A Deep(er) Dive into Chechnya and Kyrgyzstan

While the manhunt for one of the Boston bombing suspects was underway Friday, Susan and I wrote up this short annotated bibliography linking to pertinent resources about the conflicts in Chechnya and Kyrgzstan. Over the weekend, we took a deeper dive into the issues in the region, and wrote up this article for the Huffington Post. It opens:

With the apprehension of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, following a day-long manhunt and the death of second suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, the Boston bombing investigation has turned to their motives. As Dzhokhar remains sedated and unable to speak, authorities continue to probe the brothers' foreign origins and connections to Islamic extremism. At present, media coverage of the investigation centers on the suspects' Chechen roots. However, law enforcement is also actively pursuing connections to Russia's Dagestan region -- where the Tsarnaev family lived for a time, and where authorities say Tamerlan spent six months last year -- and Kyrgyzstan, where the family lived before then. As the people of Boston mourn their dead and injured, questions arise as to whether the United States now faces a new terrorist threat from groups unrelated to al-Qaida and its associated forces. It is still premature to draw conclusions about the intent of the suspects based on their connection to either Chechnya or Kyrgyzstan. Indeed, Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov issued a statement disavowing any connection between the Chechen struggle and the Boston bombing. Law enforcement officials likewise believe the brothers were acting alone and may have self-radicalized in the United States. Nevertheless, the political climates of the Russian North Caucasus and Kyrgyzstan implicate vital U.S. interests. In place of speculation, we should seek to understand the impact of these regions on national and global security. For detailed background information on the many complex issues we discuss here, we suggest reading our list of resources regarding these conflicts at Lawfare. The North and South Caucasus comprise a geographic area dividing Europe from Asia. The North Caucasus includes areas of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and regions of Russia. Chechnya and Dagestan, both Russian regions of the North Caucasus, are the focus of investigations into the Tsnarnaev brothers' backgrounds. The two are ethnic Chechens; Tamerlan was born in the former Soviet Union, while Dzhokhar was born in Kyrgyzstan. The family moved from Kyrgyzstan in 2001 to Dagestan, which borders Chechnya. Kyrgyzstan is not located in part of the Caucasus, and lies thousands of miles to the east of Chechnya and Dagestan, across the Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. According to reports, Dzhokhar held a Kyrgyz passport before becoming a U.S. citizen last year.

Update: To those looking for more on theses issues, Russia's Homegrown Insurgency: Jihad in the North Caucasus is highly recommended reading. While not brief, this Strategic Studies Institute publication is an excellent and comprehensive analysis.