:23 pm
Man,
Chechen girls hot. Didn’t expect it. Well done, Aslan!
34. fukusa | November 27th, 2014 at 3:07 pm
Why would I be scared of chechens?
35. Brian | December 14th, 2014 at 6:02 pm
If anyone is doubting, the comments on this article are quite tame compared to what you might hear in the Ukraine or Muscovite area. Ukrainians are bored, fantasize about a glorious past, and wallowing in self-pity. I am sad that Stalin and Hitler left such a stamp on Ukrainians that they would happily imagine the lovely ladies and gallant lads of Chechnya dead…look at pictures of them and then imagine them blown up…does that excite you? Did you really think Caucasian people are black? In most of the world it is synonymous with white people. I don’t expect Ukrainians to get over their dislike of dark skin overnight…but it’s not just thugs talking on streets, it’s government creeps saying this crap on the radio. Ukraine will be a laughing stock. Now, who is the best Ukrainian of recent times? Nestor Malkno, of course. I had some great-grandparents who joined with him… was well-known that his family were Ruthenian kholops who’d escaped by Osi slavers and joined the Malkh teip but ended up much later as slaves of a Mennonite clan. He couldn’t speak much but Ukrainian and some Yiddish but like Tolstoy his idea of freedom, equality, self rule, honor, generosity…it was inspired by the way Nakh people lived for thousands of years, whether Muslim or not. He was your best chance against the Tsarists and Communists and he was a great admirer of Chechnya, so maybe you shouldn’t go along with what your tyrants want and hey…all shall prosper.
36. Noxcho | March 22nd, 2015 at 2:30 pm
Most of the negative comments I read here came from either neighbouring Georgians, or the bit more down south wards Farsis. Both were dominated and broken by CHECHENS ovwr the years. Leaving a crappy comment for others to read is just another way for you guys to vent out and maybe find comfort in others sharing your misery.
the thruth is this, all nations have pride, but for us CHECHENS, we have our timelss traditions that combined with Islamic teachings that we hold on to very dearly, giving us our own identity and uniqness. I can go around insulting, bad mouthing those who offend us but whathow different does that make me from you!
Piece of advice, you have a fude with a CHECHEN? Well either go a head confront, or just put ur head down and move on.
37. Guz Wun | April 24th, 2015 at 1:32 am
Girls in the pictures, very fuckin’ beautiful!
38. Skeptical | May 18th, 2015 at 9:41 am
I want to believe Chechens are proud and freedom loving. But if this is the case, why do they tolerate being a fiefdom of Putin, with a murderous boy tyrant like Kadyrov as their dictator? Is this truky their concept of freedom and democracy–to be ruled over by the whims of an ignorant populist? People like to criticize the USA for all sorts of reasons, but I will tell you one thing- -we would never tolerate a non democratic leader staying in power for more than his term limit. When our authorities abuse power, they pay the price. You cannot have freedom when you accept some feudalistic leader and their ambiguous sense of justice.
39. Anwar Hussain | July 23rd, 2015 at 4:31 am
Assalamualaikum to the Muslim Vainakhs, It’s an amusement to see such unique culture. How did I encounter this topic?
I was browsing on youtube and saw this Chechen wedding entourage with luxury cars and shoots in the air, plus the burnmarks left from their cars. I was thinking to myself that I need to do more research via google and i’ve learnt few things about lezginka, tukhums, teips.
Really appreciate if I could get in touch with a fellow Chechen to explain few questions that I have personally.
Greetings from Malaysia
40. Bob | July 27th, 2015 at 8:27 am
Fuck all Chechens – ginger bearded Islamist murderers of Christians in Syria. Christian Syrians hate fucking muslim dog Chechens, and the Chechen’s time will end soon enough.
Then again, I’m not going to do anything about it because Chechens are too bad-assed for my anonotroll ass. Oh, and thank you AES for adding this direct thought from my brain to this comment, otherwise I’d never have had the guts to post it.
