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feature

White Stockingsand Black Widowswomen in Chechnya—Myths and Realities

by Raven Healing

After the Soviet Union collapsed in

1991. the Chechen Republic declared

independence. The Russian

Federation, which also grew out of

the collapse of the USSR, sent troops

to Chechnya to put down a separatist

rebellion in 1994 and again in 1999.

Russian forces are alleged to have

committed violations of human rights

laws. The armed conflict continues.

White StockingsWhen talking about women in

Chechnya, it would be impossible toavoid these two words; WhiteStockings. In Russia, the words callto mind an image of a band of 10-fool-tall. vicious Baltic womenrunning around Grozny with sniperrifles slung over their shoulders,ready to kill any Russian soldier for asmall fee. During the Russian-Chechen war of the early 199O's,these "inhumans in skirts" became anobsession for the Kremlin. TheStockings were part of the explana-

Sandra Torrijos/isis International Manila

tion of why there was such asuccessful resistance in thebreakaway republic of Chechnya,and their cold-blooded and ruthlesskilling of Russian soldiers was soodious that it was hoped the Russianpeople would excuse the unethicalbehavior of the Russian military.Under the pressure of what wasincreasingly a losing battle, theRussian govemment was reachingfor any way to distract the popula-tion from its own military ineptitude.

Most academics and reporterscall the Stockings a myth becausethey say there is no real evidence ofBaltic women fighting for theChechen resistance. This does notmean there weren't any non-Chechen women taking part in thearmed resistance in Chechnya. Manyaccounts of Russian soldiers depictthe capture and execution of whatthey would call "White Stockings" orjust "female snipers" and often theseaccounts describe the woman fighteras being Ukrainian.

Why would these womenidentify more strongly with theChechens than with the RussianFederation? Why would they come toChechnya to fight against the Russianmilitary? Strong cultural differencesexist between the people of theUkraine and of Chechnya. TheUkrainians are of Christian back-ground and the Ukrainian language isclosely related to the Russian lan-guage. The Chechens are Muslim andtheir language is part of a group oflanguages called the "Nokh" lan-guages, which is a unique group oflanguages unrelated lo the Slaviclanguages. The people of the Ukraineare considered "white" in the generalopinion of the Russian populace,while the Chechens are considered"black."

However, one Ukrainian womanwho was fighting in Grozny duringthe first Chechen war explained thather grandparents told her that whenthere was famine in the Ukraine, theChechens helped them. These acts of

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kindness from generations ago ledsome Ukrainians to feel it was theirduty to return the favor. This particu-lar woman recognized that both theUkraine and Chechnya were on thereceiving end of the ruthless brutalityof Russian imperialism. She re-marked that today the troubles werein Chechnya, but tomorrow they maybe in the Ukraine. Should the troublesreturn to the Ukraine, she hopes theChechens would help her as they hadhelped her grandparents.

Justifying ViolenceThe focus placed on foreign

women by the Kremlin's PR depart-ment, as opposed to the foreign menwho surely came as well, perhapswas simply for novelty; an idea thatwould stick in the minds of Russiancitizens as a new fear: the fiercefemale mercenary. But it servedanother purpose, perhaps intended, apurpose sexist in nature. Based oninterviews with Russian soldiers, it isevident that sniper women of anyethnicity have become both theobject of much intrigue and the target

of extreme hate and violence. In aninterview with a Polish reporter, oneRussian soldier told of his excitementat being on the front lines andpotentially catching a "White Stock-ing." He then recounted a quitegruesome story of the gang rape andbeating of a woman captured by hisfellow soldiers.

Clearly, part of the appeal of theWhite Stockings myth is to give thesoldiers a chance to act out thesadistic degradation of a woman whodares poach on a man's territory, thatof taking up arms, and for thesoldiers to do so with official ap-proval. If the Russian soldiers catcha Chechen rebel, they kill him. If theycatch a female sniper, they tortureher. The very idea of a female sniperhas become justification for wide-spread violence against women.

