Welcome to Grozny! Before the First Chechen War broke out in 1994, Grozny was a fairly typical Russian city of a half a million people – the same size as Oslo in Norway. One notable aspect of the city though was that it was one of the Soviet Union’s most important oil centers. Grozny was … Continue reading
Crossing into Chechnya from Ingushetia one will immediately find themselves entering the plains of Chechnya: The Russians like the plains. The plains offer greater visibility and mobility and thus the mechanized advantages of the Russian military can more easily be brought to bear here, making it easier to do battle with the Chechens. Rather than … Continue reading
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
This is the first view one gets of Jibla when approaching the city: Entering Jibla: The city sprawls over a hill and so to move around the city, one is almost always moving up or down a slope: Since the entrance to the city is at the bottom, one starts out by working their way … 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
A first view of the city of Ibb from a distance… Ibb is at an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet and the surrounding mountains ensure ample rainfall for the region, making this one of the greenest areas in Yemen: Interestingly (and coincidentally), the route we followed on the first days of our visit to Yemen … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 