Marat Iliyasov: Chechnya, Kadyrov & the War Russia Wants You to Forget | Kianistan Podcast EP 150

☕ SUPPORT THE SHOWbuymeacoffee.com/tafhimkianzDr Marat Iliyasov joins the Kianistan Podcast for Episode 150 — the conversation on Chechnya we've been wanting to have for a long time.Dr Iliyasov, a Chechen scholar who completed his PhD at the University of St Andrews and now teaches at the College of the Holy Cross, takes us through the whole arc: Ramzan Kadyrov's grip on the republic and his fragile health, the two wars of the 1990s, Stalin's mass deportation of 1944, and the century-long confrontation with the Russian Empire that came before all of it.We discuss why a republic of 1.5 million people matters so much in Russian politics, how the first war revived Chechen Islamic identity and the second brought radicalisation, the role of Sufi Naqshbandi and Qadiri traditions, why Akhmad Kadyrov changed sides, how Chechens ended up fighting on both sides in Syria and Ukraine, and what is likely to happen in Chechnya when Kadyrov is gone.Dr Iliyasov also explains why Western governments have never seriously backed the Chechen cause, and why the several Chechen governments-in-exile — including one in London — remain so divided.⏱ CHAPTERS00:00 – Introduction & Meeting Dr Marat Iliyasov01:40 – Greetings02:21 – Ramzan Kadyrov: Who Actually Runs Chechnya04:24 – "TikTok Warriors": Chechens in the Ukraine War05:32 – Kadyrov's Health & Why Moscow Keeps Him06:34 – How a Republic of 1.5 Million Became So Important08:26 – The Matryoshka: Why Chechnya Couldn't Legally Secede10:16 – Gorbachev, Yeltsin & the Declaration of Sovereignty12:07 – The First War & the Idea of a "Small Victorious War"14:55 – The Cost of Victory: A Nation Loses 10%16:41 – Khasavyurt Accords & the 1997 Peace Treaty17:46 – The Second War & Putin's Rise to Power19:14 – The Kadyrov Family's Role in Ending the War19:55 – Why Akhmad Kadyrov Switched Sides22:19 – Sufism in Chechnya: Naqshbandi & Qadiri Traditions23:15 – How the First War Revived Islamic Identity25:00 – Foreign Volunteers, Wahhabism & Russian Propaganda27:03 – The Second War & Radicalisation27:30 – The Black Widows28:26 – Qadiri vs Naqshbandi: Was One More Militant?30:22 – The Afghanistan Connection33:44 – Who Recognised Chechen Independence: Georgia & the Taliban36:45 – Stalin's Deportation of 194437:13 – The 19th-Century Conquest of the Caucasus39:05 – Bolsheviks, Broken Promises & Rebellion40:41 – Exile in Kazakhstan: Half a Million People in One Week42:57 – Coming Home to Find Settlers in Their Houses43:42 – The Parallels With Palestine45:05 – What Exile Did to Chechen Education & Culture49:53 – Chechens in Syria: Fighting on Both Sides52:44 – Fighting Russia by Fighting Assad56:12 – The Pankisi Gorge & the Sons of the Commanders58:30 – Moscow's Calculation: Let Them Leave1:00:03 – The Mufti, the Troops & the Politics of Calling It Jihad1:02:12 – Scott Ritter's Visit to Chechnya1:03:44 – What Happens When Kadyrov Dies?1:06:03 – Sons Too Young, a Daughter in a Patriarchal Society1:07:12 – Who Moscow Might Install Instead1:10:15 – The Dictator's Dilemma: Loyalty, Marriage & Betrayal1:11:36 – Why the West Never Backed the Chechen Cause1:14:29 – Would a Russian Collapse Be a Western Headache?1:16:09 – The Chechen Governments-in-Exile in London1:18:17 – Independence & the Question of What Comes After1:20:01 – Closing Thoughts & Where to Find Marat's Work👤 ABOUT THE GUESTDr Marat Iliyasov is a scholar of Chechnya and the North Caucasus, currently at the College of the Holy Cross. His areas of expertise include the history of Russo-Chechen interaction, post-Soviet conflicts, religious radicalisation and the governance of religions in Russia, and post-conflict developments across the former Soviet Union.🔗 CONNECT & LEARN MOREFaculty page: https://www.holycross.edu/academics/people/marat-iliyasovLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marat-iliyasov-25837614b