Word: chechenization
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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When the Soviet Union collapsed, Chechens yet again declared the independence of the Ichkeria Republic, although only the Taliban regime in Afghanistan recognized it. In the first Chechen War of the ’90s, the post-perestroika Russian army was unable to break Chechen will. Forced by demoralized soldiers and angry public opinion, President Boris Yeltsin signed a ceasefire. The second, ongoing Chechen War began under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, with a much stronger military. In a battleground too obscure and too dangerous for Western journalists, the military launched total war against the rebellious Chechens. In order...
Chechnya is a federal territory subject to the Russian Federation. Rich in natural resources, the area is a historical hotspot that once featured power struggles between Cossacks, Ottoman Turks, and bizarrely, Buddhist Kalmyks. Chechens eventually converted to Islam and ever since have vehemently resisted Russian control. Invariably uprising once a generation, they even collaborated with Nazi invaders in the ’40s. Comrade Stalin was so enraged about this betrayal that he called for genocidal mass deportations—and actually scattered millions of Chechens around the Soviet Union—yet the Chechen nation survived the dictator...
...TIME's European Heroes in 2003. Though she enjoyed the respect of many on both sides of the conflict, she was hated by hard-liners and often the target of death threats; Politkovskaya was mysteriously poisoned during the 2004 Beslan school-hostage crisis while setting up negotiations with the Chechen separatist hostage-takers...
...respect she had established in her work as a fiercely independent chronicler of the brutal conflict in the North Caucasus was evident during the 2002 hostage debacle when Chechen terrorists seized a Moscow theater and hundreds of people inside. Politkovskaya had been one of the very few people allowed by the Chechen group to enter the theater to negotiate on behalf of the hostages. During the Beslan School hostage crisis in 2004, Politkovskaya was badly poisoned (by state agents, she alleged), just as she was on the verge of brokering talks between senior Russian officials and Chechen separatist leaders...
...just deranged individuals who can invade a school and threaten our children. In the world of international terrorism, children and schools are considered soft targets, providing high visibility for terrible acts that enrage and demoralize civilized communities. Just two years ago, this reality was confirmed when Chechen rebels invaded an elementary school in the remote Russian city of Beslan, killing more than 150 children and an equal number of teachers and other adults...