by Timur Utsayev, Grozny. Exclusively for VK
The slavery topic in Chechnya has been frequently discussed by human rights activists, with the media running eye-catching articles such as “Caucasians hold tens of thousands of Russian male and female slaves in villages”. Another article has recently been published, entitled “FSB officers release man from Kuban in Chechnya”. Could a 38-year old man from the Krasnodar Territory really have been released from slavery?
Gennady Parnikov, a local from the Irkutsk Region, has been working as a shepherd in the village of Burunsky in the Shelkovsky District of Chechnya, not far from the border of Dagestan and Stavropol Territory. The Pyatnitsa newspaper in Irkutsk stated that Gennady has been a slave for 16 years. Parnikov told VK that he lived in Chechnya for only 5 years. Before that, he worked in Rostov, lost his documents and moved to Dagestan for 13 years. He worked at construction sites then at a farm. Parnikov lives in Chechnya in his laborer’s house. Gennady said that there is nothing to do where he came from.
As soon as Gennady moved to the shepherds house, military from the local commandant’s office arrived to check his documents. He lacked a passport so they started taking him to offices, taking photographs and questioning him . An officer from the Shelkovsky Military Commandant’s Office decided to search for his relatives. But he interpreted the information about Parnikov wrong.
A police official in Chechnya told VK that they received a file from Larisa Ipanchintseva, stating that her brother was enslaved. No criminal case was initiated after checks. Instances of slavery were not proven. Khumid Sadulayev provided Parnikov with accommodation when he was searching for work in exchange for working as a shepherd. Genaddy does not want to leave Chechnya now and has own herd. Larisa, his sister, said that he is free and does not want to return. Her only request was to keep her in touch with her brother.
A police spokesman has commented on reasons for false information: “The whole situation seems like an attempt to discredit our government, police, local authorities, our people. Trying to make us look as though we were savages keeping people as slaves, forcing them to work. By the way, there have never been operations in the Shelkovsky District. It is on the border of Stavropol Territory and Dagestan. I believe some military officials are interested in disrupting stability. They want military actions here to continue, which is why they use any methods to tar our reputation and desecrate everything happening in Chechnya. Whichever serviceman, who will be identified, the officer who spread the defamation, was obviously fulfilling some one’s order to profane Chechnya”.
Yaroslav Golovin, a member of the center for information and analysis named after Victor Popkov, said 99% of stories about slavery in Chechnya are a myth of propaganda. There are no convincing facts about Russian slaves. Words such as “slave”, “captive” or “prisoner” were often substituted. What is common about them is that they imply deprivation of freedom. Captives appeared in Chechnya after the first war and were used for ransom. “Slaves” cannot be called slaves because they are used for exploitation. 90% of information about the slave market is false and 10% of it is not a matter of slavery, captives were indeed sold, because a Russian soldier could be exchanged for an imprisoned relative. Civilians started using this form of release after the war.
Regarding Parnikov, Khumid Sadulayev, his laborer was restoring his lost documents personally. Sadulayev said that he recommended that Parnikov visit his relatives and offered to pay for the journey. The administration head of the village of Burunskoye said that “keeping a man by force here is impossible, especially when a man is tending sheep. He may leave them and go to the border of Stavropol Territory or Dagestan, as well as the Naursky District of Chechnya. You can reach these places by foot”.
