Outsiders Are Allowed. Insiders Are Not

Forwarded From Govorit NeMoskva

Outsiders are allowed. Insiders are not

In March 2025, Lena Patyayeva from St. Petersburg staged a one-person picket in downtown Grozny with a sign reading “Where is Seda?” She was detained, questioned “quite politely,” and released without a report being filed.

In September 2022, Chechen mothers tried to come out against sending their sons to the war with Ukraine. The square was cordoned off in advance, the women were detained, and they spent about a day in the mayor’s office building, where they were subjected to humiliation.

In present-day Chechnya, there are two different realities. Visitors can argue with security forces, film them on camera, refuse to show documents, and call it “hospitality.” For locals, especially for Chechens, the same actions can end very differently.

About how double standards work in Chechnya, why “their own” end up being the most vulnerable group, and why this problem has remained in the shadows for years, read the joint feature by “NeMoskva” and the outlet “Ves Kavkaz.”

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Govorit NeMoskva

Two Chechnyas

Humiliation, repression, and torture for “their own,” tolerance for outsiders. How Chechens became the most vulnerable group in their own homeland?