Hillary Read

“Gelayev’s unit made a perilous crossing over snow-covered mountain passes, where there were no roads; his men ate bark to stay alive and get to the Pankisi Gorge.”
― Ilyas Akhmadov, The Chechen Struggle: Independence Won and Lost

“In other countries large segments of the nation were engaged in an underground struggle to bring about their independence. […] For us independence was a slogan and an ambition, but it had very little shared meaning among ordinary people.”
― Ilyas Akhmadov, The Chechen Struggle: Independence Won and Lost

“Gelayev’s odyssey lasted over a month, as he and his men zigzagged between Russian posts in the mountains. They climbed impossible peaks with no alpine gear, they lowered their horses and supplies by ropes, and miraculously they all made it. On several occasions they encountered Russian forces and in one case engaged in a real battle near the Osset village of Galashki.”
― Ilyas Akhmadov, The Chechen Struggle: Independence Won and Lost

“Dudayev used to say, “I can win the war, that’s possible. But how am I going to govern the veterans?”
― Ilyas Akhmadov, The Chechen Struggle: Independence Won and Lost