Chechnya: The Case for Independence

An eloquent case for independence for Europe's forgotten colony.

Since the end of the Cold War, Chechnya has suffered two full-scale Russian military assaults, and is now in the seventh year of a brutal occupation. The casualties remain largely uncounted, and the fundamental issues at stake are routinely sidestepped in Russia and in the West. In this powerful argument for Chechen self-determination, Tony Wood considers Russo-Chechen relations over the past century and a half, as well as the fate of the region since the fall of the Soviet Union. Chechnya: The Case for Independence sharply criticizes the role of Western nations in their struggle, and lays bare the weakness—and shamefulness—of the arguments used to deny the Chechens' right to sovereignty.