The Russian interior minister, Vladimir Rushailo, has condemned criticism in the Russian media of the conduct of the war in Chechnya as grotesquely exaggerated.

On his arrival today at the Russian military base at Mozdok near the Chechen border, Mr Rushailo insisted that the situation was normal.

In the latest media criticism the newspaper, Segodnya, says Chechnya is now turning into a minefield for Russia's politicians, while a commentary in Izvestia says Russian society may decide sooner or later that the price of war is becoming unacceptable.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service