This book explores the defeat of the Russian army in Chechnya in 1994-96, just three years before Moscow entered another savage war to subdue the turbulent republic. This mountainous region is the most unstable and strategic part of the Russian Federation, an ethnic and geopolitical tinderbox crisscrossed by billion-dollar oil pipelines serving the vast oil riches of the Caspian Sea. The author looks at how the ethnic pride of the North Caucasians is at risk and the effect this could have on the Russians.

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Sebastian Smithhas been a correspondent in Washington, Moscow and London.

“The vestiges of Russian Power in the region, and the simmering separatism of the Caucasian republic, can now be added to oil....Smith’s impressive and wide-ranging book shows what a volatile mixture it will all continue to be.” —Philip Marsden, Sunday Times (UK)
“This is a riveting book...Written with almost seamless elegance rendering the vicissitudes of the war in sometimes stunning detail.” —International Affairs