The road to Bamut: At least among Chechens, Bamut became one of the legends of resistance during the First Chechen War. In a dramatic flourish, the rebel leader Dzhokhar Dudayev even officially renamed it “Fortress Bamut”. And for a while, as its 1,300 houses and other buildings were being continuously rocketed, bombed and mortared, the … Continue reading
Below is the checkpoint from North Ossetia into Ingushetia… Actually, this is just a sliver of it, but security is extremely tight here and I had to exercise a significant amount of discretion just to get the rough picture below. Security is tight because in the minds of Russians, this marks a transition between friendly … Continue reading
This complex in Nazran, Ingushetia was opened in 1998 as a memorial to the Ingush and Chechen victims of Stalin’s brutality: The circle of pillars and arches ringing the interior of the memorial complex add a dramatic element and at the base of the structure are plaques honoring prominent Ingush – military heroes from different … Continue reading
We encountered this old boy while out exploring the Chechen countryside near Bamut and found him to be exceedingly photogenic: Photograph taken on 10/07/2014 There will be much more on Chechnya and the North Caucasus soon, but we have just returned and are still getting back up to speed… Continue reading
