Commentary
Dmitri Trenin
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REQUIRED IMAGE
The Forgotten War: Chechnya and Russia's Future
The Bush and Putin administrations have misleadingly folded Chechnya into the global war on terror. Their critics have done little better by defining Chechnya as a human rights challenge. However, ignoring Chechnya or focusing primarily on human rights misses the larger issue, which is not what happens to Chechnya, but what kind of Russia emerges from that forgotten war.
Published on Nov 19, 2003
Source: Carnegie
The Bush and Putin administrations have misleadingly folded Chechnya into the global war on terror. Their critics have done little better by defining Chechnya as a human rights challenge. Beyond terrorism and war crimes, the war in Chechnya has become a massive roadblock on the way to Russia's modernization and transformation. The perennial conflict in the Caucasus affects the Russian polity, Russian society, and Russia's quality as a U.S. ally. It hampers the formation of a civic Russian nation, gives undue influence to the military and security services, and blocks meaningful military reform.
No early solution to the conflict is in sight, and there is little that outsiders can do. However, ignoring Chechnya or focusing primarily on human rights misses the larger issue, which is not what happens to Chechnya, but what kind of Russia emerges from that forgotten war.
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About the Author
Dmitri V. Trenin has been deputy director of the Carnegie Moscow Center since 1997. He is the author of The End of Eurasia: Russia on the Border Between Geopolitics and Globalization, coeditor of Ambivalent Neighbors: The EU, NATO and the Price of Membership, and coauthor of Russia's Restless Frontier: The Chechnya Factor in Post-Soviet Russia (coming in March, 2004).
About the Author
Dmitri Trenin
Former Director, Carnegie Moscow Center
Trenin was director of the Carnegie Moscow Center from 2008 to early 2022.
- Mapping Russia’s New Approach to the Post-Soviet Space
- What a Week of Talks Between Russia and the West RevealedCommentary
Dmitri Trenin
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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