Today’s Russian-Chechen conflict is based upon a long history of colonization and domination. Although the historic conflict relies upon an underlying mentality of “us” versus “them,” this assumption does not serve as the core identity marker of Chechen identity. Instead, the 1944 deportations, in which Stalinist Russia deported and exiled half a million Chechens, has become the primary national identity marker. This suggests that when an ethnic group has experienced deportations, their historic memories will serve a greater role in collective identity construction than any other relationship they have with that adversary.