Chechnya: Life in a War-Torn Society / Edition 1

by Valery Tishkov, Mikhail S. Gorbachev

Overview

This book illuminates one of the world's most troubled regions from a unique perspective—that of a prominent Russian intellectual. Valery Tishkov, a leading ethnographer who has also served in several important political posts, examines the evolution of the war in Chechnya that erupted in 1994, untangling the myths, the long-held resentments, and the ideological manipulations that have fueled the crisis. In particular, he explores the key themes of nationalism and violence that feed the turmoil there. Forceful, original, and timely, his study combines extensive interview material, historical perspectives, and deep local knowledge. Tishkov sheds light on Chechnya in particular and on how secessionist conflicts can escalate into violent conflagrations in general. With its balanced assessments of both Russian and Chechen perspectives, this book will be essential reading for people seeking to understand the role of Islamic fundamentalist nationalism in the contemporary world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520238886
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	06/14/2004
Series:	California Series in Public Anthropology , #6
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	302
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.74(d)
Lexile:	1250L (what's this?)

About the Author

Valery Tishkov is Professor of History and Anthropology and Director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology at the Russian Academy of Sciences. He has published many books in Russian and is also the author of Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Conflict in and after the Soviet Union: The Mind Aflame (1997).

Read an Excerpt

"This book confronts the difficult question of why such conflicts arise--why do people who have lived side by side start killing one another? Some explain this in terms of history, citing innate hatred, the incompatibility of civilizations, or the unusual social structure of the rival nationalities. Some say the war in Chechnya was bought and paid for. But the question remains of why it is so easy to lead a society into conflict: why people take up arms or find themselves unable to oppose the initiators and perpetrators of violence. Tishkov's explanation has important theoretical and political significance and deserves the attention of an international audience."

--from the foreword by Mikhail S. Gorbachev

Table of Contents

Contents
Foreword by Mikhail S. Gorbachev
Preface

1. Ethnography and Theory
2. Indigenization, Deportation, and Return
3. Contradictory Modernization
4. Chechen Images
5. The Road to War
6. Dzhokhar: Hero and Devil
7. The Sons of War
8. The Culture of Hostage-Taking
9. Violence in Secessionist Warfare
10. The Impact on Family Life
11. Religion and the Chechen Conflict
12. The Myth and Reality of the "Great Victory"
13. An Ideology of Extremes
14. Chechnya as a Stage and a Role

Conclusion
Notes
Main Characters
Research Partners, Informants, and Cross-Reviewers
Select Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

The Chechen wars need not have happened, if one allows that the second was the product of the first and the first was a war of choice. History did not dictate that Russia and Chechnya go to war, according to Tishkov, although Josef Stalin's cruel deportations during World War II certainly poisoned Chechen memory. Nor do ethnic and religious differences, let alone a clash of primordial identities, explain the calamity. Tishkov, a prominent Russian ethnographer who held the government's portfolio on nationality questions in the early years of Boris Yeltsin's presidency, sees the bloodshed as the result of indifference and confusion on the part of Russian leaders when the Chechen challenge first emerged and of a bull-headed reluctance to deal with Dzhokhar Dudayev while they still could. He also sees the first war and its aftermath through the eyes of more than 50 Chechens interviewed at length, imbuing his account with a unique directness and subtlety.

Foreign Affairs

Tishkov (director, Inst. of Ethnology & Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences) offers his professional perspective on the Chechen separatist conflict in southern Russia during the 1990s. Unlike journalistic accounts, including Anna Politkovskaya's Dirty War or John Dunlop's historical Russia Confronts Chechnya, he concentrates on the daily lives of those caught in the conflict rather than attempting to place blame. He describes a process of "demodernization," a transformation of social institutions that prevents communities from self-organizing. That disorder affects family life, religious life, myths, and self-images. This conflict is also characterized by unusual cruelty on both sides and rampant hostage-taking for ransom purposes. The author has interviewed numerous Chechens living in self-imposed exile elsewhere in Russia, then supplemented their accounts with delegated interviews by others living in the conflict region. The result is a horrific picture of the conflict and a valuable complement to the other available studies on the topic. Recommended primarily for academic libraries.-Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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