Public Opinion in Chechen Republic

Abstract

No representative sociological surveys have been conducted in Chechnya over the past fifteen years. These are believed to be practically impossible and dangerous for researchers. Today, all notions of Chechen public opinion are primarily based on personal and rather fragmentary observations of journalists, human rights and humanitarian aid activists, public addresses of Russian and Chechen politicians that are sometimes rather biased and lacking in information about the attitudes prevailing in Chechnya.
The lack of trustworthy information about the life and attitudes of Chechen people results in an absolute misapprehension of the potential course of developments in the republic. Russian public opinion is currently characterized by a prevailing desire to distance oneself, free oneself from "Chechen nightmare". There is a decreasing concern for the Chechen problem, with people showing pity mixed with fear for the Chechens themselves. False stereotypes result in false politics.
In February-March 2003, the Validata sociological service conducted a series of researches in Chechen Republic. The qualitative portion included focus groups and depth interviews. The quantitative survey consisted of two waves of polls representative of the republican population (1,000 interviews in each). These were the first representative polls conducted in Chechnya's contemporary history.