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To: sarasota

No. That would be simple wouldn't it? I'm just an armchair historian. There is another who posts on FR who is the expert on Russian history.

It is a longstanding conflict left in the void of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The Sufi, if I remember correctly, called for a Jihad in 1785 against Imperial Russia. It continued to the mid-19th C with the Crimean War in 1853 and the focus on Russia's gateway to the Mediteranean Sea, and the Turks. There's a back and forth history of genocide and pacification. There is the religious aspect and demands for independence. Oil may play a role, yes, in today's world, but this is not a conflict that arose overnight and won't be settled by Chechen independence, not when the security of the Russian state is at risk.

Hope that helps in your argument and perhaps someone else can add or correct my information.


11 posted on 09/02/2004 8:35:35 AM PDT by OpusatFR (My tagline has been hijacked)
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To: OpusatFR

Yes, it helps and thank you.


13 posted on 09/02/2004 8:41:22 AM PDT by sarasota
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