The current situation in Chechnya is causing controversies and misunderstandings and, consequently, leading those who follow this region to draw incorrect conclusions.

A nationwide state of emergency imposed in Georgia last week is set to end.  “The nation is no longer in danger, so there is no need to extend the state of emergency,” Nino Burdzhanadze, the parliament speaker, said on Thursday.

Throughout the history of modern warfare it is difficult to imagine a more wretched existence than the lot of the common Russian infantryman. From the Napoleonic wars to the Second World War, Russian commanders have taken the view that their soldiers are little better than cannon fodder whose survival is …