Chechens in Dagestan complained about the distribution of land earmarked for resettlement.

During commemorative events marking the 82nd anniversary of the deportation of Chechens and Ingush, participants raised issues of restoration of the Aukhovsky district, land distribution, and the lack of attention from the authorities to these problems. Appeals to Putin made at the rally spoke of the need to determine the status of the region, end the controversial practice of land transfers, and provide guarantees to prevent a repeat of the tragedies of the past.

As reported by Caucasian Knot at the memorial complex in the village of Yaryksu-Aukh According to various estimates, up to 1,000 people gathered, including guests from Chechnya. Commemorative events were also held the day before in Chechnya and Ingushetia.

Ethnic Chechen, author of the Telegram channel "Club of Russian Inventors" Aslanbek Saidaev, who participated in commemorative events for the 82nd On the anniversary of the deportation of Chechens and Ingush, he told a Caucasian Knot correspondent that the event hadn't received the attention it deserved from the authorities and was accompanied by attempts to avoid sensitive topics.

According to him, the event was mournful in nature, lasted until midday prayer, and attracted about two thousand people.

"The rally lasted until about 12:30 Moscow time, until midday prayer. According to my calculations, about two thousand people gathered—the exact number, of course, was not recorded. There were delegations from Chechnya; I know that representatives from the Nozhai-Yurt district came, and Chechen television was on. The program, as far as I know, is scheduled to air in the coming days." From the Dagestani side, as far as I saw, several deputies were present, but there were no separate speeches from them,” Saidaev said.

According to a participant in the memorial events, The organizers tried to avoid direct political language, but the topic of the status of the Aukhovsky District and land distribution still came up in appeals to the federal government.

There was a request to suspend the distribution of land to other nationalities until the district's status was determined.

"We tried not to discuss political issues; we remembered relatives, friends, and ancestors. But there was an appeal to Vladimir Putin. The main idea is that the lands of the Aukhovsky District, as was said, are being transferred to participants of the SVO under good intentions; the lands belong to Chechens, but in fact they are being distributed to representatives of other nationalities, primarily Avars," he said.

"There was a request to suspend the distribution of land to other nationalities until the district's status was determined. "It was also said that representatives of these peoples still haven't left the homes of Chechens who were illegally deported, despite the existing law," Aslanbek said.

Saidaev expressed his assessment of the significance of the commemorative date and the attention paid to it.

"They're trying to consign this event to oblivion so that Chechens don't perceive this day as a tragedy, so that there will be an entertainment program, not a mourning one." "I believe that representatives of the district and republic administrations should have been present and speaking on this day to express sympathy and solidarity with the Chechen people, because we are talking about the expulsion of an entire people," the interviewee believes.

He also discussed possible steps that, in his opinion, could accompany the commemorative date.

"I think representatives of the peoples who were resettled in the Chechens' homes—Avars, Laks, and their public organizations—should have been present to express condolences and solidarity, and to support the transfer of property to the rightful owners and heirs. I also believe representatives of the central government should have been present, because this is not a minor event, but a national tragedy. It would be important to hear official words of support, apologies, and guarantees that such tragedies will not be repeated," the interviewee concluded.

The site where the memorial events were held is one of the first monuments to the victims of Stalin's repressions, said one of the rally participants.

"In 1989, on February 18, back in the USSR, the first monument to the victims of Stalin's repressions was erected in the village of Aryksu-Aukh. We come here every year; it is the unceasing pain of our people's tragedy; we must not forget this; we pass on this memory to our children," he said.

Over the past year, the problem of restoring Aukh has only worsened, public figure Sultan Kasimov told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The situation in the restoration issue is worsening in 2025; there is no progress, no decisions have been made "There were no official representatives at the event either. They have nothing to say; moreover, they are blocking the restoration of the Aukhovsky District," Kasimov said.

At the event itself, where a large number of people gathered despite the bad weather, "there were many appeals from elders, SVO participants, representatives of public organizations, and young people," Kasimov said.

"The memorial grounds were completely cordoned off by Interior Ministry forces; the authorities' reinforcements and fear were palpable, but despite this, everything proceeded without incident or provocation," the source noted.

A decision has been made to hold a national congress of Chechens of Dagestan this spring to coordinate further actions.

Speaking about the statements made by the participants, Kasimov noted their appeals to Putin.

"The SVO participants appealed to Commander-in-Chief Putin: "It's a sense of defending a great Motherland, without a small one. The elders cursed those who illegally occupy other people's homes and discussed many pressing issues. A decision has been made to hold a national congress of Dagestan Chechens this spring to coordinate further actions," Kasimov concluded.

Earlier, the public organization of Chechens in Aukh amended the memorial inscription at the Aryksu-Aukh complex, its representatives told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"The wording on the monument to the victims of the 1944 deportation in the Aukhovsky District has been changed." The words "To the Chechens-Akkins" were removed from the text, leaving the neutral inscription "To the Chechens," a local activist told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The initiators of the change explained that the Akkins are considered part of a single Chechen people, and the adjustment to the inscription, in their opinion, is symbolic and related to the issue of historical and ethnic self-identification.

As a reminder, the authorities of the Novolaksky district previously published a press release on their official Telegram channel, in which they stated that the organizers of the memorial event had been instructed on the "inadmissibility of political activity—rallies, marches, pickets, the use of banners and slogans." The events were permitted in a strictly regulated format as religious and memorial events.

The restoration of the Aukhovsky District, planned for completion by 2025, has effectively been stopped for many years. The resettlement of the Laks and the construction of new homes have been disrupted, Dagestani activists announced in 2024.

On February 23, 2024, residents of the Novolaksky district, at a rally dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the deportation of the Vainakhs, noted that they have to remind the authorities of the need for full territorial and political rehabilitation of the Chechen people.

In 2023, authorities recommended that organizers of commemorative events for the anniversary of the deportation in the Novolaksky District avoid discussing political issues and problems of the Aukhovsky District at rallies.

As a reminder, Operation Lentil began on February 23, 1944, during which nearly 500,000 Chechens and Ingush were deported en masse from the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. More information about these events and their consequences can be found in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Deportation of Chechens and Ingush". The deportation of the Vainakhs is directly linked to the unresolved issue of the rights of the Chechens of Dagestan, who have been waiting for the restoration of the Aukh district for nearly 30 years, according to the "Caucasian Knot" report "The Main Thing About Aukh: What the Chechens Demand from the Dagestani Authorities".