Are you suggesting other countries should have intervened to help the breakaway side in Chechnya?Or perhaps you are saying that there should be intervention to drive the russians out of Georgia?
There was help from other countries, of course, mainly not official, but at it was. From Arabic countries, for example, and other Islamic states. But there were some other European and American and even Russian organizations as well. Usually they were founded by Islamists, there relatives or sympathizers.
otherwise the war wasn't so long.
You know, there wasn't any need for the international community to introduce their troops into Russia. Eerything was fine especially at the beginning of the 1990s when the country was drowning in is internal problems, like poverty,corruption, banditism, wild and illegal privatisation , .... And that fact that Russia got stuck in the war (losing a lot of people lives and money) and, on the one hand, was becoming weaker and weaker (and could soon fall down), on the other, there was a possibility to earn money selling armaments, that was serving somebody's purpose well. Guess whose. So, there was no necessity to send troops and lose people and money. Russians could do everything perfectly themselves. due to Corruption those terrorists got money and help from Russian officials and other "thirsty for money" people as well.
well, of course there was a point of Russian nuclear weapnons that shouldn't have been underestimated. Oh, and there was one more ground for blaming Russia. And poor (in ecomnomical sense) country had to borrow large sums of money and therefore didn't play any significant role on the inerntional stage. Everything was prfect, so why try and make war?
But there are some differences between Chechnya and South Osetia and Abkhasia. Under perestroika in Chechnya political clubs on a multiethnic basis and democratic national clubs, including the Chechen "Bart" Committee, were formed. Radical nationalists appeared in 1991. The power grabs covered up by nationalist or democratic rhetoric are the hidden motives of conflicts in Chechnya.
The other motive is access to the distribution of state funds and incomes from the arms and oil trade. Since 1991 social insurance, health care services and public education have been destroyed in Chechnya. The aged population does not receive their pensions because social funds provided by the federal government for Chechnya have been stolen or spent on terrorism and the military. The federal government, maintaining the militarization of Chechnya for years, actually nurtured the regime of General Dudaev. All conflicts, in particular in the distribution of funds, were solved by the removal of his opponents.
The borders were opened to drugs and arms from other countries. Chechnya turned into the favorite place for Russian and foreign criminals. Many people lived in poverty.
Those problems were real. By 1994 the federal government began to understand that the problems should be solved. Was a military intervention the only way to do it? Of course not. It was the worst solution; it raised the status of General Dudaev and practically killed the extant opposition in Chechnya. The reasons for the war in Chechnya have more to do with power grabs, incompetent policy and corruption, than they do with ethnic problems and the need "to obtain national self-determination" or "to protect democracy and constitutional order".
In fact from 1991 till 1994 so-called free Ichkeria was a country in a country. They had their organs of government (not effective, I dare say), army, printed their own money ... Chechnya is a "country" with a clan (teips) system and some medieval features. At that time there was a massive fled of non-Chechenian population from Chechnya, because of its descrimination there, though they lived there all their lives. Among them there were a lot of first-rate specialists (engineers, workers, teachers, doctors, and so on..) who could help the country to develope. But it seemed they were not necessary. It couldn't be said about criminals, terrorists, drugdealers, kidnappers, and other bastards. So instead of trying to put everything in order, Chechenian authorities just were fighting for power and destabilising the situation in Chechnya and in the region. Not without external help.
After the first war a treaty was signed.
During eight hours of subsequent talks, General Lebed and Maskhadov (president of Ichkeria) drafted and signed the Khasav-Yurt Accord on August 31, 1996. It included: technical aspects of demilitarization, the withdrawal of both sides' forces from Grozny, the creation of joint headquarters to preclude looting in the city, the withdrawal of all federal forces from Chechnya by December 31, 1996, and a stipulation that any agreement on the relations between the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and the Russian federal government need not be signed until late 2001. The Khasav-Yurt Accord paved the way for the signing of two further agreements between Russia and Chechnya. In mid-November 1996, Yeltsin and Maskhadov signed an agreement on economic relations and reparations to Chechens who had been "affected" by the 1994–96 war.
