Books about the war in Chechnya: list, authors, reviews

Books about the war in Chechnya are one of the most piercing, truthful and modern tales of valor, courage and honor. In our time, the exploits of soldiers and officers of the Great Patriotic War are a thing of the past. While the events in Chechnya are close and familiar to everyone. Even the young people still remember how every evening the alarming reports were broadcast in the evening news. That's why these works are so popular today.

Black book

Books about the war in Chechnya are often not artistic works, such as the minority, but the testimonies of people who were personally present at the events described. This is also the book of Andrey Saveliev. A documentary narrative about the events in the south of Russia is called the "Black Book of the Chechen War".

It was prepared in 2000, as a report intended for deputies of the European Parliament. Its main goal was to persuade the European politicians, who often based their opinion on this war on biased sources.

The author tries to prove by dry facts that the war against separatists restores peace in the republic, and in no way violates human rights. In this documentary book, specific descriptions of the crimes committed by Chechen bandit groups, violations of the rights of the Russian population, as well as a detailed and impartial analysis of the Russian authorities' actions at different stages of the confrontation.

However, the book was never published in Europe, it was published only in Russia, where it still remains relevant today.

In the trap

Another noteworthy author is Igor Prokopenko. In his documentary novel The Chechen Trap, he cites previously unknown facts to the general public. With their help, one can look at the events of those years from a new angle.

Prokopenko is looking for answers to questions that still torment many Russians. Why did this terrible tragedy happen? Why did the state and the government allow so many unforgivable mistakes? Why is this an unprecedented war in terms of stupidity, cynicism and betrayal?

The main characters of the narrative are ordinary soldiers and officers. According to the author, who himself has repeatedly visited a hot spot, the main perpetrators of this tragedy are representatives of the Kremlin who repeatedly betrayed their own army and people. And sometimes acted just cowardly and illiterate.

The author tries to answer all of the above questions in the pages of his manuscript.

General stories

Books about the war in Chechnya were written not only by military journalists, but also by direct participants in the events.

So the memoirs of General Gennady Troshev's My War, The Chechen Diary of the Trench General, published in 2001, were very popular. In it, one of the leaders of the Russian army describes in detail the events of both the First and Second Chechen campaigns.

According to the author, to sit down at the writing table he was prompted by a large number of lies and untruths published about this war. The general tells about the events, which he knows for certain, and also expresses his opinion and attitude to many popular politicians and military commanders from both sides.

True story

One of the most sincere works - "Diary of Stallion Polina", published in 2011. The stories about the Chechen war are presented here on behalf of the writer herself, who was born in Grozny in 1985.

The diaries describe the events of 1999-2002, when the author was 14-17 years old. The book has been translated into many languages in Europe and beyond. It came out without abbreviations, everything was published as it was in the original, that is, in the diaries themselves.

Great interest was caused by the story of the war on behalf of a teenager, a sincere story about inter-ethnic relations between Russians and Chechens, the fate of civilians during the Second Chechen campaign. At first, many considered it an artistic fiction, but witnesses appeared, among them the chairman of the Civic Assistance Committee Svetlana Gannushkina, who confirmed that they had personally seen these diaries.

Reviews about the diaries

Books about the Chechen war always cause a large number of opinions and opinions. Especially much spoke about "Diaries of Stallion Polina". Critic Elena Makeyenko expressed the opinion that this is a real document of the era. These are stories about the Chechen war, which must be read.

Literary critic Igor Kirienkov compares this book with the memories of Anne Frank. He is convinced that it is on such documents that in the future they will determine how Russian writers lived and what they thought at the turn of the century. To dismiss such a work is simply impossible, it is necessary to read.

In most reviews, readers agree that if you want to know the true truth, you need to listen carefully to the child, to look at his eyes with the events of the world and war, to feel what he feels and what he is afraid of.

View from the outside

Great interest is also evoked by books about the war in Chechnya, written by foreign journalists. One of the most popular is the journalism of American reporter Paul Khlebnikov, "A Conversation with the Barbarian."

It is based on an interview recorded by Khlebnikov with Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev, one of the leaders of the Chechen separatists. The publication was published in 2003. A year later Khlebnikov was killed. He was shot at the exit from the Russian branch of the Forbes magazine, whose editor he worked.

Still alive Khlebnikov was taken to the 20th Moscow hospital, on the way to the ambulance he managed to report that he did not know the gunmen and did not know the reasons for the attack. The journalist died on the way to the intensive care unit in a stuck elevator.

According to the official version of the Prosecutor General's Office, the hero of the book "Conversation with the Barbarian" is involved in the murder. Infrequently books about the Chechen war led to the death of their authors.

In the narrative, Nukhaev talks about himself, fighting against the Russian army, about how the Chechen mafia has proved itself in the Russian capital. And also about their main occupations - trade in arms, drugs, women, murders and rackets.

The hero sharply criticizes Americans and Europeans, their views and religions. Glorifying only one's own version of Islam, which differs significantly from the classical one. Khlebnikov calls it extremist.