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
The Velvet Rocket 