Current Time in Grozny, Russia

Grozny lies in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia, on the Sunzha River where the plain meets the first ridges of the Caucasus mountains. It is the capital of the Chechen Republic, and from its streets the wooded foothills are visible to the south, with higher snow covered ranges beyond. The climate is continental, with hot summers, cold winters and pleasant, green springs.

Around three hundred and fifty thousand people live in the city, the great majority of them Chechen, a Vainakh people with their own language, an ancient clan structure and a strong Sufi Muslim tradition. Oil, construction, food processing, trade and public administration form the basis of the economy.

The city was founded in 1818 as a Russian fortress named Groznaya, meaning fearsome, built during the long Caucasian War as part of a line of strongholds intended to subdue the mountain peoples. It grew into a garrison town and then, from the late nineteenth century, into a major oil centre, as fields around the city were drilled and refineries built, making Chechen oil an important part of the Russian and later Soviet economy. In 1944 the entire Chechen and Ingush population was deported to Central Asia on Stalin's orders, a catastrophe remembered by every family, and survivors were permitted to return only in the late 1950s.

The most recent chapter is the most painful. Two wars fought in the 1990s and early 2000s between Russian forces and Chechen separatists devastated Grozny almost completely. Aerial bombardment and street fighting reduced the centre to ruins, and at one point the United Nations described it as the most destroyed city on earth. Reconstruction from the mid 2000s has been rapid and extensive, and the modern city looks entirely new, with wide boulevards, restored parks and a cluster of glass towers.

Its most prominent landmark is the Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque, known as the Heart of Chechnya, an imposing structure in Ottoman style with four tall minarets, marble columns and painted domes, among the largest mosques in Europe and beautifully illuminated at night. Beside it lie the Islamic university and a large park. The national museum presents Chechen history, archaeology and art, and monuments commemorate both the deportation and the wars.

The real magnificence of the republic is in its mountains. The Argun gorge leads south past medieval stone watchtowers built by Vainakh clans, some standing five storeys high on impossible ledges. The village complexes near Itum-Kale, the alpine lake of Kezenoyam on the border with Dagestan and the forests of the Vedeno district attract growing numbers of visitors. Chechen culture is known for its codes of honour and hospitality, for the whirling lezginka dance and for a cuisine centred on zhizhig galnash, meat served with dumplings and garlic broth.

Chechen State University and other institutions serve a young population, and an airport, railway and highways connect the city to the rest of Russia.

Grozny is striking as a city rebuilt from almost nothing and as the gateway to the eastern Caucasus.