They have lain for centuries on the frontiers of empires and their rugged highland peoples have never been completely subdued by conquering armies. Just as in the 1994 - 1996 war, Russian troops have managed to take over a large portion of Chechen territory. Just as then, they were unable to take over some of its mountain areas. Now a guerrilla war starts, and no one in Russia, no one in the world, knows how to fight guerrillas. You have no rear, no secure zone.
Problems can erupt anywhere.
Building a state Chechnya has been running its own affairs since the cease-fire with Russia in May 1996, although Moscow still lists the Islamic republic as part of the Russian Federation. Since the end of the fighting, Chechnya has been plagued by a crime wave, which has brought the republic to the brink of anarchy. Hostage taking is rife and has become a steady business for some criminal gangs. The Chechen government says the kidnapping epidemic, which has seriously damaged its efforts to win international recognition, is at least partly orchestrated by the Russian secret services. A spate of bomb blasts in Russia has killed hundreds, posing one of the most serious challenges to the country's stability since the collapse of the Soviet Union.