The most famous case is that ofColonel Yuri Budanov who raped andkilled 18-year-old Elza"Kheda"Kungaeva in March of 2000. Herfamily says the drunk Colonel tookKheda from their home with nocause. The Colonel says he thought

she was a sniper and killed her in a fitof rage during the interrogation. Inthe first of its kind trial of a Russianmilitary man for crimes againstcivilians in Chechnya, Budanovpleaded temporary insanity. Thisclaim was sufficient excuse for sucha brutal crime in the eyes of theRussian court and Budanov wasordered to a psychiatric hospitalwhere he would be absolved of anycriminal responsibility. Only afterintemational outcry did the Russiancourts overturn the conviction andcall for a retrial. Under the watchfuleye of the intemational human rightscommunity in July 2003, Russiaconvicted Budanov to 10 years in ahigh security prison, still a relativelylight sentence for rape and murder.

The violent abuses perpetratedby Russian soldiers are the dailyexperiences of women in Chechnya.These women and their families livein an area that has been so devastatedby bombing that the capital city ofGrozny has been compared toHiroshima. Families have lost notonly their homes, but also their loved

Women stood before tanks in Achkoi-Martanand told the Russian commander that if hewanted to enter Chechnya, he would have todrive over their bodies first. The commanderrefused to enter Chechnya and was relieved ofhis position by the Russian Minister of Defense.

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ones. If the reftigees should everdecide to come home, it would beimpossible to survive without intema-tional assistance because their fieldshave been peppered with landmines.Also, the Russian military has set upcheckpoints along roads whereChechen civilians are refused theright to pass arbitrarily. At thesecheckpoints, women are taken intocustody, where they are raped. Menare arrested as suspected terroristswith no evidence beyond blatantracism. The soldiers jokingly say thatthe men are being taken "to the policestation." This is their euphemism fora bullet to the head around the nextcomer. Villages are subject to sweep-up operations where the soldiers areknown to take young women intotheir amiored personnel carriers andthe families never know if they willsee their daughters again.

Hero of RussiaIn an interview in June 2000,

Lieutenant General VladimirShamanov rationalized the murder ofinnocent women and children in abombing in Alkhan-Iurt by statingthat the wives and children of banditswere also bandits. When confrontedwith the lack of morality in hisstance, he fell back on the "femalesniper" excuse to defend his position.He avoided any logical ethical discus-sion and instead asked, "how can youtell someone's wife from a womansniper?" The Kremlin seems to beperfectly okay with Shamanov'slogic; Boris Yeltsin once awarded himthe "Hero of Russia" medal. With theRussian army being commanded by"insane" colonels like Budanov andShamanov, the situation in Chechnyalooks less like a war and more likegenocide.

With no food, no medical care,

off our baclcs

with their children bumed, theirhusbands murdered, their fields fullof mines, these brave Chechenwomen are forced to persevere in theface of adversity, in the midst of theconstant threat of rape and armihila-tion. It is this adversity that drivesChechen women to take up arms.

Despite the fact that someChechen women choose tofight with weapons, the vastmajority do not take up armsbut are still a part of theresistance. In his book TheOath, Dr. Khassan Baievtells of the important roleChechen women play inhiding Russian soldiers whodefect and in getting themothers of those soldiers tocome to Chechnya to collecttheir sons, which is adangerous task on all sides.He also tells how in Decem-ber 1994 when the firstinvasion by Russian troopsbegan, it was the womenwho called for a peacemarch to stop the tanks fromadvancing. The womenblocked the Moscow-Bakuhighway for 40 miles fromGrozny to Ingushetiya byperforming an ancient Sufizikr dance. Women stoodbefore tanks in Achkoi-Martan and told the Russian com-mander that if he wanted to enterChechnya, he would have to driveover their bodies first. The com-mander refused to enter Chechnyaand was relieved of his position bythe Russian Minister of Defense.

According to KassumaMaskhadov, wife of AsianMaskhadov,* Chechen women havebeen conducting meetings andorganizing demonstrations despite all

their losses. Afrer a March 23, 2003,referendum vote, there was a senseof excitement and relief withinChechnya, but this soon faded. Thereferendum, when passed, securedChechnya as part of the Russianfederation but granted more indepen-dence for the republic. Putin ap-pointed Shaykh Kadyrov as president

The shakhid \Non]ansitting next to mesaid her brother waskilled last year andshe lost her husbandsix months ago. Shesaid "I have nothingleft to lose, I havenobody left. So I'll goall the way with this,even though I don'tthink it's the rightthing to do."

of Moscow's puppet administrationin Chechnya. Russia told theChechen people that those men whohad been kidnapped during sweep-upoperations would be retumed to themif the referendum were passed. Thistumed out to be false. In June of thesame year after the referendumpassed, six men were taken insweep-up operations in the town ofGikalo. For more than two days,over 200 women blocked a major

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highway connecting the capital cityof Grozny with the city of Argun,demanding the return of their lovedones. They held signs stating clearlywhat was a growing sentiment inChechnya: The Referendum HasBecome Hell For Us.

