Caucasus Emirate

TheCaucasus Emirate(Chechen:Имарат Кавказ, ИК,romanized:Imarat Kavkaz,IK;Russian:Кавказский эмират,romanized:Kavkazskiy emirat), also known as theCaucasian Emirate,Emirate of Caucasus, orIslamic Emirate of the Caucasus,was ajihadistorganisation active in rebel-held parts ofSyriaand previously in theNorth Caucasusregion ofRussia. Its intention was to expel the Russian presence from the North Caucasus and to establish an independentIslamic emiratein the region.TheCaucasus Emiratealso referred to the state that the group sought to establish.The creation of Caucasus Emirate was announced on 7 October 2007, by Chechen warlordDokka Umarov, who became its first self-declared "emir".
By late 2015, the group no longer had a visible presence in the North Caucasus, as most of its members defected to the localIslamic Stateaffiliate,Vilayat Kavkaz.
Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union,Chechennationalists, led byDzhokhar Dudayev, declared the secession ofChechnyafrom Russia as an independentChechen Republic of Ichkeria(ChRI). Following two devastating wars with the Russian Federation in the nineties, the ChRI fought aninsurgencyagainst the Russian forces and their Chechen allies from 2000, initially under the leadership ofAslan Maskhadov. Although the ChRI was largely founded bySufiMuslims motivated by nationalism, over time the literalistSalafistform of Islam became increasingly popular with some Chechens, leading to a schism between nationalists and Salafists. As many of the original nationalist figures were killed by Russian forces, the insurgency took on an increasingly Salafist tone embodied by commanders likeShamil Basayevand the Arab fighterKhattab. Many of the surviving nationalists gave up the fight, and by the time Dokka Umarov was declared President of Ichkeria in June 2006, Islamists held increasing influence in the movement.
On 7 October 2007,President of IchkeriaDokka Umarovabolished theChechen Republic of Ichkeriaand its presidency and proclaimed anEmiratein theCaucasus, declaring himself itsEmir.The declaration of the Caucasus Emirate was quickly condemned byAkhmed Zakayev, Umarov's own minister of foreign affairs; Zakayev, who lives in exile in London, called upon all Chechen separatist fighters and politicians to pledge allegiance directly to hisgovernment in exilein an attempt to isolate Umarov from power.Zakayev also expressed regret that Umarov had caved in to pressure from "provocateurs" and committed a "crime" that undermines the legitimacy of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.Umarov said that he did not need any sanction from the Majlis-ul-Shura(thecouncilof rebel field commanders) or anybody else to declare the Emirate, as it is "his duty as aMuslim" to establish anIslamic state"as required bySharia".
On 1 August 2010Kavkaz Center, the official web site of the Emirate, distributed a video where Dokka Umarov indicated that he had stepped down from his position as Emir and appointedAslambek Vadalovto become his successor.However, a few days later, on 3 August 2010,Umarov said he had no intention of stepping down and called the video announcing his resignation a fabrication.The announcements drove the emirate into a state of turmoil, with several key rebel leaders resigning their loyalty to Umarov.This combined with the death ofMuhannadis believed to have paved the way forHussein Gakayev,Aslambek VadalovandTarkhan Gaziyevto re-affirm their allegiance to Umarov.Umarov would die in September 2013 from food poisoning.Aliaskhab Kebekovwas announced 6 months later as his successor.
In the period from 2010 to 2014, the number of casualties in the North Caucasus insurgency declined each year, with the overall death toll falling by more than half.Reasons suggested for the decline include the deaths of high-ranking insurgency commanders, the increased targeting by security forces of the support infrastructure relied on by the insurgents, and an exodus of insurgents to other conflict zones.
Starting in November 2014, mid-level commanders of the Caucasus Emirate began publicly switching their allegiance from Emirate leaderAliaskhab Kebekovto theIslamic StateleaderAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi, following al-Baghdadi and his group's declaration of acaliphateearlier in the year.By February 2015, many commanders of the Emirate's Vilayat Nokhchicho and Vilayat Dagestan had defected.Loyalists within the Emirate released statements denouncing them, and accused the most senior defector,Rustam Asildarov, of betrayal.Vilayat Nokhchicho leaderAslan Byutukayevpledged allegiance to al-Baghdadi in June 2015,and an audio statement was released in the same month purportedly pledging allegiance on behalf of militants in Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria.On 23 June 2015, IS's spokesmanAbu Mohammad al-Adnaniaccepted these pledges and announced the creation of aCaucasus Province, a new branch operating in theNorth Caucasusregion. Adnani named Asildarov as its leader and called on other militants in the region to follow him.
The Caucasus Emirate continued to operate independently,but suffered further high-profile losses, including the killing by Russian security forces of Kebekov in April 2015,and his successorMagomed Suleimanovseveral months later.By late 2015, the militants still operating in Russia's North Caucasus Republics had largely unified under IS's Caucasus Province.In 2023, rumors of resurgence of Caucasus Emirate were spread, however, this claim has yet to be confirmed.
