Book by military journalist N.S. Astashkina is dedicated to the problem of Chechnya in post-Soviet Russia. Based on extensive material - various documents, newspaper publications, analytical notes - the author builds a chronicle of the origin and development of the tragic conflict in the North Caucasus. An important feature of the book, which allows the reader to more vividly and directly perceive the tragic events of recent years, is that some of its chapters are written in the form of essays, in which the main characters are not only politicians and generals, but ordinary officers, soldiers and residents of Chechnya.< /p>