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Chienne de Guerre: A Woman Reporter Behind the Lines of the War in Chechnya
When a spunky young reporter smuggles herself into Chechnya, her undercover reports spark anti-war protests in France and change her own life forever
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2000
4 people are currently reading
740 people want to read
About the author
Anne Nivat
28 books14 followersAnne Nivat is an award-winning French journalist and war correspondent who has covered conflicts in Chechnya, Iraq, and Afghanistan. She is known for interviews and character portraits in print of civilians, especially women, and their experiences of war.
Nivat completed her doctorate in political science after education at Paris Institute of Political Studies, or Sciences Po, in Paris.
Anne Nivat became an expert on Russia politics. Her first book was about Russian media during the period of glasnost in the former Soviet Union, the dissolution of country, and the aftermath until 1995 (Anne Nivat, Quand les médias russes ont pris la parole : de la glasnost à la liberté d'expression: 1985-1995, published in 1997). After a stay at Harvard University in the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies (1997-1998), she went to Russia and reported from Chechnya in 1999.
She said she was influenced by Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński, whom she later met before his death, and the well-known Italian journalist Curzio Malaparte, who covered the Eastern front during World War II and wrote his accounts in the books 'Kaputt' (1944) and 'The Skin' (1949).
She speaks several languages besides her native French and learned Russian and English, as well
as a working knowledge of Arabic.
Nivat began her reporting career at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Transitions magazine in Prague, where she worked for three years between 1995 and 1997, including a stint under Michael Kaufman, a New York Times foreign correspondent and editor, while he was on leave.
As a journalist, Anne Nivat is most known for her reporting from Chechnya in 1999-2000 where she worked for Ouest France and as a special correspondent for Libération. Nivat traveled to Moscow in September 1999, and when the Russians invaded Chechnya, she applied as a journalist for access but was denied. She gained access to the war zone by traveling there disguised as a Chechen woman and reported independently from Russian control. Nivat was in Chechnya for 4 months while she intermingled and blended with the local population and reported on the conflict during a ban on journalists until she was picked up by the Russian Federal Security Service and expelled. She says she believes her success in Chechnya was based on several factors:
The fact that I am a woman helped me a great deal covering this war. No one pays attention to a woman. Whereas if you are a man, you might be arrested at any time. Also, Dan (Williams, Moscow correspondent for the Washington Post,) doesn't speak Russian. The three elements which played in my favor were the fact that I speak Russian, the fact that I am a woman, and the fact that I am a part of the written press — I didn't need microphones. And the fourth element is luck.
Chechnya is where she began her career as a war correspondent, and she said it was also her worst war experience as she survived Russian military bombardment.
Since 2004, she has worked for Le Point, a weekly French news magazine, and has also written for Le Soir and Le Nouvel Observateur, as well as the French Huffington Post. Her English-language journalism has appeared in the USA Today, US News & World Report, Washington Post, New York Times, and Nieman Reports. For the New York Times, she wrote a piece called "Life in the 'red zone'", which is about her experiences as a war correspondent in Iraq and is included in her French-language book about Iraq. She has also written about Afghanistan by comparing the Canadian soldiers who invited her to their camp and the civilians with whom they dealt.
In 2012, her Russian visa was annulled and she was expelled once again shortly after an interview with the Russian opposition and before the presidential election. Days later, the immigration officer was fired and the Russian ambassador apologized and invited Nivat back to Russia. Her account was published by the New York Times.
Nivat completed her doctorate in political science after education at Paris Institute of Political Studies, or Sciences Po, in Paris.
Anne Nivat became an expert on Russia politics. Her first book was about Russian media during the period of glasnost in the former Soviet Union, the dissolution of country, and the aftermath until 1995 (Anne Nivat, Quand les médias russes ont pris la parole : de la glasnost à la liberté d'expression: 1985-1995, published in 1997). After a stay at Harvard University in the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies (1997-1998), she went to Russia and reported from Chechnya in 1999.
She said she was influenced by Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński, whom she later met before his death, and the well-known Italian journalist Curzio Malaparte, who covered the Eastern front during World War II and wrote his accounts in the books 'Kaputt' (1944) and 'The Skin' (1949).
She speaks several languages besides her native French and learned Russian and English, as well
as a working knowledge of Arabic.
