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TSARNAEVS' STORY REVEALS WEB OF ETHNIC TIES AND TENSIONS IN CIS
The Moscow Times, Russia
May 7 2013
07 May 2013 | Issue 5123
By Ivan Nechepurenko
When the parents of "Misha," the enigmatic Ukrainian-Armenian
convert to Islam who allegedly helped radicalize Boston bombing
suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, moved to the United States in the 1990s,
they likely could not have imagined that their son would eventually
be accused of coaching a Muslim terrorist.
Yury Allakhverdov, a Christian Armenian, and his Ukrainian wife
Lidia moved with their son Mikhail, or Misha, to the U.S. from Baku,
escaping the persecution of Armenian Christians in the capital of
the newly independent and predominantly Muslim republic of Azerbaijan.
Being half-Armenian but a convert to Islam, Mikhail Allakhverdov has
drawn close scrutiny from observers familiar with the long-standing
hostilities between Christian Armenia and Muslim Azerbaijan. The
fact that Allakhverdov would become a Muslim is particularly striking
given that his family fled persecution in Baku.
With Allakhverdov now suspected of having mentored the ethnic Chechen
Tsarnaev, the complexity of the inter-ethnic ties and tensions
in the Caucasus and across the former Soviet Union have come into
renewed focus.
The stories of those brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev,
and others in their saga serve as a reminder of how the collapse of
the Soviet Union in 1991 unleashed a deluge of bottled-up tensions,
many of which endure to this day.
At the same time, their stories show that certain ties fostered by
the Soviet Union still bind. Dzhokhar, whose parents moved him and
his siblings from Russia to Kyrgyzstan, then back to Russia, before
emigrating to the U.S., had two close Russian-speaking friends at
university in Boston who hailed from Kazakhstan. The array of countries
involved has also reminded Western audiences of the complex geography
of the Caucasus and the former Soviet Union.
Ruslan Tsarni, the Chechen uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers, was
apparently the first person to mention Misha, referring to him as
an Armenian who "somehow ... just took [the] brain" of his nephew
Tamerlan, allegedly leading him toward a strict version of Islam. Other
relatives of the Tsarnaev brothers have made similar statements about
the influence of "Misha."
In an interview with the New York Review of Books, Allakhverdov
denied preaching radical Islam to Tamerlan, saying: "If I had been
his teacher, I would have made sure he never did anything like this,"
referring to the bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three
people and wounded more than 200.
Whatever Allakhverdov's true role, the fact that he is half-Armenian
and suspected of radicalizing a bombing suspect has set off verbal
battles steeped in the historical tensions of the Caucasus.
Tsarni clearly recognized the potential for such disputes, calling
the U.S.-based Armenian Mirror-Spectator newspaper last month to
apologize to the Armenian community for his remarks about "Misha."
"Armenia has a very strong culture, therefore, I want to stress
that his [Misha's] ethnicity has nothing to do with it," Tsarni told
the newspaper.
Animosity between Armenians and Chechens spans centuries, with Russian
poet Alexander Pushkin saying in a poem that "Armenian" was one of
the strongest curses a Chechen could make against a compatriot. In
addition, a Chechen contingent led by Shamil Basayev fought against
Armenians during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.
That six-year war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which began in
1988, led to a stalemate that continues to this day, with almost
daily exchanges of gunfire along the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh border.
Verjline Svazlian, the leading ethnographer at Armenia's National
Academy and the daughter of a survivor of the Turkish genocide of
Armenians in 1915-1923 that claimed the lives of at least 600,000
people, still shares many of the ethnically charged sentiments common
to countries in the region.
"The fact that there is a Chechen and an Armenian in this story
means that the U.S. and Britain just want to declare all Caucasians
terrorists and separate the Caucasus from Russia," she said by phone
from Yerevan. "We have suffered from these plots before and thus we
recognize them easily."
Just as stress in U.S.-Russian relations has hindered cooperation in
the investigation into the Boston bombing case, historical ethnic
tensions can be a stumbling block in countries' fight against
terrorism, according to Alexander Krylov, a Caucasus expert at the
Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of the World Economy and
International Relations.
"Islamic terrorism is international in its nature, so it's not very
important whether terrorists are Chechen, Avar, or Armenian," he said.
The Tsarnaev brothers' mother is Avar, one of the largest ethnic groups
in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan. "Ethnic rifts only hinder
attempts to unite international efforts against this global threat."
According to Krylov, different countries have used the media attention
related to the Boston bombings to exploit their own ancient grievances.
"Azerbaijan would point out that the terrorists were brainwashed by
an Armenian, while Armenians will talk about a plot against Russia,"
he said. Armenia is one of Russia's closest regional allies, and both
are predominantly Christian.
The increased tensions and physical conflicts that followed the
breakup of the Soviet Union led many people to lose their identity as
"New Soviet Man," fostered by Soviet ideologists as a concept that
would unite the country regardless of citizens' diverse origins.
But as with the Communist International, the organization created
by the Soviets that sought the "overthrow of the international
bourgeoisie," global jihad gives people a sense of meaning in life that
is not directly tied to their ethnic, religious, or social background,
Krylov added.
