The politicians and the generals have two reasons to call a halt. They need to declare a victory for political reasons and they need to make a pause for the winter. The key Kremlin insider and media tycoon, Boris Berezovsky, has proposed a seven-point peace plan. The government and presidential administration has to change its priorities and insist on a political solution. Grigory Yavlinsky, leader of the liberal Yabloko party, also broke ranks with the dominant warmongering school to announce another, six-point peace plan.
Nothing is more complicated today for Russia than Chechnya.
Some of the peace signals may be getting through to Mr Putin. But he also celebrated 100 days in office yesterday amid near-universal acclaim for his Chechen campaign. His government has just released a convicted Chechen fraudster from jail and sent him home, trying to promote him as the acceptable face of Chechen politics. Beslan Gantamirov, a former mayor of Grozny, the Chechen capital, received a six-year prison term last year for embezzlement, but this week he spoke of becoming the new Chechen president by dint of Moscow's support. Mr Gantamirov will be ditched as soon as he is no longer useful.