41. Khaldoun | September 21st, 2015 at 1:31 pm
I dont care what those russians or muslim haters say..chechens..its not what we are…its who we are…
At least we lived on this planet long long ago..dear russians..do you really know who named you that?
Vikings used to sail across and takr their men and ensalve them and take them back to Scandinavia and named them roose im not sure of what or how it is pronounced but…russians…please…you do shiver when you meet a chechen..period!!
Check the link below..
http://fondationprincessedecroy.morkhoven.org/001_Les_plus_grands_heros_de_la_Grece_antique_sont_tchetchenes___en.htm
42. Khaldoun | September 21st, 2015 at 1:55 pm
Ramzan, rayana, borz, bers…
Dail raiza helil shun. Marshal du shun..hayyy hayyytttt noxchi..dukx dahel vai
A georgian guy said once to me, georgia is heart of kavkaz and chechnya is swird of kavkaz, dear georgian guy who lives in moscow and know some chechens…can you say that to them?
Will i change my mind of all what i said…fuck you all haters..we are chechens and there is nothing you can do to us because yes we will break your fucking multi ethical group skull..fuck you russians..georgians…persian shiite and ALL HATERS!!! WE have defeated the strongest army in the world and kicked them outta our country…
Go and whine about chechens did this and did that…who gives a fuck about people who are sitting behind the screen and saying what they think…tttffffoooo what a lowlife subhumen beings you are
And btw…Caucasians are not black…all white people are named after us because white people came from caucasus…want to prove me wrong…go study history first
43. Arthur | September 29th, 2015 at 10:31 pm
Anwar Hussayn, saya orang Cecen dan saya boleh cakap bahasa Melayu tetapi saya sudah lajar bahasa ini dari buku-buku, nama saya arthur umurnya tiga empat tiga, tinggal di republik cecenia sekarang dengan ibu saya.
PS (the message to the Chechen nation’s enemies)
I am Chechen. I see so much hatred towards our nation. I have something to tell the Internet-RAMBOS: your courage and braveness is limited by the internet space, beyond which it end up, alas. They post bullshit like “the chechens will all get annihilated, they will stop existing soon”. We were, we are and we will be – the bitter truth you have to accept. We have the right to exist. Brave enough to deny this? – Why donna ye tell a REAL Chechen (in your real life) face to face in stead of cawing about here? It requires courage you are out of.
We have fanatics, we have bad guys, we have criminals. Can ANYONE here say there are no criminals, bandits or wrongdoers among his/her nationality? Are you so brilliant and ideal, as a nationality?
We, as a nation, are all different, have different appearances, backgrounds, colors of skin, shape of eyes, so what? What’s the matter about it? Why should this be so much important for someone?
44. Arthur | September 29th, 2015 at 10:54 pm
Mister Nima from Mazandaran, Babol.
You claim to be Iranian. I have recollected a certain guy who left Iran for Germany, accepted Christianity and soon after that we known to have become a homosexual, who also claimed to be IRANIAN, just like you do here.
You have no right to claim for being IRANIAN. Being an IRANIAN, Chechen, German, JAPANESE or whoever else needs you to follow the LAWS, CULTURE, TRADITIONS of the ethnicity in question. Knowledge of a certain languages (were if Farsi or whatever else) does not make you IRANIAN.
Yes, it is true that IRAN has a great literature, cuisine, culture, the movies, artists, songs, history – no one denies it. We, the Chechen people, have no objections about it.
But I have a question, since you believe you belong to the IRANIAN culture, what right do you have to write bullshit about out nation, casting a shadow of doubt at our pride? Yes, we are brave, for we have been fighting and kneeing the “great-russian empire” (your proud homeland IRAN is really afraid of!) for over 300 years, we have been resisting (being just 1 million) the numerous armies of the russians consisting whose population is 150 million, we are still alive, safe&sound and are firm enough to resist on.
