Chechen diaspora

The Chechen diaspora is a term used to collectively describe the communities of Chechen people who live outside of Chechnya; this includes Chechens who live in other parts of Russia.

Geography

There are also significant Chechen populations in other subdivisions of Russia (especially in Dagestan, Ingushetia and Moscow).

Outside Russia, countries with significant Chechen diaspora populations are Turkey, Kazakhstan, Austria, Azerbaijan, France, Germany, Belgium, Jordan, Egypt, Georgia, Syria and Iraq. These are mainly descendants of people who had to leave Chechnya during the Caucasian War (which led to the annexation of Chechnya by the Russian Empire around 1850) and the 1944 Stalinist deportation in the case of Kazakhstan. More recently, tens of thousands of Chechen refugees settled in the European Union and elsewhere as the result of the First and Second Chechen Wars, especially in the wave of emigration to the West after 2002.^[1]

Chechen Diaspora per country

Rank	Country or territory	Centres of Chechen population (Capital italicized)	Population of Chechens(current estimates - most reliable/probable bold (used for sorting))
1	Rest of Russia	Dagestan[2], Ingushetia (down from est. 180,000 in early 2002[3]), Moscow[2][4] and Stavropol Krai	360,000
2	Turkey	Istanbul, Göksun, Beyşehir	100,000[5]
3	Kazakhstan	?	75,000
4	Austria	?	17,000
5	Azerbaijan	?	10,000
6	France	Nice, Strasbourg, Paris, Orleans, Le Mans, Besancon, Montpelier, Toulouse and Tours	10,000
7	Germany	?	10,000
8	Belgium	Aarschot	7,000-10,000
9	Jordan	Amman, Zarqa	8,000[5]
10	Egypt	Cairo	5,000[5]
11	Georgia	Pankisi Gorge	4,000 (not including 7,000 Kist people)
12	Syria	Damascus, Aleppo	4,000[5]
13	Iraq	Diyala,[6] Baghdad,[7] Arbil, Mosul, Kirkuk	2,500[5]
14	United Arab Emirates	?	2,000-3,000

References

1. ^ Chechnya's Exodus to Europe, North Caucasus Weekly Volume: 9 Issue: 3, The Jamestown Foundation, January 24, 2008
2. ^ ^{a b} Russian Census of 2002
3. ^ Russia says 'return,' but Chechen refugees stay put The Christian Science Monitor, February 05, 2002
4. ^ Moscow's Chechens fear siege fall-out, BBC News, 26 October 2002
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} Chechens in the Middle East: Between Original and Host Cultures, Event Report, Caspian Studies Program
6. ^ Ethnic Chechens Caught Up in Iraq Violence
7. ^ 'Chechen trace' in Baghdad. New lies

External links

• Refugees and Diaspora (Chechnya Advocacy Network)