Facebook users outraged by idea of "special forces tours" to Chechnya on February 23

Two Chechen travel agencies offered their clients to present their friends a "special forces tour" to the republic on February 23. No such events are acceptable on the anniversary of the deportation of the Vainakh people, Facebook users note.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the authorities of Chechnya are against the holding of mourning events on February 23, the anniversary of the beginning of the deportation of Chechen and Ingush people in 1944. As an alternative to this date, yet back in 2011, the Day of Mourning and Sorrow of the Peoples of Chechnya was announced to be marked on May 10, the day of Akhmat Kadyrov's funeral. However, most residents of the republic continue to consider February 23 as the Day of Mourning.

The "Elgas" and "Chechen Tour" travel agencies offered their clients a "special forces tour" to Chechnya as an idea of an "ideal gift" for the Defender of the Fatherland Day. "A 'special forces tour' is to last four days [and] three nights. It includes two whole days of active training sessions at the Russian Special Forces University! Shooting training with several types of weapons, an extreme tour on a buggy, a flight in a wind tunnel, and much more," Elina Bataeva, the director of the "Elgas" travel agency wrote on her Facebook page on January 28.

The above post provoked many negative comments. Users recall that the day of February 23 is the anniversary of the deportation of Chechen and Ingush people. "The idea is good, but it is very bad that the date is associated with the tragedy of the Chechen and Ingush people," Said Muskhadjiev noted. "To arrange a holiday on our long-suffering land on the day of mourning for the entire Chechen nation? <...> If we prioritize the holidays of other peoples and forget about our traditions, it means that we have fallen into spiritual poverty," Ruslan Abdulazimov wrote.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 2, 2021 at 05:32 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.