Angel of Grozny: Inside Chechnya - Background

Background

See also: History of Chechnya

Åsne Seierstad first visited Chechnya in 1994 (aged just 24) during the First Chechen War. In 2006, she returned to the region to examine its progress. In the intervening period, Chechnya had been ravaged by a second civil war after disputed elections were won by Russian-backed Akhmad Kadyrov. During this conflict Russian control of the province was re-established, a process which caused enormous loss of life and widespread destruction of buildings and infrastructure. In 2003, the United Nations described the Chechen capital Grozny as the most destroyed city in the world.

Foreign journalists are not generally allowed in to Chechnya, and Seierstad did most of her travelling and research in disguise with her hair dyed.

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