okay.. so when they were in chechnya there was some sort of territorial conflict going on.. would any body care to explain that situation to me?!.. like what was going on there?!.. and could you also remind me what the surroundings in chechnya looked like?!.. help would be greatly appreciated!!!
thank you.. <3
[Live Life Each Day As If It Is Your Last]
chechnya conflict is still going on. it started when the soviet union broke apart. russian government wanted to keep chechnya as russian territory and chechnyans wantde to be independent as other countries of former union. so they fight from time to time for about 20 years with things going worse from day to day.
shareWhen the USSR dissolved, a bunch of places declared independence (Armenia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc.). Chechnya was one of those places... however, the geographic region of the northern Caucasus has been more or less under Russian control since about 1815, so Russia wasn't keen on letting it go, especially since there isn't a real strong national identity established there (too diverse, and under Stalin about half the Chechens were shipped to Central Asia).
Anyway, in addition to the traditional claim of Chechnya by the Russians, a Russian oil company had just finished a pipeline from the Caspian Sea north into Russia, and it went through Groznyy, the capital of Chechnya, which was actually about 50% or more ethnic Russian.
The oil interests added to the desire for Russia to keep Chechnya. Russia denied the legitimacy of the Chechen government, and in 1994, after rebel Chechens started stealing oil from the pipeline and selling it for weapons, the Russians invaded, provoking a fairly long and arduous guerrila war that the Chechens, led by a couple of Islamic fundamentalist leaders, were able to turn into a war of attrition, where thousands of Russian casualties were suffered every month.
In the end, the Russians withdrew, leaving Groznyy in rubble and the Chechens under bad conditions and worse leadership. Frequent terrorist attacks by the Chechen militias into Russia (such as Beslan two years ago), and human rights abuses by the Russian military led to renewed open conflict in 1999 under Putin.
That conflict didn't last too long either, but the ceasefire ever since has been marred with more terrorist-type incidents, though there is evidence that several such incidents may have been conducted, or at least worsened, by the Putin regime.
The Russians also have assassinated several high Chechen officials (such as their President), and have maintained a military presence there permanently. The war has also affected the populations of neighboring Ingushetia and Dagestan, and has driven most ethnic Chechens into the hills and mountains.
In all, it's one of the most dangerous places in the world.
Your insight is more or less correct, but mostly based on the BBC and other Western media propaganda that Putin and his REGIME - which is total nonsense, there is no regime in today's Russia - kill everyone who is in the way. Look how the country has grown and what it has achieved over the last 10 years. It rose from its' knees where it was with Yeltsin. To put such large territory back in order you need a strong hand, there is no way round that, but claiming someone an assassin or has created a regime, is at least impolite.
Go to St.Petersburg or Kaliningrad if you are afraid of Moscow, you'll adore it for it's beauty and the people. Open your eyes.
Regarding the movie - yes, the entire Chechnya part is a total mess, starting with a rock-n-roll leather jacket of their leader to the language and the mountain view and "they will rape you and kill you" stuff. To show Chechnya like that is the same as saying that Russia is all bears and vodka and caviar. Cliche.
What makes a territory dangerous is the extremists. But they are alike all over the world. "Jihad".
-Our arrows will blot out the sun!
-Then we will fight in the shade...