To Abdullah
During First Chechen War there was real case, when drunken Russian soldiers sold for 300 US dollars Russian tank to Chechens.

Happy Ramadan to you too, my brother. Sorry I have to go now, I am very hungry.

Be good!

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To Kir Yakovlev

Thank you!

Couple days ago in Moscow was organised meeting against Second Chechen War by Valeria Novodvorskaya, MP of Russian Parliment (???), on Pushkin Square.
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and to you - all folks

CHECHNYA WILL BE INDEPENDENT!!!!!!!!

To Abdullah
Kir is right, be good my brother, it is Ramadan now.

Everest -
Novodvorskaya is a lady of firm and admirable convictions, but on the matters of foreign and military policy her reactions to whatever the Russian government does are almost automatic: always strongly negative.(It doesn't mean they are necessarily wrong, though).
In April, she and Konstantin Borovoi draped a car in a big U.S. flag, topped it with a
banner reading "NATO, We're With You," and drove slowly in front of the U.S. Embassy - just minutes after a terrorist had strafed the building with machine-gun fire. Courageous, but personally I beg to differ somewhat with their position.
While it's good to see that not everybody has succumbed to the nationalist hysteria, I'm rather more impressed by the fact that all most "pro-Western" and "pro-human-rights" fugures, like Gaidar or Kiriyenko do seem to support the military action. (So does Yavlinsky, although with some caveats, to my understanding).

Kir
Gaidar, Kirienko and other "good chaps" at the moment care only about election results. The mood in the country, fuelled by State propoganda, is unti-Chechen and pro-War. So Gaidar and Kirienko in order to collect more votes are riding on the wave. Politics is dirty business.

About Yavlinsky. You know, before I held him in great respect, but even he, he stepped away from his former position (during First Chechen War he was against military actions).

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In this Russian - Chechen conflict, the situation went over critical point of no return ( hope I expressed myself in proper way).
In 1991-92, or even after 1996 it was possible to solve by diplomatic means, without loosing face.

I do not want to go into arguments here, but I will say one thing - Chechen nation will never submit!. If this time Russian army will flat out Chechnya and subdue the whole region, this will not solve anything. New generation will be born, and they will fight again. Only recognition of Independent State for Chechnya will solve this crisis.

Few words about crime in Chechnya.
Criminals are between every nation. The rise of crime in Chechnya is the direct result of First Chechen War and the following isolation of Chechen people.
If recognised by international community and protected of agression from Kremlin, Chechnya will be able to build normal mordern society.

About Islam.
It is only natural during difficult times to look to God. Everywhere in the world, when certain nation is going through difficulties, religion takes important place.
Take for example Poland. Catholic religion helped them through the time of Communism, but we do not call Polish people Catholic fundamentalists.
After, when Chechen people will build Independent State, this state will not be a Fundamentalist state, but very much as a Democratic business enterprise.
In the Caucasus the most important for us is personal freedom. Caucasians are born free and they will never submit.
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Horoshii ti chelovek, Kir Yakovlev, pobolshe bi takih kak ti v Rossii, i Rossia vishla bi iz crizisa.

Chechnya will never submit!!!

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria will be Independent

Those, who are guilty of Genocide against Chechen nation and Caucasus will be punished!!!!

Everest -

The point about criminalization as a result of isolation is well taken. In somewhat similar way, that's exactly what happened in the ghettos of our (USA) inner cities (Though isolation was economic and "by default", of course, not military and intended). In the last seven-eight years we have seen, for a number of reasons, increasing integration, and the homicide numbers have plummeted.
Islam...we do have Muslems in US, in Canada. A new mosque is being build a few blocks from my former house...nobody thinks of it as a threat of some sort...There are always some people who will do terrible things "in the name" of something they imagine they are serving. Timothy McVeigh blew up a building full of innocent people "in the name of" freedom, as a "protest" against power abuses by FBI and BATF. Does it make freedom less precious or the abuses by Government less alarming? Of course not. It just makes Timothy McVeigh a criminal deserving most severe punishment...
Chehcnya probably will be independent, eventually. Doubters are welcome to re-read Tolstoy (the end of the last century) or Pushkin contemporaries (the beginning of that century) on Russian attempts to subdue Chechens...

P.S. Spasibo na dobrom slove...Tak ved' proboval "byt' v Rossii", part-time; bizness kakoi-to naladit'...nichego ne vyshlo; dazhe prilichnyye s vidu lyudi dumayut, pokhozhe, in the mode "skhvatit' i ubezhat'". Mozhet ne povezlo...
(A complaint of a Russian-American about incompatibility with Russia-Russia).

To all concerning the above question,
I am a little concerned about the outside involvement of others, the US in particular. I think that throughout our history, we've picked and chosen our battles. Often in the past, there was a need for intervention on behalf of another country, and we did nothing(South Africa). Now with Russia being broken up, seemingly the United States is "the superpower". What we need as far as our involvementin foreign affairs, is consistency, not just interceding when we have a vested interest.
As for Chechnya surviving as a state, by rights, if they want to be autonymous, then so be it. But, they are looking up the barrell of a gun(so to speak). Once the large scale violations against people have subsided, they'll be right in position to fall back into the systematic break down of the people individually and corporately.

