Chechnya

In Chechnya, the end of the second war against theRussian army and peace since 2003 haven't changed the living standarts of the people around Grozny. This forbidden region still looks like a battlefield, without the gunfight.

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In this school deep in the mountains, a picture of Russia's brand new president Dimitry Medvedev is displayed next to one of Chechnya's young leader, the Moscow-appointed Ramzan Kadyrov. The alliance between Russia and Kadyrov's private militia has all but stamped out the rebellion. “If the rebels turn up, if we know they've arrived in a village, we have special forces who know what to do,” explains Mohamed.

Historians compare the bombing of Grozny to that of Dresden at the end of the Second World War.
Whole suburbs still wait to be rebuilt. These are parts of Chechnya the world doesn't see. They don’t figure in the reconstruction plans of Kadyrov and his Russian backers. Though there are no official figures, unemployment is high, fuelling much frustration. Yet, NGO worker Toita is trying hard to improve this blighted future. Here, people live as if their country is still at war.
The last time bombs fell on Grozny was in 2003. Five years later, these Chechens are stil waiting for their lives to return to normal.

For the last 5 years, Moscow has backed the Kadyrov family. First, Russia supported the father; and after he was assassinated, the Kremlin backed his son. The local population has little choice but to accept Kadyrov's authority; it’s either that, or a return to war. Meanwhile, civilians still face violence and abuse.

All Chechens are Muslims, though this doesn’t mean that they support Islamist rebels who are trying to create a Chechen emirate. Still, some of the rebels have joined an international jihadist movement.

“An emirate doesn’t make any sense,” argues Bater. “This kind of political system has never existed here in the Caucasus. Our spiritual roots have always been the family, and the law of the mountains. Those are our roots. Here, we believe in the family link, and we have the law of the mountains.”
The people here are pragmatic; they want to show us why the war happened, and why it could happen again. Indeed, Chechen nationalism is still alive in the Caucasian hills. While the beards of independence fighters, the famous “boivikis”, have been shaved off, their pride is as strong as ever.

“Look at our country, look how rich it is!” exclaims Bater. “You won’t see that anywhere else. When god created the earth, he created heaven on Earth. And that is Chechnya”.