Throughout the Soviet era that day was celebrated annually with pomp and circumstance. Throughout the huge country called the USSR, from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, from the Arctic Ocean to the Caspean Sea; this day was one of the most important memorial days, testifying of a State that was strong and united.

In 1944 there were very specific reasons to celebrate Red Army Day with even more festivity than usual: The Victorious Red Army had just got rid of its nightmarish enemy: the Armies of the German Third Reich, which had conquered and occupied the USSR for several years. The Nazis had made their way to the capital, to the Volga River as well as to the Caucasus mountain range.

By 1943/44 fortunes of war had surely changed sides - good reasons for festivities and celebrations.

Even in the northern Caucasus the preparations for Red Army Day 1944 were intense. Army divisions drove up the mountain slopes. The trucks were Studebakers, leased from the United States to Soviet troops for them to be able to defend themselves against the threatening enemy. Students from the local colleges in the Chechen capital Grozny as well as other citizens were mobilized to accompany the soldiers on their way to the mountain villages where minor garrisons were established.

This was Red Army Day, February 23, 1944. It became a day no Chechen will ever forget - though the outside world DID forget!

In the evening of that day bonfires were lit on the market squares of each village. The Red Army soldiers demonstrated their skills in singing and dancing. The locals came to look and cheer. When the party was at its best, the crowd was arrested. Their houses and farms were raided. Women, children, the elderly were dragged out to the courtyard and surrounded by guards with machine guns. While people were screaming and dogs were barking, officers read aloud the formal verdict: the entire Chechen and Ingush population was accused of treason, convicted to be forcibly transferred to Central Asia. Few of the arrested resisted. It was easy for the arresters to break resistance. The offending actions were quick as lightening. Not more than two-three hours, and it was all over - as some remember.

Women, men and children were loaded on the US-trucks. They were only allowed hand luggage. No food was to be taken along. The trucks took them to the railway station, where freight trains and goods waggons had been waiting. A few weeks later they were unloaded in Central Asia.

They were spread out to various settlements without regard to family and clan relations. They were told under threat of severe sanctions that they were not allowed to leave their appointed place of settlement. The Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Republic was dissolved. The land given away to others. The abandoned houses were turned over to new settlers. The Republic was removed from maps. Whatever information existed on the republic and the people was removed from encyclopedias, school books and scientific works. The graves of their ancestors were demolished. As if the Chechens and Ingush no longer existed.

As far as we know 387.229 Chechens and 91.250 Ingush were loaded on the trains, a total 478.479. Not more than 400.000 arrived in Central Asia, the others died en route - nearly 20%. As far as we know. There were probably a lot more. Half of them were children. Those who had not been in their villages at the time of arrest were caught and deported.

Life in Central Asia was harsh. The local people were told that all Chechens were traitors and that they were not allowed to assist the newcomers in any way. They often lived in caves and worked in the mines. They were not allowed to teach their children. They were not allowed to contact relatives either. It is a general assumption that one third of all the deported perished during this period. All Chechens were victims of this brutal action, justified by the one and only reason that they were Chechen.

In 1957 the deportations were declared null and void. Some began to return to their homelands in the Northern Caucasus. They were received as traitors and enemies. Major pogroms took place, violent conflicts between the returning Chechens and those who lived in their former homes. Some cities and settlements were closed by law to the returnees. It was extremely difficult for them to find work. Still, most of the deportees returned, sometimes they settled illegally, missing out on permits and social payments. Sometimes they went to the streets to crave back their rights. Naturally, we heard nothing of them over here. In our minds they did not exist.

Only after the beginning demise of the USSR new hopes emerged. The Chechens had become weary of their roles as victims and potential traitors and criminals. They wanted a better life; a life where they had choices. As we know, Russia attempted to subdue their new awareness and claims by political, economical and social means.

The pressure turned into war. War turned the land into ruins and misery, and the population into refugees, cripples, and corpses. But also into men and women with a strong will to survive, and to celebrate the memory of February 23d, 1944 .

Was this a genocide? That is for legal experts to decide. Maybe there was no intent to kill the entire people ? But many died anyway.

Was this an ethnocide? It was probably intended to abolish the culture of a people. It didn’t happen, though. To the contrary, ethnic loyalty, national pride, and the will to survive grew stronger during the years in deportation.

On the other hand, the Chechen people fell victim to character assassination: Chechens were - and still are - collectively accused of being enemies, criminals, separatists, terrorists. Defamation campaigns were staged - then as well as now.

The archives that would tell us the precise events of February 23, 1944, are still not accessible to the public. Very few have dared to do in-depth research, and few have been given the chance to tell their story. Still today, it is not out of fashion to accuse, chase, and punish a Chechen without a legal finding. Still today, the official Russia has not acknowledged, regretted, or excused the wounds that have been caused.

We need to remember. The forgotten deportations are the key to understanding what is happening in Chechnya today. That is why we need to commemorate the 23d of February as Deportation Day. We will mark that day until Russia will repent.