Zachistka
Zachistka (Russian: зачистка, lit. cleaning operation) is an unofficial Russian military term for a "mopping-up operation" featuring armed patrols and house-to-house searches. The term is mostly associated with, but not exclusive to, the "insurgency phase" of the Second Chechen War following the reinstatement of Russian rule in Chechnya. Several zachistka operations became notorious for their accused or confirmed human rights violations by Russian forces, including ethnic cleansing and pillaging, and the term zachistka is used in English exclusively to refer to these violations, particularly in Chechnya.[1]
Notable operations
Alkhan-Kala
The Alkhan-Kala operation was a week-long military zachistka by the Russian Spetsnaz special forces in Alkhan-Kala, Chechnya, south-west of the capital Grozny, from June 22, 2001 to June 28, 2001. The operation resulted in a major Russian victory, including the death of Arbi Barayev, a high-ranking Chechen separatist warlord, Islamist, and organized crime figure.
Tsotsin-Yurt
The Tsotsin-Yurt operation was a four-day zachistka by Russian Spetsnaz in Tsotsin-Yurt, Chechnya, starting on December 30, 2001. Officially, armed clashes broke out between Russian forces and Chechen separatists in the large village of Tsotsin-Yurt, south-east of Grozny. The outcome of the operation is disputed, and Russian troops were accused of widespread human rights violations.
Borozdinovskaya
The Borozdinovskaya operation was a zachistka by members of the Special Battalion Vostok, an ethnic Chechen unit of the Spetsnaz GRU, on June 4, 2005, in the Avar ethnic minority village of Borozdinovskaya, near Chechnya's border with Dagestan. At least 12 residents, 11 of which were Avar, were killed or "disappeared". Representatives of the Russian federal authorities expressed outrage over the incident, and the commander of the unit responsible was convicted.
Blagoveshchensk mass beating
The Blagoveshchensk mass beating is a term for a four-day zachistka operation by local OMON in Blagoveshchensk, Bashkortostan from December 10, 2004 to December 14, 2004. Around 500 to 1,500 people, totalling 2.5% of Blagoveshchensk's population, were arbitrarily detained by OMON special police and subject to physical abuse. The mass detentions, which even included adolescents and disabled people, were criticized as a collective punishment for Blagoveshchensk being one of the few towns in Bashkortostan to vote against Murtaza Rakhimov's third term as President of Bashkortostan.