Nivat began her reporting career at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Transitions magazine in Prague, where she worked for three years between 1995 and 1997, including a stint under Michael Kaufman, a New York Times foreign correspondent and editor, while he was on leave.
As a journalist, Anne Nivat is most known for her reporting from Chechnya in 1999-2000 where she worked for Ouest France and as a special correspondent for Libération. Nivat traveled to Moscow in September 1999, and when the Russians invaded Chechnya, she applied as a journalist for access but was denied. She gained access to the war zone by traveling there disguised as a Chechen woman and reported independently from Russian control. Nivat was in Chechnya for 4 months while she intermingled and blended with the local population and reported on the conflict during a ban on journalists until she was picked up by the Russian Federal Security Service and expelled. She says she believes her success in Chechnya was based on several factors:
The fact that I am a woman helped me a great deal covering this war. No one pays attention to a woman. Whereas if you are a man, you might be arrested at any time. Also, Dan (Williams, Moscow correspondent for the Washington Post,) doesn't speak Russian. The three elements which played in my favor were the fact that I speak Russian, the fact that I am a woman, and the fact that I am a part of the written press — I didn't need microphones. And the fourth element is luck.
Chechnya is where she began her career as a war correspondent, and she said it was also her worst war experience as she survived Russian military bombardment.
Since 2004, she has worked for Le Point, a weekly French news magazine, and has also written for Le Soir and Le Nouvel Observateur, as well as the French Huffington Post. Her English-language journalism has appeared in the USA Today, US News & World Report, Washington Post, New York Times, and Nieman Reports. For the New York Times, she wrote a piece called "Life in the 'red zone'", which is about her experiences as a war correspondent in Iraq and is included in her French-language book about Iraq. She has also written about Afghanistan by comparing the Canadian soldiers who invited her to their camp and the civilians with whom they dealt.
In 2012, her Russian visa was annulled and she was expelled once again shortly after an interview with the Russian opposition and before the presidential election. Days later, the immigration officer was fired and the Russian ambassador apologized and invited Nivat back to Russia. Her account was published by the New York Times.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 11, 2015
Before there was "Operation Iraqi Freedom", there was the war in Chechnya. A war that the Russians try to disguise as an insurrection. A war that could easily have been avoided if Moscow had simply given Chechnya the sovereignty it sought in the early 1990s. Here in this book, Anne Nivat shows both the horrors and absurdities of the Chechnyan War.
I commend Mlle. Nivat for her courage in going out on her own into Chechnya to get at the heart of the story. Anne Nivat is a gutsy woman. Her story is all the more remarkable and sobering given the efforts of Moscow to censure the news reportage from Chechnya. Being a fluent speaker of Russian also allowed Nivat to form personal bonds with many of the people she met. Thus, the reader gets a more intimate insight into the daily perils people face in Chechnya.
I commend Mlle. Nivat for her courage in going out on her own into Chechnya to get at the heart of the story. Anne Nivat is a gutsy woman. Her story is all the more remarkable and sobering given the efforts of Moscow to censure the news reportage from Chechnya. Being a fluent speaker of Russian also allowed Nivat to form personal bonds with many of the people she met. Thus, the reader gets a more intimate insight into the daily perils people face in Chechnya.
November 1, 2013
Harrowing, and very human, reporting from the front line of the 2nd Chechen war. Anne Nivat is an excellent writer, she is incredibly brave and is able to be objective and very humane at the same time.
She lucidly describes this brutal war and the horror inflicted on the inhabitants of the region, most of whom couldn't care less about whether their state is independent or part of the Russian Federation, they just want to get on with their lives.
Nothing changes in that respect, eh?
She lucidly describes this brutal war and the horror inflicted on the inhabitants of the region, most of whom couldn't care less about whether their state is independent or part of the Russian Federation, they just want to get on with their lives.
Nothing changes in that respect, eh?
July 3, 2024
Anne Nivat est une journaliste de guerre française, je n'étais ainsi pas surprise que le livre soit écrit sur un ton très journalistique. Ce n’est pas un roman mais bien un long reportage des différents séjours de la journaliste pendant la seconde guerre de Tchétchénie. Parfois difficile à suivre en raison des nombreuses personnes et des changements de lieux des différents récits de séjours en Tchétchénie et en Ingouchie, ce livre illustre néanmoins de manière authentique et crue les réalités et causes de la guerre. Causes qui sont parfois beaucoup plus complexes et ambiguës que les médias ne laissent le croire. J'ai aimé que les récits des femmes soient au centre du livre, puisqu'elles sont souvent mises en marge ou représentées comme des victimes sans pouvoir d'action lors des conflits armés.
