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consisted of the most radical factions of the Chechen nationalists opposed to any accommodation
with Moscow, with the more moderate forces pushed into opposition.
Chechnya therefore lost its weak parliamentary democracy, and many of the leaders of the
original Chechen revolution. Dudayev did subsequently try to convene an alternative parliament
headed by a relative, Isa Idigov, and absent the most implacable opposition. He also created a new
Constitutional Court in the form of a Constitutional College with seven judges which would be
appointed directly by the President. But in spite of these efforts, Chechen politics focused in on the
person of Dzhokhar Dudayev.
The abolished parliament, which was now supported by a significant segment of the
population, denounced Dudayev’s actions as unconstitutional and continued to hold sessions.
Members of parliament duly amended the constitution to deprive the president of real power. On
May 13, 1993, they “released” Dudayev from his post and began impeachment procedures. Yaragi
Mamodaev was re-appointed Prime Minister and head of the government by the parliament and
dispatched to Moscow to discuss the possibility of a bilateral treaty with the Russian Federation.
To test the popularity of Dudayev’s presidency, a referendum was scheduled by the
parliament for June 5. However, on June 4, armed clashes occurred in Grozny between supporters
and opponents of Dudayev. Fifty people were killed and two thirds of the ballots were destroyed,
leading to inevitable questions about the legitimacy of the referendum. Nevertheless, of the 36,000
who participated, 98% voted against presidential rule and Dudayev.
After June 5, 1993, Chechnya effectively began to unravel as a state. A cleavage emerged
between the mountain regions which tended to support Dudayev and the lowlands where the
opposition had its stronghold. Later in June, three of Chechnya’s 18 administrative districts,
Nadterechny, Urus-Martanovsky and Gudermess (which are not contiguous territorially), announced
that they would secede from “the criminal regime in Grozny.” The Nadterechny district, which is the
home base of former Chechen leader Doku Zavgaev, and the village of Urus-Martan became the
focus of the radical opposition to Dudayev. Prime Minister Yaragi Mamodaev; Yusup Soslambekov,
the former First Deputy Chairman of the ANCCP and the Chairman of the KNK; Beslan
Gantamirov, the Head of the Grozny Municipal Assembly; Umar Avturkhanov, Head of
Administration of the Nadterechny district; and Saslambek Khadzhiev, a former Dudayev adviser,
were all acknowledged as the leaders of the opposition. In July and August 1993, there were
repeated clashes in these districts with Dudayev’s forces.
Given the number of leaders, the opposition to Dudayev was itself completely divided by
internal squabbles and contradictions in approach. Attempts were made in early 1994 to unify the
opposition on the basis of the Nadterechny district and to push for the resignation of Dudayev and
new elections were not successful. The disunity of the opposition enabled Dudayev to keep control
of the core of the republic.
7. Moscow’s Decision to Back the Opposition to Dudayev:
The growing opposition movement in Chechnya, was the prelude to the war with Moscow in
December 1994. The war came after Moscow decided to back the Chechen opposition, providing
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