In pictures: Chechnya's bright side

Pasikhat Dzukalayeva is the oldest resident of Chechnya. Her Soviet passport says she was born in 1881 - the same year as Pablo Picasso.

She witnessed the Russian revolution, collectivisation, Stalin's deportation and two world wars.

When I visited her at her home in Grozny she wept as she named the relatives she has outlived.

The Chechen authorities say Chechnya has 538 centenarians - only 88 of them men.