This book charts the bitter history between Russia and the Chechens and explains why the war took place.

In 1994, the mountain territory of Chechnya was witness to the largest military campaign staged on Russian soil since World War II. The Russo-Chechen war is examined within the context of the bitter history between the two peoples, culminating in the expression of conflict from 1994-1996.

This collection of essays explores the relationship between the Chechens and their Russian conquerors, tracing the growth of mistrust and hostility, the rise of Chechen national feeling, and the culmination of this process in the war of 1994-1996. Each contributor seeks to illuminate the development of this relationship from a different angle: the changing image of the independence fighters of the nineteenth century, the tragic story of the deportation of 1944, and the background of the recent conflict.

In 1994, the mountain territory of Chechnya was witness to the largest military campaign staged on Russian soil since World War II. The Russo-Chechen war is examined within the context of the bitter history between the two peoples, culminating in the expression of conflict from 1994-1996.

The book explores the nature of Chechen society and Chechen ethno-psychology, the emergence of Chechen nationalism, and the predominantly violent relationships between Russia and the Chechens throughout modern history in order to better explain the most recent periods of confrontation. It concentrates on the second Russo-Chechen campaign and subsequent terrorist attacks in Moscow and Beslan and the spreading of violence throughout the North Caucasus. The book draws on extensive research and includes an introduction by Anatol Lieven. This is the first book to assess the most recent violence in Chechnya in the wider context of cultural, social and political changes in the North Caucasus and Russia. The study enlightens such key phenomena for understanding the ongoing violence as the North Caucasian version of Jihadism, Caucasophobia and Chechenophobia in contemporary Russia, paying attention to Moscow's controversial policies of Normalisation in Chechnya. The author also investigates the situation of Chechen resistance and the expansion of the conflict into the neighboring areas of the North Caucasus.

The book explores the nature of Chechen society and Chechen ethno-psychology, the emergence of Chechen nationalism, and the predominantly violent relationships between Russia and the Chechens throughout modern history in order to better explain the most recent periods of confrontation. It concentrates on the second Russo-Chechen campaign and subsequent terrorist attacks in Moscow and Beslan and the spreading of violence throughout the North Caucasus. The book draws on extensive research and includes an introduction by Anatol Lieven. This is the first book to assess the most recent violence in Chechnya in the wider context of cultural, social and political changes in the North Caucasus and Russia. The study enlightens such key phenomena for understanding the ongoing violence as the North Caucasian version of Jihadism, Caucasophobia and Chechenophobia in contemporary Russia, paying attention to Moscow's controversial policies of Normalisation in Chechnya. The author also investigates the situation of Chechen resistance and the expansion of the conflict into the neighboring areas of the North Caucasus.