Chechnya's Right of Secession under Russian Constitutional Law

Abstract

This article was written in a period of time when the escalation of the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus and particularly in Chechnya reached the zenith of violence and unpardonable human slaughter. 1 Although contemporary international law does not accept the separatist movement's claims to create its own statehood, we have to look at the constitutional procedures for the modifications of the Fundamental Law of the Russian Federation: At the same time, the political situation after the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, the strong presidential powers in the constitutional hierarchy of executive organs, and the evident tensions between them and the Russian constitutional traditions have to be taken into account. The ambiguous and complicated character of the Chechen conflict is due to the fact that the Russian Federation has tried to keep this conflict from the attention of the international community by claiming that the Russian-Chechen conflict is an entirely internal matter. It is doubtful in this case if the Russian leadership, who have continued their tough policy, will find a peaceful solution to the almost ten-year armed conflict in the region.