UNDER SIEGE.

• Author: SUDO, PHIL
• Position: Russian military activity in Chechnya

IN 1996, REBELS IN CHECHNYA BEAT THE RUSSIAN ARMY. BUT NOW RUSSIA IS DETERMINED TO WIN.

In the Russian town of Mozdok, residents do not have to look out their windows to know when the skies are clear. They can tell from the roar of Russian warplanes taking off to bomb the neighboring province of Chechnya.

For the second time in five years, Russian troops are hammering Chechnya, trying to prevent the province from becoming an independent Islamic state. The war pits the massive Russian army against a small band of rebels. But the outcome of the battle is far from certain. Hanging in the balance may be the fates of Russia's new president, its fragile democracy, and its relations with the United States and Europe.

Chechnya has a long history of bloody battles with Russia. Located on the north slope of the Caucasus mountains between the Black and Caspian seas, it has rich oil reserves and is strategically vital for its access to the two seas. Unlike the Slavic, Christian Russians, the Chechens trace their roots to the ancient people of the Caucasus. They are darker-skinned, and overwhelmingly Muslim.

ROOTS OF THE CONFLICT

Russia first invaded the region in the early 18th century, and forcibly annexed it in the 1870s. When Chechen separatists rebelled during World War II, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin deported more than a million people from the region to Siberia and Central Asia, on the pretext that they had collaborated with Nazi Germany.

Rebellion flared again when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. As various republics of the former Communist state declared themselves independent, so did Chechnya, part of the Russian republic. But Russia refused to recognize Chechen independence, asserting its authority over the region.

In 1994, Russian troops invaded Chechnya, seeking to smash the independence movement and establish a pro-Russian government. Expecting a quick, easy victory, the military was instead met with surprisingly feisty resistance. After two years of heavier and heavier casualties, the Russian army made a humiliating retreat.

Three months ago, the Russian military launched a new campaign, after Moscow suffered a string of terrorist bombings believed to have been the work of Chechen militants. Amassing 100,000 troops to fight an estimated 12,000 rebels, the military has waged a scorched-earth battle in Chechnya, smashing civilian targets and rebel strongholds alike. More than 200,000 Chechens have fled their homes, and Chechen officials...