Albert

Our Ruskies, Our Chechens

Nikolai, with machine gun, grenades and clips of ammo hanging on his
body, with green bandana boisterously tied on his head, thinks about
only one thing: if only the last 30 days passed as fast as possible,
he will get a promised order and he will go home.
- This is not my war - he says, counting days and money. Being three
days on duty in Chechnya, he makes the same as a policeman per month
in St. Petersburg and every day of duty in the Caucasus counts as
three days of duty at home. He doesn't want to risk his life and
health and he is happy that his commander made a quiet pact with the
elders from Starye Atagi. Chechens promised the soldiers that they
will leave them in peace, if they will not be interested what's
going on in the village, if they will not organize any drunken
brawls and round-ups of local men.
This non-aggression pact suits both sides. Chechens don't have to be
afraid of constant searches and arrests, the Russians not worrying
about their lives, can count days and money. And at any occasion to
supplement their soldier's pay, they can trade gas, battle dresses
with Chechens, sometimes also guns and ammo or by closing their eyes,
at a check point when a car passes through, without the licence
plates, with passengers who's appearance should raise an alarm.
- This is not my war - says Nikolai, turning his eyesight away and
hiding in his hand bunch of bills.

Suddenly the eyesight fails

Thousands of military checkpoints that surrendered Chechnya and cut
off the roads, supposed to paralized the life of the rebellious
republic and break its resistance. The guards on checkpoints should
not allow fighters who were pushed into high mountains break
through, to the conquered by the Russians flatlands. Meticulous
controls supposed to catch all the passing by without proper
documents or high mobility that could be a suspicion of contacts
with fighters. Instead never failing alarm system, the road
check points became very quickly converted to shops for trading
services. It's enough that for one hundred rubles bill, cigarettes,
bottles of beer or vodka, suddenly soldiers eyesight fails. And for
a bill with the portrait of American president Franklin, the guards
not only are willing let go undesired foreigner, but can give him a
ride to the most forbidden place for him. Needed is only an
intermediary, who got confidence and trust of the soldiers and for
adequate percent will make a deal. " We wanted good, but it came as
always" - said with resignation the Russian premier few years ago.
In ninth month of the latest Caucasian war almost every Chechen
village like to have these "our Ruskies" and make with them
non-aggression pacts and some kind of alliances. The easiest is with
the soldiers from garrisons stationed in a village permanently. They
know that they will be dealing with the locals for many months and
will not avoid a revenge if they deserve it. Proclaiming the war on
the local Chechens, soldiers duty from the garrisons would be a
nightmare of constant nightly shootouts and ambushes.
Negotiating, they are assured to have peace and relative prosperity.
- We all, somehow want to survive - Chechens are saying, giving the
Russians an offer that can not be rejected. A pact once made, is
maintained and obeyed by alternates who hand over every three months
the garrisons. Chechens sometimes are willing to defend these "our
Russkies" against the mujahideen, who unknowingly could fire on the
Russian quarters at night. The hardest is to negotiate with soldiers
from the front line, who's assignment is not occupy, but to conquer.
They normally never make any agreements, if they do, they
do not abide to the contract, just destroy and loot villages,
leaving dead bodies, ruins and burnt-out places.

Chechen - guarantee letter (safe-conduct)

Even in peacefull Atagi, Nikolai and his comrades very seldom
venture into deserted alleys, where from behind the locked gates of
houses,they get an exchange of unfriendly glances. They trying not
to leave the village without a trusted Chechen guide. For them, he
is not only the guidepost, but a guarantee letter assuring their
safety.
But, even with the Chechen behind the steering wheel, Russian
soldiers quit talking and nerviously look on all sides when a road
is getting close to the forest growing on the mountain slope. The
green bush causes, that fighters visible in the winter, on snow, now
can unnoticeably sneak all over the country to organize road
ambushes. The same danger for soldiers are posing only covered with
smoke from burning oil wells, the ruins of Grozny. There, where the
net of checkpoints is the thickest (on Minutka square are three),
with coming of dusk, seemingly deserted city roars from shootings.

Big hunt

The war almost fade away and moved into Vedeno and Nozhai-Yurt
gorges, where the units of fighters have taken shelter. There at
daybreak, airplains are going to unload new bombs on the fighters
hide-outs. The thuds of explosions sometimes can be heard in the
Argun valley. The war has changed into a hunt, where the hunters and
the game constantly swap their roles. Russian are tracking on
mountain trails tired and starved fighters, who are coming down to
villages. They also hunt hiding in villages Chechen commanders,
betrayed by paid or intimidated informers.
The fighters are hunting military convoys travelling on winding
mountain roads with reinforcements and ammo to garrisons in gorges.
In these ambushes, this spring , more than hundred soldiers got
killed. Hiding fighters, smash the first and the last vehicle in the
gorge, and then finish off the rest of the immobilized convoy.

Military base on the border

Through destroyed village of Duba-Yurt military convoys are going
every day, leaving behind big clouds of red dust. Duba-Yurt is a gate
to Argun valley, it starts where wooded mountain slopes gather close
to the river. Locals call this place Wolf Gates. Further the road
goes up and runs hairpin bends on the bottom of the gorge. That is
here, close to the village of Yarish-Marda, where the fighters
massacred Russian convoy five years ago, killing more than hundred
soldiers.
Coming of every convoy are announcing helicopters, flying like big
black beetles over the river. Accompanied by bad glances from the
villagers, kilomers of trucks in convoys are passing through
Duba-Yurt to laying in the high Caucasus village of Itum- Kale.
Guards on the checkpoints will not allow anybody through to
Itum-Kale, even Russian officers without proper documents. There,
close to the Georgian border, according to Chechens, Russians are
building a huge military base. They deliver pieces of artillery, big
rockets and rocket launches and radars. They are moving thousands of
soldiers. Chechen mountaineers swear, that Russians gathered in
Itum- Kale and close by, on the peaks, 40 thousands soldiers.
This is what Nikolai does not really want - to escort a convoy to
Itum-Kale. - This is not my war - he says and doesn't care if the
war ends soon or continues for months. Unconcerned about the faith
of Chechens and Russian officers, who very fast got promoted because
of the war.
Nikolai thinks only about 30 days that had left to end his duty in
the Caucasus and 25 thousand rubles he should make, and about white
nights that he will spend far away from here, at home, in Peter.
- Inshallah - how the Chechens say - God's will.

Author: Polish journalist W. Jagielski from Starye Atagi, Chechnya
translation Marius Labentowicz

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