Foreword / Mikhail S. Gorbachev -- 1. Ethnography and theory -- 2. Indigenization, deportation, and return -- 3. Contradictory modernization -- 4. Chechen images -- 5. The road to war -- 6. Dzhokhar : hero and devil -- 7. The sons of war -- 8. The culture of hostage-taking -- 9. Violence in secessionist warfare -- 10. The impact on family life -- 11. Religion and the Chechen conflict -- 12. The myth and reality of the "great victory" -- 13. An ideology of extremes -- 14. Chechnya as a stage and a role
Summary
This is an illumination of one of the world's most troubled regions from a unique perspective - that of a prominent Russian intellectual. Valery Tishkov examines the evolution of the war in Chechnya that erupted in 1994, untangling the myths and the long-held resentments that have fueled the crisis
