The Russians have been "harsh" with the Chechens for a very long time, and it doesn't seem to have stopped the Chechens from committing these sorts of atrocities.
As with reference to Carthage, I submit that the Russians have not been persistent enough.
As long as the greater Islamic world does not police itself, my reservoir of sympathy for them will be very, very low.
Obviously and evidently, not harsh enough.
Thank you.
It is the chechen mindset, that of sadism and warrior mentality, and it is the wahhabi belief that countries surrounding chechnya need to be "re-taken" and incorporated into chechnya. See the Putin quote on my FR page.
Russia backed out in 96 and chechens then invaded Dagestan.
Unfortuntely, what will be needed here is the same sort of effort that it took to stop the Nazis. Not only will the west need to invade and conquer the centers of Islamic influence, but it will necessitate the use of overwhelming force. Finally, it will require the stamping out of an ideology that calls for the destruction of western civiliztion. We did this to the axis powers in WWII and we will eventually have to do this here.