April 16, 2015
THe book is definitely worth reading. This is not a roman though. For those who are thinking to read it, please pay attention this book is a documentar of a war journalist. THis is not a tipycal story. This is a long reportage about the war in Chechnya.
I have found the book amazing, even though the style of the book does not make it easy to read in one breath. This is still a book about a war, a brutal one. However, it helped me a lot to understand what is behind all the wars where russian federation has been involved for the past 25 years. It proved again, that the style of wars nowadays has changed since WW2.
I definitely recommend this book to those who want to understand:
- what is is a WAR nowadays;
- what is life about in a war zone;
- how propaganda works.
A special thank to Anne Nivat. You are a brave woman! I wish I heard about you as a writer/reporter before, and not when the war in Ukraine started and suddenly Ukrainian mass media started to mention you: "A famous war journalist Anne Nivat has arrived to Ukraine: is the war starting?".
Pity the book is not translated into a russian language. I gave an English version to one of my friends in russia. I hope, it will open her eyes on many things after reading the book.
I have found the book amazing, even though the style of the book does not make it easy to read in one breath. This is still a book about a war, a brutal one. However, it helped me a lot to understand what is behind all the wars where russian federation has been involved for the past 25 years. It proved again, that the style of wars nowadays has changed since WW2.
I definitely recommend this book to those who want to understand:
- what is is a WAR nowadays;
- what is life about in a war zone;
- how propaganda works.
A special thank to Anne Nivat. You are a brave woman! I wish I heard about you as a writer/reporter before, and not when the war in Ukraine started and suddenly Ukrainian mass media started to mention you: "A famous war journalist Anne Nivat has arrived to Ukraine: is the war starting?".
Pity the book is not translated into a russian language. I gave an English version to one of my friends in russia. I hope, it will open her eyes on many things after reading the book.
October 4, 2019
Having just read through Politkovskaya's 'A Small Corner of Hell', I was anticipating something similar from Nivat, but felt fairly underwhelmed. Nivat travels through Chechnya during the early days of the second war, but never seems to go as in depth as Politkovskaya. She hints at some of the more heinous Army misconducts, she meets with some victims, she encounters a few unpleasant moments. Unlike her Russian journalist counterpart, Nivat doesn't explore in-depth the motivations of the soldiers or the people behind the war. She doesn't uncover the whole web of 'teips' and foreign/domestic interests, their hands in the blood money or the continuation and escalation of violence. It feels more like an outsider looking in, still detached, no matter how much Nivat tries to live among the locals. A tourist's perspective from a war zone. Perhaps Nivat saw more than she lets on, but restrained it due to her (then) position within the Moscow newspaper. A quick read, but overall underwhelming when compared to other available sources on the topic.
March 20, 2022
Doorlopend denk je: gaat dit over een oorlog in 1999 of 2022...
November 15, 2015
The author tells the amazing story of her travels though Chechnya and surrounding countries in the Caucasus in the 1990s, between the wars and during the second one. She gives a first-hand account of what she saw and heard as she moves surruptiously around the countryside, without permission from the Russians but helped by many ordinary Chechens, all whom are suffering terribly from the conflict where no one side is right. She is courageous, sometimes foolish, always sympathetic to the simple villagers who help shelter her, even when their shelter is a bombed-out farmhouse where an extended family of ten have no heat or little food. It is warning story of how normal civil life can be destroyed by outside forces even in modern times. Thanks to the dedication of journalists like her, such stories can be told.
February 14, 2016
This is hard-hitting stuff, from a forgotten corner of the world. Regular Chechen folks have been under the knife for 20 years, and nobody cares because they're not abjectly pathetic enough for the bleeding hearts and they're too Muslim for conservative hard-liners. No matter: the Chechens are the baddest people on the planet, and their impact will continue to be felt, far beyond their tiny population.
April 12, 2007
Given to me as a gift, an enthralling read about the recorded atrocities in Chechnya. Horrors abound but the courage of this reporter keeps you turning the pages.
September 27, 2007
Read this book. Period.
October 11, 2008
Anne Nivat is amazing!
May 31, 2015
Pretty good
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews