hnya is Mount Tebulosmta (4493 m/14,741 ft). In the north are plains and lowlands consisting of sandy ridges and hills. The main rivers of Chechnya include the Terek, the Sunzha, the Argun, and the Assa. Fertile soil covers the lowlands and valleys, while dry steppe vegetation characterizes the northern plains. Forests of beech, birch, hornbeam, and oak cover less than one-fifth of the republic and are located mainly on the mountain slopes. Chechnya has hot summers and cold winters. Temperatures are typically lower and precipitation levels higher in the mountain areas. In 1994 Chechnya had a population of about 800,000.The population of the republic declined significantly as a result of the war. Beside Chechens, who form the largest ethnic group in the republic, Russians and Ingush are also represented. The Chechens, who call themselves Nokhchii, are native to the Caucasus region. The Chechen language belongs to the Nakh group of Caucasian languages and is closely Chechnya – the conflict 5 related to the language of the Ingush. The Chechens have been Sunni Muslims since the 18th century. Petroleum production is the major source of income for the Chechen economy. However, the war destroyed Chechnya’s major pipeline linking Caspian oil fields to the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Russian-Chechen relationships are marked by a series of wars starting in the early 1900’s and finally leading to the occupation of Chechnya in 1859 by Russian troops. The Chechens rebelled again during the civil war that followed the Russian Revolution of 1917. During the 1930s Soviet leaders forced many of the Chechens onto collective farms and made efforts to restrict their religious practices. The Chechens suffered under these policies and fought fiercely for their beliefs and traditional way of life. In 1934 the Chechens and Ingush were united in the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Oblast within Soviet Russia. In 1936 the oblast was raise...