To Kissie:
Re: Kosovo. You must be out of your mind. Regardles of the number of Albanian casualties reported after the recent Nato bombing campaign, Serb forces systematic brutalised and killed Albanians systematically on an off and on basis. I visited Kosovo (Pristina and surrounding areas) many years ago and witnessed the fear of the Albanian population of Serb special forces. Revenge killings of Albanians by Serbs occured particularly after WWII. Tito managed to minimise the Serb assault on this minority to a large degree. Milosevic was responsable for an increase in violance towards the Albanians. The Albanians have a right for independence as anybody else. The KLA was created in response to Serb terror campaigns and his ideas of a geater Serbia.
Re: Chechnya: You know very well tghat the terror against the Chechens is realted to history and hate. I also agree that terrorism has to be wiped out, but this is barbarism of past Stalin style.

Svoloch, Igor...

This just in on AP, Sunday December 12 5:35 AM ET

"Senior Russian generals said the army would wait two to three weeks before trying to seize Grozny, according to Russian news reports. Russia planned to use commandos and other special forces troops to take the city, Koshman said, according to ITAR-Tass."

I think I may have mentioned this method some time ago. I wonder if "someone" was listening?

Take care...

To Luna

Kissie:
Re: Kosovo. You must be out of your mind. Regardles of the number of Albanian casualties reported after the recent Nato bombing campaign, Serb forces systematic brutalised and killed ..

The person using the pseudonym 'Kissie'
is not out of her mind. She has a very deliberate
and politically motivated pro serbian/russian agenda. She almost sounds like an old Pravda, newspaper editorial of the former Soviet Union.

She systematically publishes masses of erroneous data tailored to support her left wing beliefs. Her arguments are specious and lack any kind of credability.

All educated rational people now about the genocide inflicted by serbian savages upon the Muslims and Croatians. Thank god this time the serbs were ignominiously defeated.

Adam R.
Santa Monica, California

Some relief for Grozny's civilians. The Russian initiative to help civilians get out of Grozny is certainly a positive signal and gives even hope for a possible peaceful solution of the crisis. Above all, the most important thing for international intervention is to minimise civilian casualties, mainly innocent women, children and old men. The tragedy is that some people apparently may not make it - due to some reports they are to fragile or sick to hop on a bus, or lack the money to pay for a bus ticket. It appears that international pressure has helped already a little bit. A peaceful political solution is in evrybody's interest, but mostly in the interest of the Russian people. The Russians have suffered enough under the miserable economic conditions of the present. Hope for the better?

Russia will never be a superpower-it will end up being a puppet of the Chinese or the European Union, or America--

Think of it--a nation that was so dominant in the cold war, then got its ass kicked in Afghanistan by the mujahideen, then in Chechnya a few years ago, has stopped supporting its puppets because it is broke (ie cuba)---the only thing it has is nuclear weapons-and vodka-

May all you barbaric russian supporters burn in hell

Luna. You must be out of your mind. Thanks, I'm happy I'm not with those in their mind. Regardles of the number of Albanian casualties reported after the recent Nato bombing campaign, Serb forces systematic brutalised and killed Albanians systematically on an off and on basis. It's understandable that when a preconceived idea gets torpedoed by forces used to support it - it's devastating and there's a need to relocate from one board to another where, hopefully, threre'll be new ears (eyes, in fact) to abuse on an on-and-off basis. I visited Kosovo (Pristina and surrounding areas) many years ago and witnessed the fear of the Albanian population of Serb special forces. I also remember hiding behind that stone in one mountain region infested with KLA-style freedom-fighters. The Albanians have a right for independence as anybody else. Why? There was (and still is) a quite independent Albania nearby. Again, it's understandable, that a Hoxha Marxist Albania is null against Kosmet in terms of development, so why not to have a go at Kosmet on an on-and-off basis with Albright's blessing?
Milosevitch? The fact remains that Milo was absolutely pi$$ed off when the Bosnian serbs refused the UN peace proposal after Milo said he would get it for them. I think there is a documentary available which shows much of these negotiations as they happened. Sure, Bosnia was not part of Serbia proper as distinct from Kosmet. You know very well tghat the terror against the Chechens is realted to history and hate. I also agree that terrorism has to be wiped out, but this is barbarism of past Stalin style. I don't know that. Someone had simply thought it a nice idea to stir up something grand.

To Adam R.
Thanks for your comments re Kissie. You are probably right.

The Russian initiative to help civilians get out of Grozny is certainly a positive signal and gives even hope for a possible peaceful solution of the crisis. How come?! Those "barbaric murdering" Russkies?:o))
A reminder. The buses sent to Grozny by that Shoygu to retrieve old people from retirement age housing two weeks ago returned empty - some Grozny "official" (preferred to stay undisclosed) prevented it. Now it's the same story - militants position differ.