The Chechen Wars: Will Russia Go the Way of the Soviet Union? [Paperback]

Matthew Evangelista (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0815724993 | ISBN-13: 978-0815724995

Russia's brutal suppression of the Chechen revolts of the 1990s raised many questions about the nature of the Soviet Union's primary successor state. Both Russian presidents, Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, have justified their invasions of Chechnya as necessary to prevent a breakup of the Russian Federation. In the wake of September 11th 2001, Moscow has emphasized its characterization of the war as an "anti-terrorist operation" in an effort to deflect criticisms of the widespread human rights abuses and atrocities that have accompanied its military occupation. In this text, Evangelista challenges Moscow's justifications for the Chechen invasions by exploring the sources of both wars and the implications for Russia's internal coherence and international standing. Evangelista draws on a wide range of sources to reconstruct the complicated origins of Chechnya's conflicts with Moscow and trace the courses of action that led to all-out Russian invasions in 1994 and 1999. He identifies the complex struggles over political power and strategic resources as the sources of both wars, not the threat that Chechen separatism would lead to Soviet-style disintegration of the country.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is... well researched, drawing on both a sizeable secondary literature and numerous Russian language sources.... his arguments are convincing and any who believe that Russia under Putin is still on a reform path or moving towards democracy must engage with the points raised in this work, as the war in Chechnya remains central to the development of post-communist Russia." —Paul Kubicek, Oakland University, International Affairs, 1/1/2004

"... provides a fascinating and well structured picture of the background for and events leading up to the two wars. Evangelista's work should be required reading for anyone with an interest in Russia and its relationships with its federal partners.... This is an important book, and makes a significant contribution to the limited library of literature on Chechnya.... It is not only for experts, even those who have a very limited knowledge of the situation will be enlightened by it." —Graham Dyson, Centre for Peacebuilding and Conflict, International Journal on World Peace, 12/1/2003

About the Author

Matthew Evangelista is professor of government and director of the Peace Studies Program at Cornell University. He is the author of the award-winning Unarmed Forces: The Transnational Movement to End the Cold War (Cornell University Press).

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press (January 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815724993
• ISBN-13: 978-0815724995
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,484,351 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sober, involving reading, April 11, 2003

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chechen Wars: Will Russia Go the Way of the Soviet Union? (Paperback)

The Chechen Wars by Matthew Evangelista (Professor of Government and Director of the Peace Studies Program, Cornell University) is a close, meticulous study of the root causes of the Chechen Wars of 1994 and 1999, and an informative, scholarly examination of the impact these conflicts had on both Chechnya and Russia following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Stressing the importance of dealing with violent conflict without undermining citizens' freedom and rights, as well as calling for the United States to be more attentive and provide a role model applicable to Russia's conflicts, The Chechen Wars is sober, involving reading and a very strongly recommended addition to International Studies reference collections in general, and Chechen/Russian Studies reading lists in particular.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best analyses on the Russo-Chechen wars yet!, September 17, 2004

By 

C. Veit (Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chechen Wars: Will Russia Go the Way of the Soviet Union? (Paperback)

Matthew Evangelista's book addresses many of the most pertinent questions surrounding the conflict. His analysis is powerfully informed by a vast array of sources and rests in a solid background of international relations theory. If you'd like to understand the dynamics of the Russo-Chechen war more, this book is an excellent read! Particularly the section on 'International Responses' is quite illuminating.

10 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not balanced enough, October 8, 2004

By 

RM (London Colney, HE UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Chechen Wars: Will Russia Go the Way of the Soviet Union? (Paperback)

Evangelista believes that Russia would not have disintegrated (in the sense that other autonomous regions would not have tried to break away from Russia) if Chechnya had been granted its independence. This may be a valid point. The thing is, Evangelista seems to lay the blame entirely on the Russian government and the military. No one will deny that the Chechen people have suffered horribly since 1994 due to Russian bombardment of civilian areas and deliberate massacres of Chechens.

However, this is looking at the conflict only through the eyes of the Chechen perspective, while not really considering the Russian one. Evangelista also seems to try and minimise terrorist attacks on Russians by Chechen fighters and then when the operation leads to loss of life, once again places blame on the Russians. I also found it offensive when he wrote that there is reason to believe that the Russian FSB (successor to the KGB) deliberately placed explosives in Moscow apartment blocks in 1999 which led to the deaths of over 300 civilians.

He believes this was done so that the Russian government would have an excuse to invade Chechnya a second time. This really is ludicrous, to my mind. I remember that the actress Vanessa Redgrave on Sky News after the Beslan terrorist attack stated that the two plane bombings in Russia recently were also the work of the FSB, not the Chechen fighters!

And then a few days later, Shamil Basayev himself admitted that he was responsible for the plane bombings. These are ridiculous and highly offensive comments (and I'm not even a Russian) so one can only imagine what the Russians must think of these "theories"

All in all, this book was just a little too one-sided and critical only of the Russians, while trying to keep criticism of the Chechens down to a bare minimum.