The Russian Federation is continuing to progress in clearance of Chechnya and Ingushetia, with the aim of completing clearance of most or even all of these two North Caucasus republics by 2018.

Recommendations for action 

• Russia should take the necessary measures to identify the extent and impact of mine contamination (in particular in Chechnya and the North Caucasus) and complete clearance of mined areas to humanitarian standards as soon as possible.
• Russia should be more transparent in detailing the extent of its mine contamination and clearance operations.
• Russia should ensure the protection of civilians from explosive hazards in areas it controls or occupies. 

Contamination

Russia is heavily contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) as a result of World War II, the two Chechen wars (1994–1996 and 1999–2009), and armed conflicts in the Caucasian republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia, and Kabardino-Balkaria.

Antipersonnel and antivehicle mines were used extensively in the two major conflicts in Chechnya. Estimates of the extent of contamination vary greatly because no systematic effort has been undertaken to assess the scope or impact of the problem.[1] In 2010, Russia’s deputy prime minister and presidential special envoy to the Caucasus, Aleksandr Khloponin, claimed that mines affected 14km² of land and posed a major obstacle to development.[2] In contrast, Chechen officials and human rights organizations have previously estimated that 245km² of land was mined, including 165km² of farmland and 73km² of woodland.[3]

Program Management

There is no formal civilian mine action program in Russia and no national mine action authority. Mine clearance is carried out by Federal Ministry of Defense engineers, demining brigades of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and by the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES), through its specialized demining units (EMERCOM Demining and the “Leader” Center for Special Tasks).[4]

Russia reported that its armed forces established an International Demining Action Center in 2014. The center serves as a base for specialist training in detection and clearance of explosive devices, demining, and operation of mobile robotic tools, and does not function as a mine action center as the term is generally understood in mine action.[5]

Clearance of explosive ordnance in 2015 was reportedly undertaken by 6,229 armed forces personnel, using an array of manual and mechanical demining equipment.[6]

Land Release

In its Convention on Conventional Weapons Amended Protocol II and Protocol V transparency reports for 2015, Russia reported that its armed forces engineering units inspected and checked for explosives in 80 regions, over 622km² of land, 1,222km of road, and in 46 buildings. In total, more than 370,498 explosive objects were destroyed.[7]

Mine clearance operations by the engineering unit of the Russian Ministry of Defense have continued in Russia’s Southern Military District, including Chechnya and Ingushetia.[8] In August 2015, engineers reported completing demining of 1.5km² in Chechnya and Ingushetia over a four-month period, with destruction of around 200 explosive items, including landmines. More than 33km² are said to have been cleared to date in Chechnya and Ingushetia.[9] This includes completion of clearance of two districts of Chechnya, Itum-Kali and Achkhoy-Martan, where more than 20km² have been cleared. The land cleared included 7km² for the construction of the “Veduchi” ski resort in Itum-Kale district, and 0.3km² of land for the construction of a thermal power plant in Grozny.

The next stage of demining, to take place in forested areas, was planned to start in March/April 2016 to clear mines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) from more than 70km².[10] Both manual and mechanical assets are being deployed, including the new Uran-6 robotic demining system.[11] The Deputy Chief Engineer of Russia’s armed forces, Colonel Ruslan Alahverdiev, has reportedly promised to complete clearance of Chechnya and Ingushetia by 2018. However, in the online media report, it was unclear whether Colonel Alahverdiev was referring only to clearing all roads and forests, or if roads and forests are the only remaining mined areas in Chechnya and Ingushetia.[12]

For 2016, Russia planned to clear 62.7km² of ERW, including 13.9km² in the Western Military District, 28.1km² in the South Military District, and 10.6km² in the Central Military District.[13]

The Monitor gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the Mine Action Review supported and published by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), which conducted mine action research in 2016 and shared it with the Monitor. The Monitor is responsible for the findings presented online and in its print publications.