Chechnya

城市概覽

The Chechen Republic is a small autonomous region within the Russian Federation. It is situated in the Caucasian Mountains and Lowlands.

History

The Northern Caucasus has acted as a buffer zone for many empires, from the Persians to Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Ottomans and Russians. Nominally part of Russia since the early 19th century, fiercely independent Chechnya has been in a near constant state of rebellion ever since the approach of Russian power. At times throughout the history of this conflict, including the 21st century, Chechen rebellion has spread to neighbouring regions and threatened the spectre of a multi-ethnic Muslim rebellion across the entire northern Caucasus. What is most important for the traveller is that the anti-Russian violence as well as the Russian military response have been spectacularly brutal, purposely victimizing whoever is most vulnerable: the everyday Russian Federation citizens (Russian and Chechen alike) unfortunate enough to live here and outsiders who are foolish enough to walk into this danger zone. The region is also desperately poor. One of the most traumatic episodes of violence took place following the Second World War, when Stalin accused Chechens of collaborating with the Nazis and mass deported the entire ethnic Chechen populace to the cold steppe of northern Kazakhstan. Provisions were not made to ensure that the deported Chechens had a good chance of surviving the deportation. Survivors were later allowed to return under Khrushchev. In one of the most horrific events of the 21st century, the radical Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev ordered his commandos to take hostage a primary school in Beslan, North Ossetia, in 2004, ending the incident with a shocking massacre of innocent schoolchildren, and the incident remains very much an open wound in the Russian national consciousness. Chechnya is a land of extraordinary beauty, full of majestic mountains with lush vegetation and auls (mountaintop villages) rising abo

如何抵達

By plane Chechnya's airport is open again. Planes to Grozny (GRV IATA) leave 3 times a week from Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports. Estimated flying time is 2 hours and 30 minutes. There is an international regular service from Bishkek, and there is an ongoing service from Sharjah to Grozny by Air Arabia.

By train A train leaves from Moscow once every 2 days. This train is under heavy security by the Russian military so expect long delays and possibly other hassles. Caution must be exercised when travelling by rail in Chechnya due to potential terrorist attacks.

By car To go by car is a very long drive from Moscow. Most visitors take the M4 motorway. The R217, an alternative, starts after Pavlovskaya in Krasnodar Krai. It leads through Stavropol Krai and the other republics before arriving at Grozny and continuing east afterwards. Then the main road into the mountains from there is the road to Itum-Kali and the Georgian border.

By bus A daily bus leaves from Nazran in equally unstable Ingushetia, with at least one of these continuing on to Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia. Small buses leave from and to many Caucasian, south-Russian cities.

當地交通

Most of the sites of Grozny are reachable by foot, and there are minibuses within the city.

必看景點

Mountain lakes of Kezenoi-Am (largest lake in Chechnya), Galanchozh-Am (cup-lake), impressive lake Kebosoy Sernovodskoye resort - spa resort in Chechnya Tsoy-Peda - ruined aul (highland town) Monumental Islamic architecture, the most famous of which is the Heart of Chechnya in the capital Grozny, but with other equally impressive mosques scattered around the republic as well.

購物

Chechnya is famous for its traditional swords and daggers. Foreign retail businesses have been banned from operating in Chechnya by the Chechen government, so the retail sector is helmed exclusively by Russian chains and small local businesses.

Costs Due to the economic consequences of the war, things in Chechnya are relatively cheap. However, do not expect to find everything you are looking for. There's not much to find in Chechnya except for carpets and daggers. Supplies are also somewhat limited.

美食

There are a number of restaurants and cafés in the centre of Grozny around Mosque Sq (formerly Minutka Sq) and Putin Ave (formerly Victory Ave). There is a reasonable selection, with Chechen traditional, shashlik (grill), burger and pan-Asian restaurants. There are other restaurants and cafes throughout the city, mainly limited to shashlik or Chechen traditional. Chechen traditional food is hearty and fatty, with the main dishes being: Хингалш (Hingalsh), a flatbread with pumpkin and cheese, Жижиг-галнаш, boiled and/or fried meat with homemade dumplings and garlic sauce, and ЧІепалгаш, flatbreads with various fillings, mostly meat, cheese, and herbs, although there can be others. There's also yökh, or йоьхь, which is a kind of sausage similar to British black pudding, filled with garlic, onions, cornmeal, lamb or beef, lamb fat, tripe, and spices, and wrapped up in lamb intestines and dried, then served with the same homemade dumplings (галнаш in Chechen) as жижиг-галнаш.

飲品與夜生活

Although Chechnya is part of the Russian Federation, there are no nightclubs, strip clubs, bars or discos in Chechnya, even underground ones. Alcohol can be legally sold only from 08:00 to 10:00 in an extremely limited number of stores (usually large supermarkets, such as the “Lenta” hypermarket), and the rest of the time the sale is de facto prohibited. Alcohol is sold only to non-locals and people who don't look like Muslims. You may be asked to show your passport. But don't worry, there are many trendy coffee shops and tea houses in the cities, as well as cafes and restaurants where soft drinks are plentiful. The residents of Chechnya themselves often go to the Stavropol Krai (to the north of the republic) to drink alcoholic beverages and for entertainment, or to neighboring Dagestan and Ingushetia, where anti-alcohol laws are not so strict.

住宿

More and more hotels appear. There is a wide range of accommodation from hostels to spa resorts. The flagship is the 5-star Grozny City, near the Presidential Palace, which has English-speaking staff. Visitors should be aware about lack of service quality.

1 Sernovodsk-Kavkazskiy Resort (Курорт "Серноводск - Кавказский"), Курорт "Серноводск - Кавказский" 4, 366701 Sernovodsk. Check-in: 10:00 - 18:00, check-out: 12:00. Spa resort since 1893. The main building is modern, and all equipment is new. (updated Nov 2016) 2 Holiday Park Kezenoy-Am. Resort on Kezenoy-Am lake (updated Nov 2016)