He likely didn't have such breaks during his traffic police work in Moscow...

It seemed to me that during the time between the two wars—and I hadn't been to Chechnya during that period—Grozny had acquired more wealthy people, more expensive foreign cars navigating through the ruins, immeasurably more mobile phones...

Wealth against a backdrop of universal poverty—images quite familiar to us by now. But wealth amidst ruins is perceived much more sadly, hopelessly, and causes much more anger... Why is there such a contrast between the "pre-war" and "post-war" Grozny? Once again, throughout these notebook entries, I have to return to the topic of money in the Chechen war.

In early December 2002, FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev solemnly announced that it had finally been revealed:

700 million rubles allocated to Chechnya for social needs had been stolen.

Finally!

Even those who didn't know exactly what was really happening in Chechnya, how much money was disappearing into the Chechen black hole—even they stared at the TV screen in surprise.

What? 700 million?

"Anti-news!" my young colleagues from "Novaya Gazeta" commented on Patrushev's announcement.

As early as 1998, Ramazan Abdulatipov, then Russian Deputy Prime Minister, told me (the interview was published in Novaya Gazeta):

"...Where did the money for Chechnya go? After all, when checked, it turned out that not one hundred twenty billion, not two hundred twenty billion went to Chechnya. According to the Security Council's calculations—one trillion two hundred billion!

— In 1997?

— Yes... The money came through various channels... For example, Khlystun (then Minister of Agriculture. — Yu. Shch.) and I are now looking for where eighty-seven billion, allocated to Chechnya for agricultural programs, disappeared. Khlystun knows nothing about this money! I know nothing! In Chechnya, they know nothing! Where did the money go?

From the Ministry of Finance—allegedly to Chechnya as early as January last year..."

So, five years later, it is officially confirmed: 700 million rubles have been stolen.

War in Chechnya—money. Peace in Chechnya—money. The change from war to peace, and from peace to war—BIG MONEY.

And that's why it was so bitter and sad for me then to listen to Vakha Arsanov—an opponent, an enemy, a stranger: "And your conscript soldiers were simply pitiful to look at! Begging for bread from passersby!"

How many times: dozens, hundreds during Chechen assignments!—I saw these heart-wrenching, anti-human scenes.

Both hungry and freezing in the trenches, and abandoned, and forsaken by their generals, and betrayed by politicians.

I remember, back in early '96, I described my feelings upon meeting Defense Minister Pavel Grachev:

"To be honest, both I and my Duma colleagues, inviting Pavel Sergeyevich to appear urgently at our session to explain the reasons for another bloody defeat of Russian troops in Chechnya, were convinced: no, he won't come, he'll brush it off, he won't hear, he won't want to hear. Eternally flattered by the president, what did he care about public opinion, devastating newspaper headlines, the choked cries of mothers through tears: 'What are you doing to our sons?'—and public accusations from army comrades of being incapable of leading his own army.

More than that! No one was particularly surprised when Gennady Seleznev left the hall to inform Viktor Chernomyrdin of the Duma's decision, and returning, reported that the prime minister could not find his defense minister: he floated through politics freestyle, teaching this liberty to his subordinates, who, without blushing, recounted legends and tales of Ancient Greece about unidentified flying objects delivering deadly bomb strikes on Chechen villages before television cameras.

But eventually Pavel Grachev was found, he came to the Duma session, he answered our questions for an hour.

There's a semi-diplomatic formula: "His answers left a mixed impression."

Yes, when Pavel Grachev was in the Duma, I spoke at a State Duma session for the first time.

I asked him: "Aren't you ashamed of what you've done? If I were in your place, I would resign."

He replied: "If you think so, I will resign."