After the fall of the Soviet Union, many of the various areas or 'states' within that nation broke away from Russia. This provided a number of new countries, mostly in the western and southern section of the old nation. From this came Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Moldova and many others. A total of fourteen new nations.

This was relatively easily accomplished as the former Soviet Union was in turmoil and not properly equipped to deal with the breakaway of these states. However, not all states that desired to leave were able to for a variety of reasons. One was Chechnya. This state in the northern Caucuses was one that Russia wanted to keep, as much for its oil riches as much as anything else. However, much of Chechnya was not Christian and was populated by a large number of Muslims. As has been the unfortunate norm in the last few decades, some of these folks had become radicalized and wanted to separate from Russia.

In this area of the world, families and tribes hold a greater power over people than a centralized government. For years, leaders of these groups had been fighting amongst themselves and the Russian government had basically let them do so while keeping a sharp eye on the situation.

In 1994, several groups of varying factions that ran the spectrum of political and religious views revolted against the Russian Federation wanting to form their own nation. During this conflict, known as the First Chechen War, the Russians were able to eventually quell the uprising, though it was a very messy and poorly planned campaign that resulted in heavy loss of life on both sides and a great deal of destruction.

However, the underlying revolt continued to simmer and fighting erupted again in 1999. This time the Russians learned from the mistakes of the previous war and though the campaign this time was much longer, the Russians contained the situation relatively early and then spent most of the rest of the war consolidating their gains and killing off the clan leaders who were leading the rebellion. Some of these murders took place overseas or in other areas of the Russian Federation. In their place, the Russians backed a single warlord who, thanks to a large influx of Russian money, has been able to hold things together.

The second war was more successful thanks to the ruthless leadership of Vladimir Putin, who became president of Russia after Boris Yeltsin, who was much more of a moderate. Puting in an unabased nationalist who has no problem using force, lies and deceit to get what he wants as we have all seen in the recent invasion of Ukraine. As in Chechnya, in Ukraine he supplies locals with weapons and troops to reach his gains. The use of Russian-friendly Chechens was one of Putin's best ploys during the second Chechen war as they new the people, new the country and were able to route out leadership of the opposition and put an end to them.

This book covers the sometimes convoluted political scene that led to the Chechen Wars as well as providing a background to why Chechnya has always been a hot-spot of unrest. Through interviews with those who participated we get a much better feel of the situation. An excellent selection of maps and images further helps us follow along with the progress of the conflict.

As with other conflicts, there have been consequences of the actions of both sides and we see how these events have shaped what the area is like today. It is a superbly written book that allows those of us who are unfamiliar with the machinations of the Russians and their state to better understand how things are in that part of the world. Most of us will be able to understand how Putin in the way he is through this volume and what to expect from him as long as he remains in power. It is a book that I can fully recommend as a must read.

July 2015

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