Nima, you’d have rather named yourself as NEMO, which means NO ONE in Latin, for you are no one and nothing but a farting anus talking too much and doing nothing. We aren’t the “word heroes”, we don’t like “talking” about what you would do to you, we usually “directly do”.
There were some wogs like you, Nimass, who posted various things on the internet about our nation and… something happened to them, wanna see what exactly? Some on, Nimass, watch it, I am sure you will enjoy it!
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbTEm7XiRXI
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYQqlQ6T3gw
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDDDGhaMtgo (3:22)
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTUxek9QJ1A
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WibjnTyy6hA
ALL OF THESE PEOPLE on the videos are NIMAS who posted or said shitty things about our nation. NIMA and the rest of the wogs have been lucky enough to stay away in their dens and caves beyond OUR REACH, but these guys have not had such a chance. So, Nima, one day you will meet a Chechen and… you will hopefully have enough courage to tell him how much your ass has missed his dick!
45. Arthur | September 29th, 2015 at 11:06 pm
– Fuck all Chechens
…Yes, fuck us with your mouth, cunt or your anus, if you have nothing else to fuck us with, since you aren’t a man, have no balls.
– ginger bearded Islamist murderers?
…ginger bearded Christian otherfuckers!
– of Christians in Syria.
…Christians have nothing to do in Syria, let them fuck off!
– Christian Syrians hate fucking muslim dog Chechens
…Well, what else do they hate and what do they like?! Do we care about it? Shall we bring them the restaurant menu to see what they like and hate?
– and the Chechen’s time will end soon enough.
…are you are one going to do it?
You know what? You are a smartass. You know posting such things when you are thousands of miles away from the Chechens will still keep you secure and your ass safe. Good boy!
46. райли | October 16th, 2015 at 5:01 pm
Why are people saying things like “Chechen cunts” and such all countries have strong men and weak men, in my school there is more Russians than Chechens and they are terrified of us, Russians rely on their brothers,cousins, and everyone else to back them up….however a Chechen stands his ground whether they have help or not, Russians are the real cunts calling us black asses
47. Chechenka | November 2nd, 2015 at 1:10 pm
Omg, it’s so silly that you shameless bastards are trying to get chechens down.
Well that won’t work.
I’m not going to spend time on people who aren’t worth my while.
But I want to make one thing clear.
You don’t know Chechens, you just really don’t, not at all.
If you leave us alone being who we are, we won’t anything.
It’s easy; leave us alone, we leave you alone.
Just stop hating on us without reason.
You don’t know ANYTHING!
We aren’t expecting everything of you, just do leave us live our lives.
We don’t ask your op’s on us, and if you say “we are free to give our oppinion”, well; keep in mind that we are too, and so we did.
What makes clear it’s your own fault.
You attack, we attack.
And about the guy who said that chechens are “raping women”, idk why the hell you’ve got that from but we’re not as dumb as you idiots are, chechens don’t rape, nor do “it” before marriage, ofc you have some shameless chechen sluts and players doing this shit secretly, cause it’s everything BUT allowed to do this in chechen culture.
(Normal) Chechens are appropriate people, standing up when an older person enters the room, giving your seat away for an elderly when all seats are taken, don’t letting people miss with Chechen girls, defending their friends like no other would do, being a lady in places where others can see you, not being hoes partying all night and drinking like their life depends on it, don’t hang out on the street in the middle of the night (girls), always greet each other, that and much more. .
Chechens and other Caucasians DO have culture like nobody else does, and don’t tell me that we live in the 21th century bcz that isn’t an excuse to be a slut or a loverboy.
Chechens ain’t terrorist tho, Russia makes them look like they are, in fact; they’re (we’re) everything BUT that.
We just want our freedom, because you know what? Maybe Russia can rule most of Chechnya, but he can’t rule our souls.
