The Chechen government plans to move to Grozny next month, but residents doubt that the presence of civilian authorities can put an end to the terror and fear that fill their lives. They doubt that Chechen administrators, even if they have Moscow's support, can control the behavior of federal forces. They also know that the half-destroyed city can continue to provide good hiding places for Chechen rebels. Grozny used to be home to half a million people. Now, hardly 100,000 people inhabit the ruins that remain after the military's carpet-bombing of Grozny in 1999 and 2000.
Some people still live in bomb shelters.
Many have moved into any vacant apartment with a roof and fear being thrown out if the owners return. Drying bed linen and shirts look almost like ghosts on balconies that are kept in place only by a miracle. The white and pink blossoms of flowering cherry and peach trees cannot cover huge piles of rubble the only memories of nine-floor apartment blocks. City streets have been destroyed by tanks, and cars almost sink into huge pits filled with water and dirt the work of artillery shells and bombs. On some streets, unexploded missiles still stick out of the ground.