Chechnya's friendly-fire mystery

Few Russians care about what is happening in Chechnya

By Caroline Wyatt BBC Moscow correspondent

It is incredibly noisy in the back of a Russian armoured vehicle. It is also so dark you can barely see out.

Chechen rebels ambush these vehicles when they can. The driver keeps a crucifix and three icons of Jesus and Mary close to him.

Rebels often ambush Russian vehicles

This is a little how it must have felt when Russian special forces drove in convoy into Grozny two years ago - and came under fire suddenly from all sides.

Unlike most human rights controversies in Chechnyna, this is one case where Russian soldiers and Chechen civilians alike believe justice may never be done.

Twenty-two soldiers and officers, including the commander, were killed in the incident. What made it worse was that they were being fired on by other Russian troops, as well as rebels.

Alexei Strahkov and Igor Sukhov say they were lucky to survive the attack, though Alexei was seriously injured.

Both are testifying at the trial of some of the officers involved. They believe the truth may never emerge.

Forgotten tragedies

Igor says the friendly fire was no accident and that someone in Russia wanted his commander dead.

"I've spoken to people who heard how we called for back-up. They went to their superiors and said 'Can't you hear them, the guys have been ambushed?'," Igor Sukhov says.

"But they replied: 'Until we get an order, we're not going anywhere'. So, yes, I think we were set up. It's offensive that the truth won't come out. That's putting it lightly. But that's Russia for you - the small man always carries the can."

We forget our tragedies unfortunately rather quickly

Sergei Shilayev
Russian journalist

The Russian soldiers are buried in graveyards around Sergeyev Passad, the small town they came from.

Yet most people here seem indifferent as to whether anyone is brought to justice for the mysterious deaths of so many young men.

Local journalist Sergei Shilayev has his own explanation.

"People here are a little bit indifferent because everybody is busy. Everybody works, almost day and night, just to survive and the next tragedy covers the previous one. That's the problem. And we forget our tragedies unfortunately rather quickly," he says.

'Give back his body'

If the Russian public care little about the 3,000 Russian soldiers who have died in Chechnya, they care even less about the Chechen civilians who have died or simply disappeared.

But Asmart Basayeva cares desperately. She is a middle-aged Chechen woman whose husband, Shahid, disappeared the day those troops were fired on.

If my sons find out what happened to their father, they will join the rebels

Asmart Basayeva

She says he witnessed the killing of other Chechens by Russian soldiers in revenge for the attack and she has not seen her husband since he left for work that morning.

What makes it worse is that when Asmart went to the Russian soldiers to ask if they had seen her husband, she says they sold her a video of him lying on the ground being kicked and beaten by Russian special forces.

They even sold her a map of where his body was allegedly buried.

She took both to the prosecutor's office in Chechnya but soon afterwards the investigator on her case was blown up in his car and the video disappeared.

"It's true that waiting is the hardest part," she says.

"I was raised an orphan and now I am raising fatherless children. And I am deceiving them, too. If my sons find out what happened to their father, they will join the rebels.

"If the Russians would only give me back his dead body so I could bury him. I pleaded, begged on my knees, 'give me back my husband, even if he's dead!'. I've dug through so many corpses looking for him. I can't tell you the things I've seen."

Government pledge

Russia's special envoy for human rights in Chechnya, Vladimir Kalamanov, insists that Moscow is trying hard to ensure that justice is done for all in Chechnya.

There have been countless deaths and injuries

"From time to time our army has been violating human rights, unfortunately. But, at the same time, all violations are now under control.

"And now I have the obligation before the Chechen population - all violations will have the punishment from the government, especially when we are speaking about missing people," he says.

Asmart does not believe him. And when we ring the prosecutor's office to ask about progress on her case, they cannot even be bothered to look for the documents.

Two years is a long time ago, they say, and we have lots of cases here.

Casualties

At a tiny demonstration in Moscow, protesters call for an end to the conflict in Chechnya. But they are sworn at or ignored by passers-by.

Lyudmila Vakhinina of the human rights group Memorial says she has got used to it.

"Some people call us traitors and they are very angry with us. But most of all people believe that our action is of no use," she says.

After more than two years and countless deaths and injuries on both sides in Chechnya, truth and justice are the other casualties of this campaign.

Now, the war on terror has enabled Russia to pursue its military campaign in Chechnya with only muted international criticism.

Few Russians know or even care about what is happening in Chechnya.

Since 11 September, the same, it would seem, applies to the international community.