Kosovo of the Caucasus

Every day now we receive reports about bombardment of Chechnya by the Russian air force. Grozny is pointing to numerous casualties among civilians and economic damage, and Moscow asserts that high-precision bombs are used, hitting exclusively positions of fighters in order to eliminate the threat of terrorism. Whatever may be happening there, thousands of Chechens are crossing the borders of the region, seeking refuge from the bombing in neighboring Russian republics.

Such a situation has an unbelievable resemblance to what was happening in the Balkans a few months ago. NATO air forces were is bombing Yugoslavia in order to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. Belgrade was pointing to numerous casualties among civilians and economic damage, and Brussels asserted that high precision bombs were being used, hitting exclusively strategic objects... Whatever may have been happening, thousands of Kosovars were crossing borders, seeking refuge from bombing in neighboring Balkan countries.

During the Yugoslav crisis I attempted, albeit it was very difficult, to explain to myself and the reader the logic of those events. Among other things, I said that NATO's decision with regard to Yugoslavia is the evidence of changes in the very concept of the price of security and we will see it quite soon. And Russia's case is quite convincing: one could get the impression that the Kremlin and its General Staff are methodically following the Yugoslav scenario, threatening the Chechens with a land operation, obviously undesirable for Moscow, just the way NATO commanders threatened Milosevic with a land operation, absolutely undesirable for the alliance. The logic of Russia's actions may seem inhuman and incorrect — like NATO's logic — but understandable and predictable.

I do not understand one more thing: where are those who condemned NATO in those hot days, demanding that the bombing be stopped, convincing everyone that problems should not be solved that way? Why do they not now condemn Russia, which is resorting to similar methods against Chechnya? Are we using double standards again? Does this mean that it was not all about the sufferings of civilians, or thousands of refugees, or devaluation of human life, but about NATO, which we dislike, bombing our dear Yugoslavia? Does it means that if our dear Yugoslavia had resorted to bombing Kosovo in order to stop the Liberation Army everything would have been all right? Just like now, when Russia, which we like, is bombing Chechnya, which we do not?

My Moscow apartment is a ten-minute walk from the Pechatniki Street, where the first building was blown up. Nonetheless I say, “I do not like the bombing of Chechnya just as I did not like the bombing of Yugoslavia. I will accept the reason for such a bombardment only if it produces the Yugoslav effect and make it possible to come to terms and avert a new war with a land operation. But you people, who so resolutely opposed the NATO bombardments, why do you keep silent?”