History

The Groznaya fortress was built in 1818 as a Russian military outpost on the Sunzha River by Terek Cossacks which was a prominent defence centre during the Caucasian War. Two Moscow Times foreign reporters state that it was built on the site of six leveled Chechen villages.[2] After the annexation of the region by the Russian Empire, the military use of the old fortress was obsolete and in December 1869 it was renamed Grozny. (The change of the name ending follows the rules for adjectives when the modified noun was changed from the feminine gender ("threatening fortress") to masculine ("threatening town"). As most of the residents there were Terek Cossacks, the town grew slowly until the development of oil reserves in the early 20th century. This encouraged the rapid development of industry and petrochemical production. In addition to the oil drilled in the city itself, the city became a geographical centre of Russia's network of oil fields, and in 1893 became part of the Transcaucasia — Russia Proper railway. The result was the population almost doubled from 15,600 in 1897 to 30,400 in 1913.

The day after the October Revolution (November 8, 1917), the Bolsheviks headed by N. Anisimov seized Grozny and established a Proletariat control. As the Russian Civil War escalated, the Proletariat formed the 12th Red Army, and the garrison held out against numerous attacks by Terek Cossacks from August 11, 1918 until November 12. However, with the arrival of Denikin's armies, the Bolsheviks were forced to withdraw and Grozny was captured on February 4, 1919 by the White Army. Underground operations were carried out, but only the arrival of the Caucasus front of the Red Army in 1920 allowed the town to permanently end up with the RSFSR on 17 March. Simultaneously it became part of the Soviet Mountain Republic, which was formed on 20 January 1921, and was the capital of the Chechen National District inside it.

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On 30 November 1922, the mountain republic was dissolved, and the national district became the Chechen Autonomous Oblast (Chechen AO) with Grozny as the capital. At this time most of the population was still Russian, but of Cossack descent. As Cossacks were viewed as a potential threat to the Soviet nation, Moscow actively encouraged the migration of Chechens into the city from the mountains. In 1934 the Chechen-Ingush AO was formed, which then grew into the Chechen-Ingush ASSR in 1936.

However in 1944 the whole population of Chechens and Ingush was deported after collaboration with Nazi Germany, about 10,000 died. All traces of them in the city, including books[3] and graveyards,[4] were destroyed by the NKVD troops. Grozny became the capital of the Grozny Oblast of RSFSR, and the city at the time was again wholly Russian. In 1957 Chechen-Ingush ASSR was restored, and the Chechens were allowed to return. Once again migration of non-Russians into Grozny continued whilst the ethnic Russian population, in turn, moved to other parts of the USSR, notably the Baltic states, after the interethnic conflict had nearly occurred. By the late 1960s, Chechens and Ingush outnumbered ethnic Russians.

At the same time a great deal of development occurred in the city. Like many other Soviet cities, the Stalinist style of architecture was prevalent during this period, with apartments in the centre as well as administrative buildings including the massive Council of Ministers and the Grozny University buildings being constructed in Grozny. Later projects included the high-rise apartment blocks prominent in many Soviet cities, as well as a city airport. In 1989, the population of the city was almost 400,000 people.