“Here’s a future suicide bomber,” Gasan mutters under his breath so the woman can’t hear. “If she doesn’t get anywhere, she’ll blow herself up in front of a government building.”
Chechnya
Russia’s Highlanders Explained
“We may share a common language with Russians, but our ethno-psychology is different,” says Zaur Gaziyev. “The free spirit lives on in the people. We didn’t have 600 years of serfdom like Russia did.”
Dear Ramzan Kadyrov
How do you get an interview with the warlord of Chechnya? The best bet for catching Ramzan Kadyrov is just to show up on his own turf, announce your presence and hope for the best.
Age of Empires
Even though both his grandfathers died in Bolshevik captivity, Ilyas Kayayev can’t say Russian rule has been bad for Dagestan on the whole: “What’s the point of being independent and sitting in a cave?”
Aboard Dagestan Airlines Flight 372
Dagestan Airlines Flight 372 is a Tupolev-154 which hasn’t seen a redesign since the 1970s. I get a window seat in row 31, where I can put up my legs on a hump that covers the landing gear. The only advantage of my seat is that I’m next to an emergency exit.
Partying from Dushanbe to Grozny
When Tajik President Emomali Rahmon turned 60, Vladimir Putin gave him a sniper rifle and promised to keep Russian troops stationed in Tajikistan until his 90th birthday.
Putin’s Outdated Illusions are Dangerous
In his speech after the massacre, Putin didn’t mention Chechnya a single time, even though it was clear that the trail from Beslan led back to the war-torn republic.
Four Die in Shoot-Out as Russia Faces Jihadist Threat
“Moscow still hasn’t worked out a strategy on the North Caucasus and hasn’t even tried,” Alexei Malashenko said. “The Kremlin doesn’t want to recognize there’s a real Islamic opposition.”
Cracks in the Russian Regime
The paradox of the costly retention of Chechnya is that few Russians view the North Caucasus as an integral part of Russia worth keeping.
Empty Towns, Destruction in Georgia Show ‘Everyone Is to Blame’
Less than an hour’s drive to the north is Tskhinvali, where fighting began after Georgian forces took the city following a night of heavy bombardment. Most houses had broken windows and were either pockmarked by bullets or gutted by shelling.
