Thread: Tragedies in Russia.

Terrorism would not cease if Chechnya is left alone independent. Quite the opposite. In the period from 1996 till 1999 Chechnya was de-facto independent (check the history of the conflict). Instead of 'building a peaceful life' the power there was seized by organized and quite numerous bands. All civilization ended and Chechnya rolled back to a very brutal feudalism.
Moreover, terrorists' attacks did not cease, they intensified instead. Abductions for ransom became normal there. Chechen leaders lived by assasinations, abductions, drug and arms trade. They ruled their own people with animal-like brutality. At the end a whole army of well-equipped and trained mercenaries invaded the neighbouring Dagestan and there were three explosions of apartment blocks in Moscow and Volgodonsk. This is where the Federal Army intervened again. And the campaingn of 1999 was aimed not to merely 'pacifying' the Chechens, but extermination of all their leaders and all mercenaries. FSB made a thorough job and eliminated nearly all of them and at the same time it effectively blocked the Georgian border. Only after all foreign influence and all sources of funding had been blocked and criminals had been killed a resemblance of what we call 'normal life' returned there.

The terrorists themselves declared that their goal was establishing an islamist state in the whole southern region of Russia and adjacent countries to wage 'holy war' upon the heathens (i.e. us).

I was meaning to explain "more or less" which I used in another thread (can't find it now), and which someone didn't understand.

"More or less" is a really good expression which means "essentially", "quite", "on the whole". If somebody is "more or less" telling the truth, it means that on the whole what they said was true, although there might have been some detail that wasn't completely correct.

I just came across an expression in my Russian-Swedish textbook that might mean the same thing, but I can't be completely certain. Anyway, the expression is "в основном"

Originally Posted by Johanna

I can't imagine what kind of future Chechnya would have as a separate state, but that's another question.

It wouldn't be a separate state as such for long. It would fall under the umbrella of islam and extremists groups, but either way it doesn't matter because Chechnya will have no "future" as long as they embrace Islam. The only way to help Chechnyans is to re-educate them about the truth of their so called "prophet". Once they see that he was nothing but a psychopathic charlatan suffering from epilepsy, facial sores and bad body odor perhaps they will again turn to Russia. Failing that, I see no hope for them.

Ok DDT but could you not have conveyed your opinion about this without seriously insulting Moslems, their religion and their prophet?

(And what do you propose to replace their religion with? Consumerism, binge-drinking and loose relations? ) Or are you going to convert them all to Christianity?

Originally Posted by Johanna

Ok DDT but could you not have conveyed your opinion about this without seriously insulting Moslems, their religion and their prophet?

(And what do you propose to replace their religion with? Consumerism, binge-drinking and loose relations? ) Or are you going to convert them all to Christianity?

How much do you know about the guy who started Islam? Perhaps if you take the time to learn the historical facts about him you will see that Islam is not a religion at all, but a political movement started by a murderer, thief and rapist. These are not insults but historical facts! If someone takes offence at these particular historical facts then perhaps they are not the kind of persons that we want for friends and neighbours. No sane person can know about Mohammed and still believe he was a good man. I Proposed that once the veil is lifted on Islam, Chechnya will be glad to be Russian once again. Why do you think that islam needs to be "replaced" with something? If they feel they need something they can go back to their former beliefs before Islam conquered them.

Originally Posted by Johanna

I was meaning to explain "more or less" which I used in another thread (can't find it now), and which someone didn't understand.

"More or less" is a really good expression which means "essentially", "quite", "on the whole". If somebody is "more or less" telling the truth, it means that on the whole what they said was true, although there might have been some detail that wasn't completely correct.

I just came across an expression in my Russian-Swedish textbook that might mean the same thing, but I can't be completely certain. Anyway, the expression is "в основном"

There is the expression "более или менее" with more or less the same meaning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCZd0syZyWw

И шлю депеши в Центр из Тюмени я:
Дела идут, всё боле-менее.
...
но пока у многих мнение,
что меньше "более" у нас и больше "менее"

Islam itself isn't the problem. Just look at the Tatars. 5 million Muslims and their own republic, but I don't see them causing any problems. Chechnya's problems are rooted in poor education, unemployment/social chaos and just a bad history - this is a recipe for terrorism. These terrorist leaders just use religion as a tool to manipulate the ignorant people. They couldn't manipulate people who have a decent job, a good education, and therefore something to live for. Of course, it's easier said than done.