CHECHEN REPUBLIC OF ICHKERIYA

Also called theNoxçiyn Respublika, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeriya was a secessionist republic established byJokhar Dudayevon 1 November 1991. The only country to recognize Chechnya’s independence as Ichkeriya wasGeorgia, under the leadership of Zviad Gamsakhurdia. After several years of Ichkeriya’s de facto independence,Boris Yeltsinordered federal troops into the region, initiating the firstChechen War, effectively bringing the region back under Russian control. Ichkeriya is an old place name from the Turkic Kumyk language meaning “that place over there,” and was adopted by Dudayev for its romantic connotations from Russianliteratureand its ease of pronunciation in foreign languages. TheChechengovernment in exile continues to use the appellation.