Customer Reviews

A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya

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This review applies to Small Corner of Hell and Putin's Russia. I read almost all of Anna's books and reports for Novaya Gazeta. It always struck me how dedicated and fearless (sadly she paid the ultimate price) she was to helping regular civilians living in Chechnya, and not just Chechens but Russians too. Her critics acuse her of being pro-chechen, but she also did plenty of reporting about Russian families who got stuck in the basements of Grozny during Russian carpet bombing campaign and for whom nobody in Russia really cared. She also wrote about regular Russian soldiers who are basically used as modern day slaves (Russian army is not voluntary).

If you are a Western reader trying to understand the roots of this conflict, Politkovskaya's books are probably a wrong choice. For that you have to read some history books addressing Russian history of the last 200 - 300 years. Start with Richard Pipes or something similar. Her books are reports of what's going on there now. As such they are great examples of what the REAL journalism should be. They also serve as a good source on what's really going on in Russia today. They would make a good foundation for a War Crimes Tribunal for both Russian and Chechen sides (or are they really just the same Gang), which hopefully will take place some day.

Finally, as others pointed out here the Publisher Weekly reviewer frankly does not know what he is talking about. He probably thinks Kim Jon Il is a legitimate ruler because 98% of North Koreans "vote" for him, too.

Yes, it is a shock therapy book. It is filled with some of the most cruel and bloody imagery. But this shock therapy is needed, both in Russia and in the West. Because that imagery is not a figment of somebody's imagination nor is it some particularly violent page of the world history book long turned over and forgotten. It's reality. It's happening right now, right at this moment. Even now, 3 years since the book's last interview with Akhmed Zakaev took place. And virtually nobody outside of Chechnya has a good idea what is going on there.

Yes, the author sympathizes with the Chechen CIVILIANS, and the word 'civilians' should always be emphasized. She has nothing good to say about the separatists/terrorists (which do you prefer, by the way?). Except the fact that she - and, upon reading this book, me too, by the way - can understand the ever-increasing number of people who are willing to fight the federal forces 'till the last drop of blood.

Yes, the author is somewhat biased. But, then again, who isn't. And it's hard to be unbiased when you see a 6-year-old boy helping gather the remains of a man who stepped on a landmine into a plastic bag that was bought from those same people who put the landmines there in the first place.

Disregard the (so obviously Russian) naysayers - if someone's brainwashed, it's them. Putin's puppet media does wonders, trust me. Read this book, read something that presents an alternative point of view, and form your own opinion.

This book was an easy read, but a sad one. The plight of the Chechen people is virtually unknown in the U.S. The author points out that Putin, Kofi Annan, and Bush do not or cannot do anything to stop the violence and illegal behavior in Chechnya. Politkovskaya writes her book in a series of short stories that recount the conditions in Chechnya. She personally witnessed some illegal activities, and documents others from victims. The story is riveting, I read the 224 pages in a 12 hour period, but it is not an action or adventure story, only a depressing one.

I bought this book and "Chechnya Diary" by Thomas Goltz. I read this one first, which is backwards. If you are going to read both, read "Diary" first. It is more about the first chechen war, and this is more about the second. "Diary" is also good, but is more of an emphasis on the reporters events. This book is more a documentary of the war. If you are only going to read one, I recommend this one.

This is mostly a book about atmosphere. The book has a little history of the conflict, but it is mostly insight into the daily life of the war. To me, that is a plus. There aren't really any battle strategies to discuss, and the actual history is muddled by lack of reporters, and Russian propoganda.

It is obvious that the author is no fan of Putin, and reviewers of her other book have criticized the political bias of her writing, but I didn't see it as a problem. While having little good to say about Putin or the Russian Federal Forces, she does point out that there misdeads on both sides, and the citizens are caught in the middle.

My biggest complaint is lack of pictures.

When asked why I would want to read such a sad book, the reason above and beyond the obvious - for historic background on a war that Americans know so little about and for the human perspective on the ongoing war machine - was that the author was unstoppable. Even after her assassination, her words remain. It is enough to read this book to honor Anna Politkovskaya, a force that scared the powers in Russia so much that they had to kill her. The truth is greater than fear, theirs and our own. So, I urge you to read this book. The first half is a matter of fact account of conversations with ordinary people in Chechnya, everyday citizens now just trying to get by. In the latter part of this remarkable book, the author explains who is responsible for the devastation, the recurring and habitual murders, tortures, rapes, and destruction of the land and culture. She names names.

A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya

Anna Politkovskaya's writing is not for the weak of heart. It is a blunt, unapologetic look at life in war torn Chechnya. The book is a series of vignettes about her travels and encounters with the turmoil there. This is the most graphic novel in terms of discussion of the brutality which has taken place by the Russian military to the Chechen people which I have ever read.

When life is war and war is life, what else do people know? Anna Politkovskaya takes the reader for a non faint of heart journey through the streets of Chechnya- a war torn republic in the North Cuscus. Maybe it was the writing style, but everything just seemed to blend together into a gray portrait of death and survival without dignity. There are no winners Chechen or Russian within the context of Politkovskaya's book. Not even officers of the Russian army as profiled in one of the last stories she tells. War spares no victims and often regenerates itself in the form of a youth who've known nothing but war, replenishing the cycle of war. It's unfortunate that Politkovskaya could not have broken up her stories a little more because though she does a good job of profiling the people of war, much of it is lost in this swirling vortex of near-ending graying death and war.

This book was a real eye-opener. Russia is up to it's old tricks and the rest of the world isn't hearing much about it. This is a very sobering, very human, perspective on the atrocities happening in and around Chechnya. I highly recommend this book. Given that Russia went in to Cechnya before the U.S. went into Iraq, you'll wonder what the hell we were thinking and why hasn't anyone learned from this?

Sad book about the autrocities in Chechnya by the Russians. A Good book but a little on the biased side and anti-Russian view but still worth a read. This and "Allah's Mountains" are good and help you to form your own opinions about the on-going conflict in Chechnya.

In looking for substantive reporting on the Chechnya conlict, one quickly finds that there is simply not much out there of note. Titles tend to range from academic histories of the region to cursory reporting (though in the last year or so, this seems to be changing a bit). It was with this in mind that I picked up this book. While the author clearly has invested her time and labor in the region, the book does not have any coherent narrative flow and doesn't provide much background or context for the events being covered. Also, one gets the sense that the translation may be much too literal, losing the author's passion and intended meanings in the process. It is a disciplined read, but given the paucity of alternatives, probably worth the effort if you are interested in the conflict and the region.