Word: chechnya
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...from roadside markets or enjoy an easygoing approach to nightlife that particularly appeals to travelers from more conservative regions. The sleepy little republic, which is home to a mix of ethnic Russians and Muslims, was also largely free of the insurgency that has set much of the North Caucasus - Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia - aflame. Even when the security services cracked down on alleged radical Islamists, closing mosques and harassing bearded men, few people took note. All that changed last week when around 100 heavily armed guerrillas fanned out across the city to attack at least 10 major government targets. The sudden...
...some intellectuals, Lenin's corpse pales in comparison with the crises facing Russia, such as growing authoritarianism and Chechnya. "I hate Lenin," says human-rights activist Lev Ponomarev. "But this latest idiocy doesn't interest me. The state is rebuilding its repressive machinery, and we are discussing Lenin's body." Yet the debate also is a window on changing attitudes among the ruling élite. Since Putin came to power, a new ideology has been taking shape that blends imperial nostalgia with the occasional careful nod to the Soviet Union's greatness under Stalin. These days the Kremlin honor guard...
...Meanwhile, the war in Chechnya drags on, promising more horrors to come. Last week, a new underground government was announced with Basayev, widely believed to have planned Beslan, named first deputy premier. Asked recently if there could be more Beslan-style attacks, Basayev answered: "Of course...
Supervising all this is a far more informal network of radical Islamists who facilitate contacts clandestinely from Europe to the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan. "Previously, the rule always was networks were run by several jihad-hardened veterans of Bosnia, Afghanistan or Chechnya," says Denécé, a former officer in French military intelligence. "Today officials are finding groups with no foreign-trained members, and only one or two external contacts with deeper al-Qaeda roots." Cells from England to Somalia manage their own ops. Consequently, says a European-based U.S. official, "their chances are low of taking over...
...crude vocabulary and coarse mindset. Asked to describe Russia’s goal in the Chechen conflict, he stated that it was to “whack the bandits in the john [toilet].†At another press conference, questioned about the use of fragmentary bombs in Chechnya, Putin responded, “If you want to become an Islamic radical and you want a circumcision done, I invite you to Moscow. We are a multi-denominational country. We have specialists in this question. I will recommend that they carry out the operation in such a way so that...