Opening of monument "To Defenders of Russia" met with criticism in Chechnya

To erect a monument to participants of the Chechen wars in Khankala is incorrect in relation to residents of the Chechen Republic who lost their relatives and friends, believe people from Chechnya interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

On September 23, the ceremony for opening of the monument "To Defenders of Russia" at the military base in Grozny was dedicated to the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the formation of the United Group of Troops (Forces) in Northern Caucasus.

The celebrations were attended by Viktor Zolotov, Commander of the National Guard of Russia, and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reported with reference to the news released by the "Grozny" ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Company) on September 23.

Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of the Peoples of the Caucasus, treated the installation of the monument as an element of the Kremlin propaganda. "The local Chechen authorities are just a screw [in the hands] of Moscow. By erecting the monument, they try to make heroes of those who killed civilians, women and children. They hope that if there is such propaganda, then after several generations the people will forget what was actually happening," Ruslan Kutaev has told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today.

According to Ruslan Kutaev, such propaganda is doomed to failure.

The local residents interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" reacted in a negative way to the opening of the monument. "To erect a monument called 'To Defenders of Russia' with a demonstration of the action on the Chechen TV Channel is not quite the right step, I believe. This is another irritant for the majority of the population," said activist Fatima.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 26, 2019 at 06:32 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.