In February 1997, Russia approved an amnesty for Russian soldiers and Chechen rebels alike who committed illegal acts in connection with the war in Chechnya between December 9, 1994, and September 1, 1996.[8]
Six months after the Khasav-Yurt Accord, on May 12, 1997, Chechen-elected president Aslan Maskhadov traveled to Moscow where he and Yeltsin signed a formal treaty "on peace and the principles of Russian-Chechen relations" that Maskhadov predicted would demolish "any basis to create ill-feelings between Moscow and Grozny."[38]
Maskhadov's optimism, however, proved misplaced. Over the next two years, a few of Maskhadov's former comrades-in-arms, led by field commander Shamil Basayev and Ibn al-Khattab, launched an incursion into Dagestan in the summer of 1999, and soon Russia invaded Chechnya again starting the Second Chechen War. [wikipedia].
But before 1999 there was a number of terrorist acts all over the European terrritory of Russia (in Buinaksk, Volgodonsk, Moscow and not only).And what
Russia did in Chechnya was not fighting against the Chechens as a nation, it was fighting against terrorism (unlike Georgia). And it was fighting against international terrorism, because there are a lot of representatives of other nationalities, like the Taleban, people from the Middle East, some territories of Russia, the Baltic states, some Russian states, the Ukraine.
After the 2nd Chechen war Russian government once again approved an amnesty for those rebels who didn't participate in terrorist acts and was ready to lay down weapons . A lot of them got an opportunity to return to normal life. Is this the act of genocide? I doubt.
The proof of it lies in the present-day situation in Chechnya which is actively being reconstructed, various sides of life are being developed. it is getting large sums for this from Russian government as dotational region. And Chechens are even in Russian representative team at the Beijing Olympic games and win gold medals for our country together with sports people from other regions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If we compare this with the South Osetian situation, it's quite oppositte. Osetians didn't turn their land into a terrorist camp and beneficial place for criminals of the world. On the controrary they tried to create modern, economically developped, historically interesting state. they had even their own university, with many faculties, including lingistic researches. The perfect hobby for terrorists and criminals between skirmishes, don't you think so?!
(it's a joke). they have very rich culture (once again not the feature characteristic of terrorists and bandits as Saakhashvilly says). And by the way on the previous stage they were even ready to have just an autonomic status within Georgia. Obviously it's not the way out that Georgia and US will agree to.
Then in Chechnya there weren't any peacekeepers from other countries at all, and consequently they were not killed at night with the help of heavy arms almost without any opportunity to defend themselves. (By the way, peacekeepers are not considered to fight, but just oversee relations with both the parties to the peace treaty and the UN member-states in general. that's why they don't have any heavy artillery. and don't expect to be attacted by any national army.
But Saakhashvilly decided that he has all rights to do this and violate all the treaties signed by the former Georgian government and supported by the UN!) So, even if we put aside that genocide of Osetians,
Russia had all rights and even duties to do what it did. (But of course, that would be better if we didn't lose the control over the situation in Georgia from the very beginning and acted as the US acted, that is with the help of various political institutions, support of pro-Russian government, non-governmental funds or usage of patent US invention - Colour revolutions or something of the kind. Unfortunately, our technologies in this sphere are not so developed and successful as the US ones.
) At least there wouldn't have been so many victims.
Some new facts: After Osetians got possibility to get out of their shelters they told many "interesting" stories about the Georgian soldiers and other hirelings including Ukrainians, hirelings from Baltic states, Poland, ... like shooting pregnant women, killing children in front of their mothers, burning churches with people who hid there, and cars with wounded and refugees.
Outrageous! Some international and Rusian journalists suffered from their actions as well. (not just mere words, there are proofs).
To tell the truth, if Georgia didn't start this war campaign against Osetians, there wasn't any war at all. I'm sure. If you watch news Tbilisi was not bombed, Russian troops are not invading Georgia, Saakhashvilli is safe and sound (but is becoming more and more insane) and is still the President. That was funny to see him chewing his tie before interview on the BBC! But my mother says she is sorry for him, he had bad childhood ad became what he bacame. And perhaps he is now a hostage of his own choice. But he knew what he did and he still has a great US support.
