Chechnya: A Small Victorious War

Chechnya: A Small Victorious War, Carlotta Gall and Thomas de Waal, London: Pan Books, 1997, 416 pp. (to be released in March 1998 by New York Univ. Press, under the title, Chechnya: Calamity in the Caucasus).

The story of how a small band of guerilla fighters faced the might of the Russian army and won is bound to be interesting. Carlotta Gall and Thomas de Waal, two correspondents from Moscow’s English-language daily, The Moscow Times, have written a gripping eyewitness account of the 21-month war in Chechnya.

After a description of the New Year’s Eve invasion of Grozny, the book explores the root causes of the war. The early chapters give history and background to the struggle, including a fascinating section on Chechen culture, where the authors argue that Russia’s failure in Chechnya was due to its deep-rooted misunderstanding – and underestimation – of the Chechen people.