The Caucasus Emirate was claimed to be composed of the followingVilayats(provinces):
In August 2008Movladi Udugov, an ideologue and a spokesman for the Caucasus Emirate, said that "as Dokka Umarov very accurately observed, this Islamic state does not yet have any borders. It’s not correct to say that we want to build some sort of enclave on the territory of these North Caucasus republics. No, today many Muslims living inTatarstan,Bashkortostan,Buryatia, Russians from the most widely differing regions of Russia who have accepted Islam, swear an oath of allegiance to Dokka Umarov as the legitimate leader of the Muslims. And wherever he is – in Moscow,Blagoveshchensk,Tyumen– when a Muslim swears that oath, he becomes a fighting unit. Just because these people are not visible in their cities just now and are not active, that doesn’t mean that they won’t become active in the future."
In a May 2011 interview posted on the pro Caucasus EmirateKavkaz Centerwebsite, Umarov stated "Now we know that we should not secede, but must unite with our brothers in faith. We must recaptureAstrakhan,Idel-Ural,Siberiaand indigenous Muslim lands."
Professor Gordon M. Hahn of theCentre for Strategic and International Studies, described the Caucasus Emirate to be a decentralized organisation, but structured hierarchically with Emir Dokku Umarov appointing the Emirs of each Vilayat or Province, who in turn swore him a bay'at or oath of allegiance. Each vilayat contained multiple Fronts or Sectors, which in turn contained multiple Jamaats or units. The vilayats, sectors and local jamaats independently raised funds, recruited members and carried out operations, while following the overall strategy as set by the Emirate's leadership.
In May 2009, Umarov established a ruling consultative body, orMajlis al Shura, for the Caucasus Emirate consisting of his top commanders. At the time of the announcement, the positions and the individuals holding them were:
The Caucasus Emirate maintained a Supreme Sharia Court, which was headed by aQadi. This position had been held byAnzor Astemirov(killed in March 2010),Magomed Vagabov(killed August 2010), andAliaskhab Kebekov(killed in April 2015).
In early 2009, Dokka Umarov announced the revival of theshahidsuicide attackersunitRiyad-us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs,which has been led bySaid Buryatsky(killed March 2010) andAslan Byutukayev.
Umarov died due to food poisoning on 7 September 2013.He was succeeded by Aliaskhab Kebekov (killed April 2015)andMagomed Suleymanov(killed August 2015).
Caucasus Emirate received significant funds from overseas Islamic terrorist organizations, but the primary source of funding for the Caucasus Emirate was a wide range of criminal activity. Militants extorted money from local businessmen and residents in their areas of operation under the premise of a religious tax. Russian media reports in early 2011 claimed that militants extorted a 20 per cent "jihad" tax from prominent figures considered to be pro-government. In addition to extortion, Russian officials have alleged that Caucasus Emirate militants also derived funds from involvement indrug traffickingandrobbery.
In the same October 2007 statement in which Umarov proclaimed the Caucasian Emirate, he also described the United States, Great Britain andIsraelas common enemies of Muslims worldwide.However, on November 20, 2007,Anzor Astemirov, then head of theVilayat KBK, said that "Even if we wanted to threaten America and Europe every day, it is clear for anybody who understands politics that we do not have any real clashes of interests [with the West]. The people in theWhite Houseknow very well that we have nothing to do with America at the moment." In his statement, Astemirov not only described the Caucasian rebels' threats against the West as empty, but also even asked the United States for assistance in their fight against "Russian aggression".Following its criticism, many rebel websites removed the phrase that regarded Western countries as enemies.
On August 9, 2008, in response to the conflict betweenGeorgiaand Russia, Movladi Udugov stated that "for the time being neitherTbilisinorWashingtonhas appealed to us with any requests or offers" to fight alongside Georgian forces against the Russian forces. Udugov also noted: "But I clearly can say that the command of the Caucasus Emirate is following with great interest the development of the situation."
A number of Chechen and other North Caucasian volunteers travelled to fight in theSyrian Civil Waragainst the government ofBashar al-Assad. Dokku Umarov released a video in November 2012 expressing support for all those trying to install Sharia law in Syria, but rebuked those who had weakened the Jihad in the North Caucasus by leaving to fight there.However, as the war went on and North Caucasians took an increasingly prominent role in the fighting owing to their combat experience, those who went to fight in Syria were viewed increasingly positively by the Emirate's websites and supporters.
In 2013, a Chechen known asSalahuddin Shishaniwas appointed as the official representative of the Caucasus Emirate in Syria.In December 2013, the Chechen-led Syrian jihadist groupJaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar(JMA) split away from theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant(ISIL) and appointed Salahuddin as their new commander, emphasising that they wished to continue respecting theOath of Allegiancethey had made to the Caucasus Emirate's Dokku Umarov.Following his appointment as the Emirates new leader,Aliaskhab Kebekovadvised the North Caucasians in Syria to remain independent rather than align with other groups. He also voiced support for Al-Qaeda affiliatedAl-Nusra Frontand criticisedAbu Omar al-Shishani, the Chechen commander who formerly led JMA before joining IS.In mid 2015, JMA suffered a leadership split, and Salahuddin and those fighters loyal to him formed a smaller offshoot that reiterated their loyalty to the Caucasus Emirate.
*Note: There was confusion as to who was Emir, as Umarov issued a second video a few days later saying he had not stepped down.