The Dirty War - Softcover

Anna Politkovskaya

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1860468977 ISBN 13: 9781860468971

Publisher: Harvill Press, 2004

Synopsis

"My notes are written for the future. They are the testimon of the innocent victims of the new Chechen war, which is why I record all the detail I can" ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA

The Chechen War was supposed to be over in i996 after the first Yeltsin campaign, but in the summer of iggg the new Putin government decided to "do the job properly". Before all the bodies of those killed in the first campaign had been located or identified, thousands more would be slaughtered in another round of fighting.

The first account to be written by a Russian woman, A Dirty War is an edgy and intense study of a conflict that shows no signs of being resolved. Exasperated by the Russian governments attempt to manipulate media coverage of the war, journalist Anna Politkovskaya undertook to go to Chechnya, to make regular reports and keep events in the public eye.

In a series of despatches from July 1999 to January 2001 she vividly describes the atrocities and abuses of the war, whether it be the corruption endemic in post-Communist Russia, in particular the government and the military, or the spurious arguments and abominable behaviour of the Chechen authorities. In these courageous reports, Politkovskaya excoriates male stupidity and brutality on both sides of the conflict and interviews the civilians whose homes and communities have been laid waste, leaving them nowhere to live and nothing and no one to believe in.

About this title

About the Author

Anna Polikovskaya is a special correspondant for the biweekly Russian newspaper Novaya gazeta. In 2000, she was awarded the Golden Pen Award by the Russian Union of Journalists for her coverage of the new federal campaign in Chechnya.

Reviews

A special correspondent for the Russian newspaper Novaya gazeta, Politkovskaya received the 2000 Golden Pen Award by the Russian Union of Journalists for her coverage of the Russian military campaign in Chechnya. She braved arrest and interrogation by the Russian military this past February, sparking international protests, and this October she was forced to flee Russia after receiving credible death threats from the Russian military; she remains in exile. All of which places importance and credibility on her savage indictment of the current situation in the Muslim province of the former U.S.S.R., Chechnya. The present book, clearly translated by John Crowfoot (who also did The KGB's Literary Archives, among other titles), collects articles she wrote about the Second Chechen War (begun after the conflict had supposedly ended during the Yeltsin regime) from 2001 to 2001. Her on-sceners recount atrocities on both sides evenhandedly, and are passionately pro human rights, even when interviewing sordidly cynical Russian generals more preoccupied with the size of their apartments than the death and suffering brought upon the Chechen rebels. She reports that monumental corruption diverted humanitarian relief from the starving locals to greedy businessmen and the Russian military. Mothers of dead soldiers are reportedly bilked for cash by military representatives when seeking information on the locations of their sons' bodies. The many black-and-white photos of dead Chechens will surely disturb readers. Meanwhile, the usual killing goes on, at an estimated 15 to 20 deaths a day, according to the Chechen side. (Nov. 12)Forecast: Russia has recently begun recasting the Chechen conflict as part of the "war on terrorism," particularly given speculation of Chechen ties to al Qaeda and the bombings of a shopping mall and several apartment buildings in Russia. Politkovskaya's indictments may take on a different cast in that light, but the book's close reporting of the war's effects on everyday people are directly analogous to Afghanistan. Readers looking for accounts of war's impact on soldiers and civilians alike will find this book deeply disturbing; Politkovskaya will be able to further contextualize during a six-city tour this month.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Currently a journalist with the Russian newspaper Novaya gazeta in Moscow, Politkovskaya has spent the past 20 years covering social issues all around her country. This volume includes translations of articles she wrote during the Second Chechen War, from July 2001 through January 2001, based on several visits there at great risk to herself. She writes about profiteering by private businesspeople and government bureaucrats, humanitarian relief goods that never reach the intended recipients, the brutality of Russian military service for the enlisted troops, and the utter lawlessness that prevails in Chechnya. An old people's home in Grozny, mentioned in several chapters, is her best metaphor for the plight of the most helpless among the civilian population. The residents receive aid only occasionally, are evacuated late, and then return to a seriously damaged building in a devastated city. The author's opinions are very clear and forthright: she wants this war to end. Because this conflict receives only occasional coverage by the Western press, this collection is worthwhile, if uncomfortable, reading for an informed audience. Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvill Press
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1860468977
• ISBN 13: 9781860468971
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368