Idc whatever you saw in the media but I can tell you one thing, it’s all lies. Stop trying to make the Caucasian people look like monsters. 300 years, more than 300 years Chechen faught for their freedom and still didn’t give up. Why? Because it’s in grandfather’s blood not to give up, not to run away when troubles nears, but stay and help like a friend to those who love, and fight againsr those who hate, those who make Chechnya a battlefield for no reason. Because that’s how chechens are raised.
And that’s how they are and will be.
A chechen is the best friend and the worst enemy, darling.
Sincerely, a chechen girl wanting to make her oppinion clear
48. Anwar | January 28th, 2016 at 2:34 pm
Arthur, kamu bisa berbahasa Indonesia…saya amat kagum…
I would like to know more about Chechen culture
This my email, latloso@yahoo.com
49. Anwar | January 28th, 2016 at 2:34 pm
Arthur, kamu bisa berbahasa Indonesia…saya amat kagum…
I would like to know more about Chechen culture
This my email, latloso79@gmail.com
50. Anwar | January 28th, 2016 at 2:35 pm
Arthur, kamu bisa berbahasa Indonesia…saya amat kagum…
Kindly get in touch at my email below
This my email, latloso79@gmail.com
51. Mary Fleenor | April 15th, 2016 at 1:52 am
Hello, my name is Mary and I have a Chechen friend, at first we called him the Russian and he would always say ” ai am not Russian , I am Chechen” well we being ignorant of what really happened in that part of the world just figured that was some kind of capillary but the same vein, Russian. I just watched Making of an Empire and I am totally floored , how the Chechen people have survived at all. How brave you all are, this reminds me of the Native American Indian struggle. But worse, imagine fighting Russians, they are an impossible people under impossible goverment, afraid and not free. Arer any of us? I pray for you, and all your people. Someday the earths people will stop being people and be humane. My thoughts are with you and I will never call my friend a Russian again. I look at him with different eyes and heart, respect. May God be with you. Mary from Boston Masss. USA
52. NoxchiBorz | May 4th, 2016 at 1:25 pm
Stop commenting shit about Chechens you stupid motherfuckers in the comment section. If you said that to a Chechen in real (Even a 14 year old) you would never do it again))) We’re born warriors.
53. JohnP | September 29th, 2016 at 4:19 pm
Haha, i’m a troll cunt too afraid to go to Chechnya and tell them the tough things I write in comments sections
54. EminSagaev | October 6th, 2016 at 3:59 pm
Chill, all you nerds hating on Chechen, for no actual reason. Go find something better to do. We Chechens know how to google and shit. If you have a problem with us Chechens, try killing yourself? I am pretty sure it would help a lot.
You’re very welcome.
55. 99% J1A3A DNA | October 12th, 2016 at 6:55 am
I am an Iranian-American that just discovered I have J1A3A DNA at 99%. It says Chechen…yet my Great Grandmother was Georgian. So, am I an ethnic Chechen or Georgian? I am sure I am Vainakh and Kavkaz. Thanks!
56. Ayşa | November 22nd, 2016 at 3:20 am
I’m seeing some dumb people on the comment section that calls Chechens as terrorists. Russians stole and took our land, they’ve killed millions of Chechen, Cherkes and other people of North Caucasus. You guys should be sad about all children, not ony Russian ones. What about innocent Chechen children? What about murderer and killer Russian soldiers? What about people that Russians forced them to live out of Chechnya? My family is Chechen but I was born in Turkey. Because of Russians I’m forced to live in Turkey despite of my 100% Chechen blood. Russia is responsible of death of innocent Chechen people and people that exiled from their homeland.
