Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power

by Anatol Lieven

The war between Russia and the Chechen separatist forces, from December 1994 to August 1996, was a key moment in Russian and even world history, shedding a stark light on the end of Russia as a great military and imperial power. Anatol Lieven, a distinguished writer and political commentator, was a correspondent for the London Times in the former Soviet Union from 1990 to 1996 and was commended for his coverage of the Chechen War by the British Press Association.

In this major new work of history and analysis, Lieven sets Russia’s humiliation at the hands of a tiny group of badly organized guerrillas in a plausible framework for the first time. He offers both a riveting eyewitness account of the war itself and a sophisticated and multifaceted explanation for the Russian defeat. Highlighting the numerous ways in which Russian society and culture differ today from the simplistic stereotypes still current in much of Western analysis, he explores the reasons for the current weakness of Russian nationalism both within the country and among the Russian diaspora.

In the final part of the book Lieven examines the Chechen tradition, providing the first in-depth anthropological portrait in English of this extraordinary fighting people. In his representation of the character of the Chechen nation, Lieven contributes to the continuing debate between "constructivist" and "primordialist" theories of the origins of nationalism and examines the role of both historical experience and religion in the formation of national identity.

Genres: Russia, History, Nonfiction, Politics, War, Russian History

436 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 1998

About the author

Anatol Lieven currently reports from Central Europe for the Financial Times. In 1996-97 he was visiting senior fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C. He is the author of The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence, published by Yale University Press.

Reviews

[John Farebrother · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, in-depth study of what went wrong in the Caucasus, and a useful chronology of the first act of the Chechen Wars. I found some of the analysis and predictions (and indeed the title) to be somewhat ambitious and exaggerated. One point I found to be very telling is that among the many people listed in the index (voluminous in itself), the name Vladimir Putin is not to be found anywhere - just one year before he came to power. As such, the book's real value is its detailed description of the war and the political crisis that engendered it.

[Смазочный Режим · Rating 5 out of 5]

Кропотливый труд о той самой непонятно гражданской войне России девяностых. Тут автор замечательно описывает быт людей, мотивы и манёвры. Война закончившаяся победой слабых в плане вооружённости, но сильных духом людей. Проигранная Россией. Беспощадная и жестокая. Война без особых причин. И оставившая после себя кучу вопросов с минимумом ответов.
В повествовании Ливен иногда спотыкается, что-то путает, но по факту это лучшая книга про этот период. Не эталонная в плане написания, но затягивающая в себя своей уникальностью материала

[Noxchiswag · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lieven's practically-racist disdain for Chechens is mixed with his grudging praise of them. He seems to gloss over massacres of Chechens as sort of a matter-of-course while trying to figure out how Russia can become a great empire again.

However this is the best book written by a Russian about Chechnya I've read so far.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professor Lieven does an interesting look at how Chechnya has impacted Russia in his look at the war of 1994-1996. It is very well done in detail and looks at the historical and practical reasons for the Russian defeat in the war. As other reviewers have pointed out there is a bias from the author and it is not for beginners. During his time in Chechnya he has become a fan of the Chechens and it is obvious in the way that he characterizes both parties in the war. This is a very intense and widely ranging scholarly work looking at factors including military, sociology, economics, religion, politics and history related to the conflict. The author makes a very strong point related to the character of the Chechens on religion and culture and why the fight in the war as a religion older than Islam. For those who really want to dive into why the Russians struggled in this conflict and how it persists into today this is a great book to use

[Kevin Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good introductory book into the Russo-Chechen War. Anatol was a correspondent there in the 90s and met with Shamil Basayev among others. This was of course before Nord Ost, and before Beslan. The book ends essentially with a description of the ways that Putin is able to manipulate the situation in Chechnya to his advantage. But it still offers a great firsthand glimpse into Grozny at the height of the first Russo-Chechen War.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tedious at some points but Anatol Lieven is one of my favorite Russian historians.