"Rokhlin would never in his life have believed how many people fought against his corps. He would certainly have argued that it didn't correspond to reality. After all, only twenty-two people defended the tram depot near the October District Department of Internal Affairs for three days—they were transported across the Sunzha. Twenty-two people! And throughout the entire war, no more than five hundred fighters actively engaged in close combat against his corps."

Vakha Arsanov, Vice President of the Chechen Republic—in peaceful pre-war life, he was a traffic police inspector—on the contrary, is considered one of the most experienced military commanders in Chechnya. He personally conducted several famous operations against the Russian army, including the assault on Grozny. Here is a record of our conversation:

"What's your assessment of the Russian army? What became of it? Why did everything Russian generals started fail?"

"First. Unpreparedness of military leaders, inept planning of operations... And second: you didn't pay attention to your military personnel..."

"Us?"

"The Russian side... The Russian government... We saw all of it. When I came out of the forest, arrived in Grozny to carry out certain tasks, it was shameful to look at Russian soldiers. Imagine! A man who lives in the forest, in a dugout, in an earthen shelter—he is clean, shaved, trimmed, immaculately dressed. But your conscripts were just pitiful to look at! Begging for bread from passersby! To what state have you brought the army! So how could it succeed? First, I repeat, unpreparedness, ineptitude in developing operations. Second: disrespect for their soldiers. And third: Russian soldiers didn't know what they were fighting for. When a person doesn't know what he's fighting for, and when he's deprived of basic conditions, he cannot fight well."

I give you my honest word—the war is over, there are no secrets left—we ourselves abandoned positions, we didn't surrender them. We simply left... But we always said: one must give battle, and then retreat. Why? Because the tactics of Russian military leaders were studied "from A to Z"...

"And what were these tactics?"

"They brazenly went on the assault. But if they met strong resistance, they immediately retreated and started demolishing house after house. Instead of developing an operation, determining the enemy's numbers, identifying their commanders, where to retreat in case of withdrawal, and so on. And instead of blocking the enemy's location, they, on the contrary, always left a corridor. Not for us—for themselves."

"Why?"

"They knew that if a Chechen is in a cage, he will die. Or kill. So they left a corridor of one hundred, one hundred fifty meters..."

"Which of your own operations do you consider the most successful?"

"There were several."

"Which front did you command?"

"The North-Western. At the same time, I was also commander of the Chechen-Dagestani defense line... Do you remember the story with the border guards on the Dagestani border?"

"Alas, we remember..."

"And I also commanded the sabotage battalions that operated in Grozny... I had not only to hold the front line but also to conduct these operations... It was strange to hear on television: one APC hit, two APCs hit... Not a single day passed without four or five APCs being hit!"

"Exactly in Grozny?"

"Exactly in Grozny... I'm not talking about the front line..."

"You've reassured me! I thought that generals and colonels were writing off APCs to you, and then selling them back to you..."

"We didn't buy armored vehicles. We only took them... Of course, the main hunt in Grozny was for mercenaries, for special services personnel... Otherwise... We almost didn't touch officers and conscript soldiers..."

"But still, the most successful operation?"

"The March assault on Grozny. That operation was very well planned... But when the Russian army started launching missile and bomb attacks on the civilian population, we gave our troops the command to withdraw."

"Our generals claim that the capture of Grozny in August was a complete surprise to everyone..."