:Conflicts: Chechnya

This episode looks at the root of the tensions which stem from 1859 when Chechnya was conquered by Russia after a failed attempt to create an Islamic state. Since then the Chechen struggle for independence from Russia (and before that the Soviet Union) has seen Stalin?s deportation of the entire Chechen population to Siberia in 1944, and the 20 month war in 1994 that killed more than 100,000 people.

In the aftermath of September 11 the Chechens became portrayed by President Putin as 'part of the global terror network'. Then in October 2002, the conflict in Chechnya was brought to the fore as a result of the siege in a Moscow theatre by Chechen rebels that ended in the deaths of more than 120 people.

The programme combines archive footage with the views of both Chechens and Russians, whose lives have been directly affected by the conflict. The programme also hears from Camilla Carr and Jon James, the two British aid workers in Chechnya who were taken hostage in July 1997, and held for 14 months before finally being released.

Now that the local issue has become part of a much bigger political game, Conflicts: Chechnya asks what the chances are of a resolution in Chechnya.
[tags]chechen, chechnya, war[/tags]