Chechnya

Chechnya, which is mainly Muslim, declared its independence from Russia in 1991 and has fought two wars with Russia since then, including the current three-year-old struggle. Chechnya wants to form an independent Islamic republic.

Anna Politkovskaya is one of Russia's most respected journalists, writing for the Moscow paper Novaya Gazeta. In February 2001 she travelled deep into Chechnya to investigate reports of torture, rape and detention camps run by the Russian army. If there were any doubts about the veracity of the shocking stories she heard, they vanished when she was herself detained by Russian troops. An official of the FSB – the successor to the KGB – a first lieutenant of tender age, whispered dirty insults in my ear: »You are one of them ... You should be shot ...«

About the War in Chechnya:

Vladimir Putin and his circle are convinced that reporting of military actions should be controlled, because they believe that the situation in Chechnya demands extremely harsh methods of waging war which are far removed from contemporary European standards.

Putin does not regard the media as a self-sufficient public institution, but as a tool for manipulation.

Maybe the dramatic hostage taking will spark a furious Russian retaliation in Chechnya. The attack on the Moscow theatre will heat the blood of the hardliners.

Did the substantial financing needed for such an operation come from abroad? Barayev's team were equipped with satellite phones, enabling them to call the Reuters news agency in Ankara, Turkey, late on Friday night. They repeatedly mentioned
Shamil Basayev, one of the more radical Chechen warlords.