Public reaction to last August's outbreak of war in Chechnya proved very different to the way the last conflict was received in 1995. The difference, reports Densi Bevz from the Siberian city of Tomsk, is down to cynicism, an uncaring community and the me
The second Chechen war has bridged the differences between Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov and his long-time political rival, Shamil Basaev, the most notorious Chechen field commander of recent times.
Russia's new military campaign in the North Caucasus is marked not only by a new military strategy but also by a changed attitude to the Russian army's activity in Chechnya.
While recognising the legitimacy of the Russian government's drive to eliminate the destabilising threat posed by Chechnya's uncontrolled militants, Russian tactics in the republic has appalled much of the international community.
Even when a war is called an 'anti-terrorism operation', as the Russian authorities call their current works in Chechnya, it still has to be paid for.
By Maria Eismont, recently in Samashki, Chechnya (CRS No. 9, 3-Dec-99)
Russian accusations that Georgia is aiding and abetting Chechen militants through its frontier with the breakaway republic have pushed this local "cold war" dangerously close to boiling point.
Between the tub thumping from Chirac and the soft glove approach from Clinton, Vaclav Havel points the best way forward for the OSCE.
Even Russian human rights activists say an anti-terrorism campaign is justified. But they sharply criticise the indiscriminate bombing and other attacks in Chechnya and propose a limited cessation of fighting to pave the way for talks.
What is it about Nakhichevan? Although comprising only 10 per cent of the Azerbaijani population, virtually every member of the country's political elite hails from the tiny enclave.
