Dealing with a violent past and its remnants in the present: the challenges of remembering the wars in Chechnya in the Chechen Diaspora in the EU

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates how memories of a violent past are interpreted by different generations of exiles, particularly when the primary feature of memory in their homeland is forgetfulness. This occurs when the echoes of political and institutional violence from “home” perpetually reverberate in the diaspora, and when host societies have constructed a securitization framework that progressively redefines Chechens from victims to perceived threats. Based on the case of the Chechens living in the EU since the early 2000s and grounded in field observations and semi-structured interviews conducted from 2015 to 2022, this paper delves into a “conflict-generated diaspora” in formation. Our aim is to understand the intricate interplay of factors and dynamics that contribute to the construction of individual and collective memories of a violent past within the Chechen diaspora. We also consider the impact of transgenerational memory transmission and generational divides.KEYWORDS: Conflict generated diasporaChechen warswar memoriesChechen diasporasecuritization Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 All names have been anonymised. See section on methodology.2 Isabelle Mandraud, « Jusqu’à maintenant on arrivait à se fondre dans la masse : le désarroi des Tchétchènes», Le Monde, December 9, 2020, https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2020/12/09/jusqu-a-recemment-on-arrivait-a-se-fondre-dans-la-masse-le-desarroi-des-tchetchenes-de-france-face-au-brouillage-de-leur-image_6062680_3224.html.3 This research has been carried out with the support of the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological development and demonstration under grant agreeement N° 613354 - CASCADE "Exploring the Security Democracy Nexus in the Caucasus" and the FNRS (Fonds National pour la Recherche scientifique - Belgium), MIS (Mandat d'Impulsion Scientifique N° 33681713).4 Though an exonym, Ichkeria was the toponym chosen by pro-independence Chechens to be the name of their Republic, referred to as Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (RCI).5 Field observations, Grozny, 2012, 2017.6 https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/02/02/russian-lawmaker-threatens-to-cut-the-heads-off-chechen-activists-family-a76227.7 All the citations below in this section are from a collective interview conducted in November 2019.8 Words of the leftist French political party la France insoumise leader J.-L. Mélenchon on a TV interview on October 18, 2020 a few days after the assassination of Samuel Paty in Conflans by a youngster originate from Chechnya. https://www.marianne.net/politique/melenchon/un-probleme-avec-la-communaute-tchetchene-pourquoi-les-propos-de-jean-luc-melenchon-interrogent.9 Field observations, 2019.10 The Center was established 2010 after Natalia Estemirova’s murder in July 2009, by several international and Russia Human Rights organizations in order to ensure and secure the documentation of all HR violations and crimes committed during the wars https://www.nedc-nhc.org/en/general-information-eng/.