Samashki

Coordinates: 43°17′N 45°18′E / 43.283°N 45.300°E / 43.283; 45.300

Samashki (Russian: Самашки; Chechen: Саьмаӏашка) is a rural locality (a selo) in Achkhoy-Martanovsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the western plains. Population: 11,275 (2010 Census);[1] 10,824 (2002 Census).[2]

History

Since 1992, it is a border village with the Republic of Ingushetia. The pre-war population of Samashki counted about 14,600 people (about 12,000 in October 1999[3]).

During both Chechen Wars the village suffered greatly from the hostilities,[3] most notably in the notorious April 1995 incident known as Samashki massacre which resulted in the deaths of more than 100 to 300 civilians.

In March 1996 another attack on the town took the form of a full-scale assault with apparent disregard for the civilian lives; according to Human Rights Watch, Russian forces used civilians as a human shields on APCs.[4] Reports suggested some 500 civilians were killed altogether in the result of the April 1995 and March 1996 attacks.[5] The next month, Russian journalist Nadezhda Chaikova, who had filmed the effects of the 1996 attack, was killed execution-style in Chechnya.[6]

A devastating artillery and rocket attack on Samashki took place in October 1999 at the beginning of the Second Chechen War, despite the demilitarization of the village,[7] killing or injuring dozens of residents on the day of October 27, 1999 alone, according to HRW.[8] At the time, the deputy commander of the North Caucasus Military District announced that there were only "bandits and terrorists" in Samashki,[5] but a report for the British parliament claimed civilians were killed in revenge for the heavy casualties suffered there by Russian forces during the first war.[9]

Federal forces reported a large-scale operation in Samashki in May 2000.[10]

Transportation

A railway line from Nazran to Grozny runs through Samashki. The Rostov–Baku Highway, which connects Nazran, Grozny, and Gudermes, lies four kilometers to the south of Samashki.

References

  1. ↑ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (2011). "Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года. Том 1" [2010 All-Russian Population Census, vol. 1]. Всероссийская перепись населения 2010 года (2010 All-Russia Population Census) (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  2. ↑ Russian Federal State Statistics Service (May 21, 2004). "Численность населения России, субъектов Российской Федерации в составе федеральных округов, районов, городских поселений, сельских населённых пунктов – районных центров и сельских населённых пунктов с населением 3 тысячи и более человек" [Population of Russia, Its Federal Districts, Federal Subjects, Districts, Urban Localities, Rural Localities—Administrative Centers, and Rural Localities with Population of Over 3,000] (XLS). Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года [All-Russia Population Census of 2002] (in Russian). Retrieved August 9, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Chechen villagers ask, why us?, The Guardian, November 17, 1999
  4. ↑ ACCOUNTABILITY By the Russian Side, Human Rights Watch, 1997
  5. 1 2 Russian bombardment sows terror in town, Boston Globe, 13 November 1999
  6. ↑ Journalists Killed in 1996: 26 Confirmed, Committee to Protect Journalists, December 31, 1996
  7. ↑ How war came to a Chechen village, BBC News, 1 December 1999
  8. ↑ Many Civilians Killed in Samashki Village, Chechnya, Human Rights Watch, November 4, 1999
  9. ↑ The Conflict in Chechnya, Parliament of the United Kingdom, 2000
  10. ↑ Top Russians killed in Chechnya, BBC News, 31 May 2000
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