Do you think that Putin wants to destroy the population as Maskhadov believes, or is that oversimplifying it?
I still don’t think that there is an organized genocide from the Kremlin towards the Chechen people. I don’t think that a strategy exists; I hope it does not. But, unfortunately, the reality of what is happening in Chechnya is close to that. Last time I was in Chechnya was April. The situation is not improving at all. It’s just getting worse and worse every day. It’s total chaos. Complete chaos. Everything is possible, which, by the way, is one of the reasons for why the Russian army is still there and pretending to fight the rebels: A bunch of people on both sides are making money off this. Huge amounts of money. Who? Anyone can pay his way by bribing Russian officers. Do the Russian soldiers seem disillusioned? Absolutely. They are completely disillusioned. I did not meet a single one who did not say, “We are here in vain and we know it.” And the Chechen rebel fighters — what is their greater cause? Do they see themselves as martyrs? Their goal is still independence. Of course now,
