The Chechen Struggle Independence Won and Lost [Paperback]

Told from the perspective of its former Foreign minister, this is a uniquely candid account of Chechnya's struggle for independence and its two wars against Russia which will revise our understanding of the conflict and explain how it continues. Features new insights, intimate portraits of key personalities and a foreword by Zbigniew Brzezinski.Forward; Zbigniew Brzezinski The War Starts I Join Maskhadov's General Staff Raid on Budennovsk: Basayev Forces Peace Maskhadov is Elected President Maskhadov's Impossible Quandary The Hostage Trade Crisis within Chechen Society Incursions into Dagestan The Chechen Resistance Splinters My Tenure as Foreign Minister The Killing of Maskhadov The North Caucasus Emirate and Beyond

Akhmadov feels disgusted by both Ramzan Kadyrov's rule and the jihadists who hijacked the independence movement. He nurses a vision of the Chechen people one day resurrecting the idea that animated their initial revolt in 1994: the establishment of Chechnya as a secular, democratic state. - The Wall Street Journal

Akhmadov does not avoid . . .pointing out how (Chechens) contributed to their own national catastrophe. But he saves much of his bitterness for the west. The desires of the Chechens were meaningless when compared to our own security needs. Akhmadov forcefully argues that, in ignoring the legitimate desires of ordinary people, the democracies undermine the very safety they think they are securing...when historians write about the war on terror, Akhmadov will come out of it a lot better than a lot of western politicians will. - The Guardian

A personal and a historical account of the Chechen struggle . . ..informative and highly readable . . .Recommended. - Choice

Ilyas Akhmadov's memoir is the first personal account by a member of the Chechen leadership of the events that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Chechens and the transformation of Russia. He gives the best lC$