Life for indigenous Russian civilians in a Chechnya under the Russian military yoke is just as hazardous and fearful. Nina Vasilyeva is head of the local authority in the village of Mekenskaya in relatively quiet northern Chechnya. The village has been under Russian control since October and is in an area that is historically more pro-Russian. But only 300 Russians remain. There were once 2,000.
Everyday life is impossible here.
They don't tell you they hate you, but you can see it in their eyes. I don't know if there is a solution to this hatred. She did not want the job, but was talked into it by the local military commander. She asked him to provide 20 Russian military police for the village. He said he could not because he could not guarantee their security.