March 2003
People

Debating the Russo-Chechen War

The University's Dr John Russell has been contributing to debate on the Russo-Chechen war following last year's theatre hostage crisis.

Last October, the attention of the world's media was focused on Moscow as the drama of the theatre hostages was played out.

Armed Chechen rebels had threatened the lives of more than 800 theatregoers until the building was stormed by Russian special forces, killing virtually all of the Chechens and 128 of the hostages.

As one of the few British experts on the Russo-Chechen war, the views of John, Head of the Department of Languages and European Studies, have since been widely sought.

His article on the siege was published in 'The World Today' and he contributed to a number of conferences featuring representatives from all sides of the conflict, including Anna Politkovskaya, the Russian journalist invited into the Moscow theatre to try to negotiate a peaceful conclusion to the crisis, and Vanessa Redgrave, whose spirited defence of the Chechen envoy, Akhmed Zakayev, drew considerable media coverage.

John is currently editing a book on the Russo-Chechen wars, with contributions from leading Western, Chechen and Russian experts, and plans a monograph on the conflict, the bloodiest in Europe since World War II.

18 March 2003

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