Two months after the vote forthe referendum, ShakhidatBaymuradova, a female Chechenfighter who lost her husband in 1999,strapped a bomb to her waist andblew herself up at a Muslim festivalin an attempt to kill pro-Moscowofficials. She did not succeed inkilling her targets; rather, she killed16 others. Her first name means"martyrdom" and the long string offemale suicide bombers have beencalled the "shakhid movement,"though the Russians call them theBlack Widows.

The shakhid movement startedaround the time of the Nord-Osthostage siege in October 2002 andgained momentum after the disillu-siormient settled in post-referendumChechnya. A survivor of the Nord-Ost hostage taking, where over 100people were killed not by theChechen hostage-takers, but by anexperimental neuro-toxic gas used bythe "liberating" forces of the Russiangovernment, gave a statementregarding her conversations with oneBlack Widow:

"The shakhid woman sitting nextto me said her brother was killed lastyear and she lost her husband sixmonths ago. She said 'I have nothingleft to lose, I have nobody left. So I'llgo all the way with this, even thoughI don't think it's the right thing todo.'"'

When asked about his positionon the shakhid movement, a middle-ranking commander in the Chechenresistance. Amir Idris, talked about

the widespread rape that happened inChechnya. He remarked that thesewomen were avenging their deadparents, brothers, husbands andavenging their own shame. He saidhe couldn't talk about the things theRussians have done to these Chechenwomen. The situation in Chechnyaseemed to reach a level of despair,where women would strap bombs tothemselves and end their own lives ina final attempt at revenge, eventhough suicide is not a notionaccepted either in Chechen culture orin Islam.

Western IndifferenceIt was in this environment of

utter despair that the presidentialelections of October 2003 took place.These elections seemed to be anotherchance for the people of Chechnya tobegin self-governing, but it, too,turned into a fiasco, a slap in the faceof the Chechen people. By all ac-counts, the election was unfair. Fourfront running candidates dropped outof the elections, either from pressurefrom the Kremlin, or like the highest-ranking candidate in the polls, RuslanKhasbulatov, because there were "noconditions for an honest election inChechnya." This left Kadyrov,Moscow's main candidate, effec-tively without competition.

More than 30,000 troops thatwere stationed in Chechnya wereallowed to vote. The refugees inneighboring Ingushetiya did not getto vote. According to a reporter forthe Guardian, on October 1, just fourdays before the election, the citizenswere afraid to speak about theelections and people were beingbeaten and shot by either the soldiers,the gang-like police force, or the4,000-strong army popularly referredto as "Kadyrov's Men." There was a

strong police presence stoppingordinary citizens at checkpointsregularly. Even the U.S. StateDepartment denounced the election.

Under Kadyrov's presidency, allattempts were made to make theworld believe that peace was return-ing to Chechnya and that there wasno longer human rights abusesoccurring in Chechnya. However, airraids continued in Chechnya and alsobegan to strike neighboringIngushetiya. Continuing the legacy ofwestern indifference to the sufferingof Chechen women and children,none of these atrocities were re-ported. Kadyrov was assassinated inMay 2004, finally putting Chechnyain The New York Times for one day.Unfortunately, the article focusedonly on that one incident of violencein Chechnya and not on the sufferingthat Chechen women have enduredevery day for so long.

Each day the war continues, sodoes the endless injustice to thewomen. Hopefully, the internationalcommunity will not be fooled byRussia's sexist public relation tricksand will recognize the existence ofthe crimes against humanity and thecrimes against the women. And let'salso have hope that this recognitioncan somehow bring these violationsto an

* Asian Maskhadov was previouslyelected as president of Chechnya,and many Chechens still considerhim the "real" Chechen president.

' Weir, John. "Chechen Women JoinTerrors Ranks." Christian ScienceMonitor, June 12, 2003.

The author is a member of theChechnya Advocacy Network,www.chechnyaadvocacy.org.

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