Russia’s two brutal wars in Chechnya led to the loss of thousands of lives and enforced disappearances (ED) of over 5,000 people. Despite the rubbles of wars quickly transforming into new buildings, the issue of EDs remains unaddressed. Characterised by the absence of bodies and the Russian state’s denial and silence, this particularly heinous crime keeps families in perpetual suffering and uncertainty. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has delivered over 400 judgements on such cases to date finding Russia in violation of its human rights obligations. However, over a decade of successful litigation at the ECtHR had little, if any effect even in establishing the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared let alone in bringing perpetrators to justice due to non-implementation of these judgements by Russia. This thesis investigates whether humanitarian exhumations, which are de-coupled from prosecution and punishment of perpetrators, can be a transitional justice mechanism to address cases of EDs in regions with unresolved conflicts and no established transitional justice mechanisms or a political will/transition to bring perpetrators to justice such as Russia. Through extensive desk research and interviews with the families of the disappeared in Chechnya, as well as drawing insights from the Georgian experience, the author argues that fulfilment of the right to truth, one of the core pillars of transitional justice, and acknowledgement of the past in the form of humanitarian exhumations, can serve as an alternative TJ mechanism.