As a result, ethnicity may not have been a key consideration for
Tamerlan Tsarnaev himself, despite apparent leanings toward Chechen
nationalism. If he was tied to Misha primarily through religion,
Tsarnev might not have been concerned with the fact that his mentor
was Armenian.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/tsarnaevs-story-reveals-web-of-ethnic-ties-and-tensions-in-cis/479716.html
From: A. Papazian
The Moscow Times, Russia
May 7 2013
07 May 2013 | Issue 5123
By Ivan Nechepurenko
When the parents of "Misha," the enigmatic Ukrainian-Armenian
convert to Islam who allegedly helped radicalize Boston bombing
suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, moved to the United States in the 1990s,
they likely could not have imagined that their son would eventually
be accused of coaching a Muslim terrorist.
Yury Allakhverdov, a Christian Armenian, and his Ukrainian wife
Lidia moved with their son Mikhail, or Misha, to the U.S. from Baku,
escaping the persecution of Armenian Christians in the capital of
the newly independent and predominantly Muslim republic of Azerbaijan.
Being half-Armenian but a convert to Islam, Mikhail Allakhverdov has
drawn close scrutiny from observers familiar with the long-standing
hostilities between Christian Armenia and Muslim Azerbaijan. The
fact that Allakhverdov would become a Muslim is particularly striking
given that his family fled persecution in Baku.
With Allakhverdov now suspected of having mentored the ethnic Chechen
Tsarnaev, the complexity of the inter-ethnic ties and tensions
in the Caucasus and across the former Soviet Union have come into
renewed focus.
The stories of those brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev,
and others in their saga serve as a reminder of how the collapse of
the Soviet Union in 1991 unleashed a deluge of bottled-up tensions,
many of which endure to this day.
At the same time, their stories show that certain ties fostered by
the Soviet Union still bind. Dzhokhar, whose parents moved him and
his siblings from Russia to Kyrgyzstan, then back to Russia, before
emigrating to the U.S., had two close Russian-speaking friends at
university in Boston who hailed from Kazakhstan. The array of countries
involved has also reminded Western audiences of the complex geography
of the Caucasus and the former Soviet Union.
Ruslan Tsarni, the Chechen uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers, was
apparently the first person to mention Misha, referring to him as
an Armenian who "somehow ... just took [the] brain" of his nephew
Tamerlan, allegedly leading him toward a strict version of Islam. Other
relatives of the Tsarnaev brothers have made similar statements about
the influence of "Misha."
In an interview with the New York Review of Books, Allakhverdov
denied preaching radical Islam to Tamerlan, saying: "If I had been
his teacher, I would have made sure he never did anything like this,"
referring to the bombings at the Boston Marathon that killed three
people and wounded more than 200.
Whatever Allakhverdov's true role, the fact that he is half-Armenian
and suspected of radicalizing a bombing suspect has set off verbal
battles steeped in the historical tensions of the Caucasus.
Tsarni clearly recognized the potential for such disputes, calling
the U.S.-based Armenian Mirror-Spectator newspaper last month to
apologize to the Armenian community for his remarks about "Misha."
"Armenia has a very strong culture, therefore, I want to stress
that his [Misha's] ethnicity has nothing to do with it," Tsarni told
the newspaper.
Animosity between Armenians and Chechens spans centuries, with Russian
poet Alexander Pushkin saying in a poem that "Armenian" was one of
the strongest curses a Chechen could make against a compatriot. In
addition, a Chechen contingent led by Shamil Basayev fought against
Armenians during the Nagorno-Karabakh war.
That six-year war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which began in
1988, led to a stalemate that continues to this day, with almost
daily exchanges of gunfire along the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh border.
Verjline Svazlian, the leading ethnographer at Armenia's National
Academy and the daughter of a survivor of the Turkish genocide of
Armenians in 1915-1923 that claimed the lives of at least 600,000
people, still shares many of the ethnically charged sentiments common
to countries in the region.
"The fact that there is a Chechen and an Armenian in this story
means that the U.S. and Britain just want to declare all Caucasians
terrorists and separate the Caucasus from Russia," she said by phone
from Yerevan. "We have suffered from these plots before and thus we
recognize them easily."
Just as stress in U.S.-Russian relations has hindered cooperation in
the investigation into the Boston bombing case, historical ethnic
tensions can be a stumbling block in countries' fight against
terrorism, according to Alexander Krylov, a Caucasus expert at the
Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of the World Economy and
International Relations.
"Islamic terrorism is international in its nature, so it's not very
important whether terrorists are Chechen, Avar, or Armenian," he said.
The Tsarnaev brothers' mother is Avar, one of the largest ethnic groups
in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan. "Ethnic rifts only hinder
attempts to unite international efforts against this global threat."
According to Krylov, different countries have used the media attention
related to the Boston bombings to exploit their own ancient grievances.
"Azerbaijan would point out that the terrorists were brainwashed by
an Armenian, while Armenians will talk about a plot against Russia,"
he said. Armenia is one of Russia's closest regional allies, and both
are predominantly Christian.
The increased tensions and physical conflicts that followed the
breakup of the Soviet Union led many people to lose their identity as
"New Soviet Man," fostered by Soviet ideologists as a concept that
would unite the country regardless of citizens' diverse origins.
But as with the Communist International, the organization created
by the Soviets that sought the "overthrow of the international
bourgeoisie," global jihad gives people a sense of meaning in life that
is not directly tied to their ethnic, religious, or social background,
Krylov added.
As a result, ethnicity may not have been a key consideration for
Tamerlan Tsarnaev himself, despite apparent leanings toward Chechen
nationalism. If he was tied to Misha primarily through religion,
Tsarnev might not have been concerned with the fact that his mentor
was Armenian.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/tsarnaevs-story-reveals-web-of-ethnic-ties-and-tensions-in-cis/479716.html
From: A. Papazian