57. Elysia | February 19th, 2017 at 4:18 pm
I’ll be honest right now: I’m an American who appreciates Chechen culture. Yup, you heard me. I don’t care about the Boston Marathon Bombing with the Tsarnaevs; I still appreciate their customs. I’m a Chinese American, and I don’t personally know any Chechen people, but I feel pity for all those innocent Chechens who are always targeted for hate and discrimination. Again, I live in America, a pretty much uneducated country when it comes to other nations’ cultures, so I can never talk about Russia or Chechnya to my friends because they won’t know what the f*** I’m even talking about. Anyway, I’m passionate about all world cultures, especially Caucasian and Central Asian. I’ve read a lot about Vainakh, Avar, Karbarday, Adyghe, etc… history and society, and saddens me that barely anyone acknowledges the Vainakh deportation (Aardakh) nowadays, and it’s even sadder that 9 out of 10 Americans don’t even know what “Chechnya” or “Chechen” means. People always talk about the Holocaust, the Balkan genocide, and all those other regions, but for some reason, the Caucasus always goes unnoticed. Americans usually use the term “Caucasian” to represent all Europeans; no sweetie, Caucasian refers to peoples of the Caucasus like Georgians and Armenians, not Germans or Welshes, so try again. I’ve read articles and stories, seen videos and documentaries about the Aardakh, and they all made my heart break. Really wish Americans would want to be more educated about the world around them instead of just sticking to themselves and stuffing their faces with pizza and hot dogs all day. But my main point is, Chechens are cool. Yes, there are terrorist Chechens out there (just like there are KKK white supremacist Christians), but I still think that Chechen culture, music, and food are interesting and totally underrated as a whole. I’ve listened to several traditional folk Chechen songs for the lezginka dance, I’ve listened to the Chechen language and I can somewhat read the Chechen Cyrillic alphabet (since I previously knew Russian), I’ve looked through Chechen traditional clothing (papakhas and kindjals are cool!), and I really hope I can try Chechen food someday. Hope they regain their freedom as a nation one day (since they spent centuries under Russian oppression). Respect to Chechnya from America. 🙂
58. Chechen | April 3rd, 2017 at 5:16 pm
Dogs barking, Chechens leading the world, soon we Chechen will fuck up russian slaves, and all other pussies who talk but cant do shit.
59. Chechen | April 3rd, 2017 at 5:22 pm
1 million Chechens made 7 billion world cry like pussy, we Chechens are amazing, no other ethnicity is close to us, or related, and also russian girls like us because they say their russian men are cowards, pussies, cant do shit just drink vodka and shit in their pants.
60. Jacq | April 19th, 2017 at 8:35 pm
“The Chechen perception of the world is dominated by a philosophical category of beauty known as hozal. Everything we do is judged according to this standard.”
Yeah, your Chechenian concentration camps for homosexuals sure are a thing of beauty. So is officials telling citizens to murder their homosexual family members and some really did that as told. Torture and slaughter of people just because of their sexual orientation is not a thing of beauty. Truly uncivilized and super-conservative stupidity with awful consequences. Way to go, Chechens. You will deserve all the hate you get, if your society really is so horrible and backwards.
61. angela | May 5th, 2017 at 8:54 am
Wow, I love learning about the original Europeans who came from the Chechen-Georgian Caucus areas who later settled all of the Mediterranean, middle east, India etc. We are all brothers and the saddest part is the Islamic religion which is not the original European caucus peoples religion has destroyed all who follow. I’m not saying Christianity is any better but fuck Islam is satanic.
AND FROM HERE ON, THE ALMIGHTY EXILED CENSOR HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO IMPROVE THIS COMMENT BY MEANS OF SCALPEL.
