12 images Created 11 Jul 2021
The Chechen Tomb
In January 1995 Grozny, capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya and a city of 400,000 inhabitants, ceased to exist in any meaningful sense. An advancing Russian army, repulsed by bands of Chechen fighters, settled for bombarding the city into submission. The firepower directed by the besieging Russian forces was unparalleled in Europe since the Second World War. At the height of the siege of Sarajevo, the Bosnian capital was being hit by 1,000 shells a day. In mid-January explosions rocked the centre of Grozny at a rate of 900 an hour - one every four seconds.
After two months the Russian army entered the city, or what remained; the fighters had fled, leaving a devastated city littered with corpses. “I fear the Chechen destiny is that historians will search for evidence of them in the future just as they search for the remains of the Inca today,” said Mafsud Bayalyev, a former factory manager. “I fear that the ruins of this city are the tomb of the Chechens. What will be left to remember them by?”
After two months the Russian army entered the city, or what remained; the fighters had fled, leaving a devastated city littered with corpses. “I fear the Chechen destiny is that historians will search for evidence of them in the future just as they search for the remains of the Inca today,” said Mafsud Bayalyev, a former factory manager. “I fear that the ruins of this city are the tomb of the Chechens. What will be left to remember them by?”
