A recent article by Masha Gessen of Slate entitled ‘What drives the separatists to commit such terrible outrages?‘ makes a strong point about the driving factors behind terrorism. Gessen outlines the modern history of Chechnya and notes the trials of the people at the hands of government oppression from Moscow.
Little doubt is left as to the goodwill or trustworthiness of the Chechnyans towards the Russian government. The results of the last election, which the US and other monitoring bodies called ‘un-democratic’ and ‘corrupt’ have incited a revolt which is likely to keep the body count rising for years to come.
Moscow does have a choice though. They can let Chechnya become its own country and still claim the oil pipelines and fields for their own. Moderate Chechnyans have tried this tack before, but with the latest attacks, any Chechnyan separatism will be viewed through the biased eyes of the ‘War on Terror’. One can only hope Moscow was not funding the assailants.
Rand Fishkin
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