The President’s letter addressed to the Speaker of the lower house of parliament, Gennady Seleznyov, reads:
“The amnesty has been prompted by a landmark event in the life of the citizens living on the territory of the Chechen Republic, the adoption of the Constitution of that region of the Russian Federation. Being a humanitarian act, the amnesty above all is aimed at creating further conditions for the establishment of peaceful life in the Chechen Republic.
“The amnesty will cover the people who have committed socially dangerous misdeeds within the borders of the former Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the period from August 1, 1993 until the effective date of the State Duma resolution On Declaring an Amnesty in Connection with the Adoption of the Constitution of the Chechen Republic, and who have renounced participation in illegal armed units, stopped armed resistance or voluntarily surrendered their weapons and military equipment before midnight on August 1, 2003.
“The amnesty will not cover persons who have committed murder, kidnapping, rape, burglary and some other serious and very serious crimes, as well as foreign nationals, stateless persons and persons who have committed serious re-offences.
“I assume that the draft resolutions can be considered by the State Duma as a matter of priority.”
The issue of amnesty was raised by the religious leaders of Chechnya during their meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow in March 2003. The President said he had sympathy for the request of the religious leaders. A working group consisting of the representatives of the President, the State Duma and the Justice Ministry prepared draft resolutions for an amnesty in April, 2003.
Several amnesties were declared during the first Chechen campaign (1994–1996). The first was declared by the State Duma on December 13, 1994, two days after federal troops went into Chechnya. On February 9, 1996 an amnesty was declared for the Chechen fighters who had attacked the Dagestan town of Kizlyar and the village of Pervomaiskoye in January 1996 on condition that they would release their hostages. On March 12, 1997 the State Duma declared another amnesty.
During the course of the counterterrorist operation in Chechnya (since the autumn of 1999) one amnesty was declared: on December 13, 1999 the State Duma passed a resolution to the effect which came into force from December 16 and remained in force for six months, until May 15, 2000. The amnesty covered the people who had committed crimes in Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia, Dagestan and the Stavropol Region between August 1 and December 16, 1999 and who had given up armed resistance and voluntarily surrendered their arms before February 1, 2000 (the deadline for handover of weapons was then extended until May 15, 2000). According to the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, about 2,500 militants surrendered their arms on that occasion and as many as 750 militants received amnesty.