Dispatches from Chechnya

Chechnya Information Archive

"Children and Terror" by Alexander Podrabinek

In September 1999, Russian military forces invaded Chechnya for the second time in a decade, beginning a protracted conflict in which Russian forces have perpetrated severe human rights abuses and war crimes against the Chechen civilian population. Since that time, thousands of civilians have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homes. The capital, Grozny, and hundreds of Chechen towns and villages have been subject to Russian attacks and "disappearances."  These human rights abuses persist, despite Russian government claims that Chechnya is returning to normal and despite Russia's refusal to allow United Nations human rights monitors to assess the current situation. There are, however, ways you can help the situation: click here to go to IDEE's How You Can Help page.

From the outset of the second war, IDEE has worked to support the heroic work of Chechen NGOs in providing humanitarian relief, gathering and disseminating information, and attempting to build the basis for the re-establishment of peace. It organized the American Committee for Chechnya in late 1999, which carried out basic humanitarian work by enlisting Eastern European partners, and launched, with Lam and later Latta, the Dispatches from Chechnya, which in 30 published issues described in detail the effects of the war on all aspects of Chechnya's life. 

Dispatches from Chechnya, although temporarily suspended, will continue to be updated with current reports from Chechnya. Its full Archive can be accessed here. 

The Chechnya Information Archive provides statements from those opposing the war, information about war crimes, news and pictures from the conflict zone, information about IDEE's partner organization Latta, the Chechen Center for Pluralism, and links to other sites with information about Chechnya.