Mad Social Scientist

A short history of Russia's conflict with Chechnya is here. I'm no expert on this area, and haven't always followed it as closely as I could. That said, it has always seemed everyone (except perhaps Putin) would be better off if the Russians and Chechens could agree on a divorce. The hundreds of innocents killed in Beslan join thousands of Chechen civilians and Russian soldiers in dying for the sake of a union that hasn't really existed in ten years, and that never really worked.