Chechen separatists

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Nóxçiyn Paçẋalq Noxçiyçö/Içkeri (Chechen) Нóхчийн Пачхьалкх Нохчийчоь/Ичкери (Chechen Cyrillic) Чеченская Республика Ичкерия (Russian)
Government-in-exile from 2000-2007
1991–2000
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem Joƶalla ya marşo Death or Freedom
Location of the Chechen Republic in the Caucasus region.
Capital		Grozny (renamed Ƶovxar-Ġala in 1996)
Languages		Chechen · Russian (both official)
Religion		Secularism Sunni Islam (during Islamic Republic)
Government		Republic (1991–1996) Islamic republic (1996–2000)
President
•	1991–1996	Dzhokhar Dudayev †
•	1996–1997	Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev †
•	1997–2005	Aslan Maskhadov †
•	2005–2006	Abdul Halim Sadulayev †
•	2006–2007	Dokka Umarov  †
Legislature		Parliament
History
•	Declaration of Independence	1 November 1991
•	Dissolution of the USSR	26 December 1991
•	First Chechen War	11 December 1994
•	Moscow Peace Treaty	12 May 1997
•	Second Chechen War	26 August 2000
Area
•	2002	15,300 km2 (5,900 sq mi)
Population
•	2002 est.	1,103,686
Density		72/km2 (187/sq mi)
Currency		Russian ruble Chechen nahar (planned in 1994)
Preceded by Succeeded by Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic Chechen Republic Caucasus Emirate

The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (/ɪtʃˈkɛriə/; Chechen: Nóxçiyn Paçẋalq Içkeri [noχtʃʰiːn pʰɑtʃʜɑlq nɔχtʃɪtʃʰy̯ø], Cyrillic: Нохчийн Пачхьалкх Ичкери; Russian: Чеченская Республика Ичкерия; abbreviated as "ChRI" or "CRI") is the unrecognized secessionist government of the Chechen Republic. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzhokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars with the Russian Federation, which denounced the secession. In late 2007, the President of Ichkeria, Dokka Umarov, declared that he had renamed the republic to Noxçiyc̈ó and converted it into a province of the much larger Caucasus Emirate, with himself as Emir. This change was rejected by some members of the former Chechen government-in-exile.

Ichkeria was a member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. Former president of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, deposed in a military coup of 1991 and a leading participant in the Georgian Civil War, recognised the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in 1993. Diplomatic relations with Ichkeria were also established by the partially recognized Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under the Taliban government on 16 January 2000. This recognition ceased with the fall of the Taliban in 2001. However, despite Taliban recognition, there were no friendly relations between the Taliban and Ichkeria—Maskhadov rejected their recognition, stating that the Taliban were illegitimate. Ichkeria also received vocal support from the Baltic countries, a group of Ukrainian nationalists and Poland; Estonia once voted to recognize, but the act never was consummated due to pressure applied by both Russia and the pro-Russian elements within the EU.