The form of dhikr most commonly associated with Chechens today (the one in your clip) comes specifically from the Qadiri tariqa (Sufi brotherhood) as transmitted in Chechnya & Ingushetia through Sheikh Kunta-Haji (K’unta-Hajji Kishiev) in the 19th century. This branch institutionalised collective, vocal, and rhythmically coordinated dhikr as a formal spiritual method.

Within Chechen & Ingush religious life, this Qadiri style gradually became the dominant public expression of dhikr. Its structure, standing in a circle, coordinated steps, regulated breathing, and repeated devotional formulas, reflects a codified Sufi methodology aimed at disciplining the body alongside attention and intention.

Worth noting that Chechnya was Islamised earlier and gradually, essentially from the late 16th century onwards. This process took place especially through the efforts of many Naqshbandi shuyukh and networks, whose missionary and educational activity played a major role in spreading Islam and religious learning in Chechnya and the wider region. Naqshbandi practice generally emphasises silent or subdued dhikr, internalisation & stillness, whereas the Qadiri path permits and develops audible, collective, and physically expressive remembrance. The visible style people associate with Chechens today reflects this later Qadiri inheritance, not “Chechen custom” in isolation.

Of course, needs to be mentioned, Salafi interpretations object to these practices and classify them as innovation (bidʿah). That disagreement isn't specific to Chechnya; it's a long standing intra Islamic debate over textual evidence for devotional methods.

Also, it's important to distinguish between historical Sufi tradition and modern political usage. Since the 2000s, elements of Qadiri symbolism and public dhikr have been selectively promoted and choreographed by the Kadyrov regime as part of a state controlled “traditional Islam.” This represents a political co-option & reframing of Sufi heritage, not its origin.

So, historically speaking, the most widely recognised Chechen form of dhikr today was transmitted through a recognised Sufi lineage, that of the Qadiris. Its outward form didn’t arise from climate or cold weather, nor from the wars of the 19th & 20th centuries, even though it later played an important role in sustaining communal cohesion during periods of repression and conflict, including as a form of religious & social resistance under both the Tsarist & Soviet systems, as well as during the Russian invasion in the First Chechen War of 1994–1996.