62. Turkic - son of the Steppe | December 20th, 2017 at 3:03 am
Familiar with Chechens through a few samples of traditional music, one Chechen I met at a school cafeteria and viral videos on youtube where Chechens demand apology through the use of physical force. My vague understanding of Chechens totally coincides with with what the author unintentionally and subconsciously reveals to us. A people who only value and understand the language of power and force. A people who pride themselves on the way they look and behave but not what they create or help sustain. The author is a classical example of a neo-fascist and does not even realize it. Also, I am a proponent of pseudo-scientific idea that traditional/folk music represents the soul of the group of people it comes from. There are only two words I have for Chechen traditional music – pride and strength. I don’t see thoughtfulness/critical mind, compassion, peacefulness, complexity or beauty in it like I see for example in Persian classical music. Though Chechen women are beautiful. I’ve also seen the eyes of that Chechen who was quite confrontational from the start of our conversation. His eyes were not only full of pride but also assumption of certain racial/intellectual superiority. The exact look I witnessed from many groups of people from the Middle East/Caucuses irrespective of their occupation or social status (barbers, vendors). In that respect they are not very different from other groups from the region who seem to share common attitudes and behaviors irrespective of their religious or ethnic backgrounds. I have an epicanthic fold and look Euroasian. He commented on my lack of beard in a mocking way and proceeded with sarcastic comments about my ancestors being Buddhist (which they were before they became Muslims but by the time of this conversation which happened many years ago I was already an Atheist). There is an plethora of videos on youtube depicting how Chechens behave. It seems that when they cant achieve their wordplay superiority or when someone says something negative about their people or religion they proceed with a manhunt to track down the perpetrator in order to force him/her to apologize. It seems that Chechens have zero value for free speech, far more less than the Russian state. Critical thinking and thoughtfulness (the qualities I value most) is entirely absent in these people. For the same reason I have deep respect for Ashkenazi Jews. People call them warriors but they project their power only internally and on an individual level during civil time causing internal havoc. Real warriors fight on the battlefield and drop their weapons during civil time.
63. Mai Ben Dil | December 23rd, 2017 at 6:06 pm
Freedom is not equal with political independence It is not a phisical state. It has nothing common with pride. It deoends only what you are going to do with your free will. Only mature and responsible people are free.
64. Levan | December 31st, 2017 at 3:35 am
I understand the reason why there’s so much hate on Chechens, but please, stop insulting other nations when you don’t know shit. As a Georgian , whose nation is genetically very related to Chechens and other north Caucasian genotypes, i can tell you one thing , Chechens are very unique. It would be hard to find an analogue of Chechen society (German barbarians probably, but still different). My advice would be to get to know other nations before bashing and insulting them. I Love and respect Chechens. Chechen society is a society of glory , courage , traditionalism , pure blood , cult of family , etc. That is why i love them. Chechens have not lost their identity , because they don’t breed with outsiders. Their women have remained their ancient beautiful Caucasian looks and their men glorious warrior cult. They converted to Islam very lately , so Pagan traditions and customs still thrive among them. it would be better if they remained 100% pagan though. I can say the same thing about my country. Christianity and Islam are immigrant jewish religions. They were not able to defeat Paganism in this region , so they decided to mix with our native pagan religions. Anyways , we , Caucasians, are what we are. I hope that one day Chechnya and the whole north Caucasus will be free of Imperialistic Slav-Mongoloid Russian.
Sincerely, a Georgian guy who worries about Survival of his northern brothers and sisters 🙂
65. S.M | January 9th, 2018 at 5:44 pm
No ties to Chechnya or Chechen people but I really admire their character. From what I’ve found both men and women have been so DECENT, stoic minded, honest, loyal and humble…. Values that unfortunately don’t mean anything anymore….there’s nothing primitive or stupid about holding these values close to you. They are proud but not racist and don’t have an inferiority/superiority complex (unlike so many other cultures like Mid easterners, Indians, South Caucasus). All they need to do is get rid of Islamist influences and follow a more moderate religious path. Wish them the best and hope they preserve their culture.
66. OMG | February 10th, 2018 at 9:45 pm
Funny to watch all the comments coming from russians under every topic about chechenians Y RUSSIANS?? Y U THINK PPL R STUPID?? DID VODKA SUPPLANT YOUR BRAINCELLS?
67. Sekulla | February 19th, 2018 at 5:43 am
Nope, agree with Angela, you can’t be Chechen if your a Muslim.