Russia's Chechen War by Tracey C. German (review)

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352 SEER, 83, 2, 2005 In the final part of the book, the author criticizes American and West European governments for muting their response to Russian war crimes in Chechnya, especially in the wake of 9/ I I. He urges greater scepticism with regard to the assumption that Moscow is pursuing, albeit rather clumsily, worthy goals in Chechnya -warding off the chaotic disintegrationof Russia and fightingIslamistterrorism. Providence, RI STEPHEN D. SHENFIELD German, Tracey C. Russia'sChechen War.RoutledgeCurzon, London and New York, 2004. x + 246 pp. Maps. Glossary. Tables. Notes. Bibliography. Index. [65.00. CONVENTIONAL military analysis of events in Chechnya over the last decade has tended to separatethe operationsthereinto a Firstand a Second Chechen War. This is profoundly misleading. Dr Tracey C. German's book proves emphaticallythat both phases of militaryaction to date are but a subordinate part of a continuum that is primarilypolitical and economic in motivation, which in fact predates the Russian state as currently constituted, and has continued rightup to the present day. Indeed, the contemporaryrelevance of the book should be one of its major selling points. This may not be immediately obvious from the contents page, where dates in the early I990S predominate. However, those who wish to understand the motivating forces behind the current logjam of violence, corruptionand crackdownin the Russian North Caucasusmust startwith an analysis of its foundations and later evolution. Here, Dr German does the Englishlanguage readera sterlingservicein severalrespects. First, her chronological approach is thorough, clear and comprehensible. In this subject area, where events and policy decisions provide much of the momentum, it is fundamental to an understandingof the driving forces and issues at stake. In her detailed exposition of the public discourse, she choreographs the actors and their lines so that the factors take centre stage, and it will surprisesome readersto discoverjust which factorsprove the most influential.Today's terroristthreatis shown to be firmlyrooted notjust in an ethnic group's desire for self-determination,but in deals, dissent and power struggleswithin the Chechen ranksdatingback at least to the mid I98os. Secondly, her use of primary source material is exemplary. Most of her myriadshortquotationscome fromthe Russianmedia, and in particularfrom ephemeral contemporaryaccountswhich are destined to become inaccessible save to the persistenthistoricalresearcher.Yetthey provide a compelling case forseeing events in Chechnya as the mostviolent aspectof a 'fledglingRussian democracy [which] illustrates the highly personalized nature of decisionmakingin the post-communistera' (p. i). Thirdly, whilst setting the military (and other uniformed services')actions firmly within their political context and the military action occupies a relatively small part both of this book and of the period it covers the narrative is almost entirely free of political theory and of judgmentalism. Where contemporary analyses are fundamentallyincompatible, the reader is REVIEWS 353 left to judge for himself. Yet where an author's comment or explanation is appropriate,it is never lacking. There are a few very minor errors:PresidentMaskhadovhad undoubtedly been a lieutenant (p. I 22), but it was as a full colonel that he left the Soviet army in I992 after twenty years' service. One might have wished for more detail on the Chechen-Ingush relationship in the period between i99i and 1994, given the pivotal nature of the elections in the Chechen part of Checheno-Ingushetia in i99i which Dr German describes on pp. 46ff However, this lack of detail reflects the situation at the time, which was confused and largelyundiscussed,at least in public. Such are the problems of writingeven recent history. Future researcherswill be gratefulfor the impressivebibliographyand the full and usefulendnotes. By comparison,the index and the treatmentof events after I999 are less comprehensive. Yet this is more than compensated for by the treatmentof the Gorbachevperiodwhich, though seminal,isoftenignored in discussions of current problems in post-Soviet space. This book will go a long way towardsredressingthe balance forlaterhistorians. Yetthisbook should not be left to historiansor to regional experts.Itsmain value arguablylies in its readable but reliable chronicling, and its restrained but authoritative analysis of processes a decade ago which have a profound impact today, and notjust on Russiaand Chechnya. In herveryfirstsentence, Dr German draws attention to events that posed 'an increasing threat not only to the stability of the North Caucasus region, but also to...