"Former Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin states that 'the decision to invade Chechnya was made back in March 1999.' The intervention was 'planned' for 'August-September,' precisely the period when a wave of protests swept through Russia, serving to escalate the fight against 'Islamic terrorism.' 'It would have happened even if there had been no apartment bombings in Moscow.'"

As the death toll in the Chechen campaign already numbers in the thousands, more and more evidence is emerging that the unleashing of the war in Chechnya was a carefully planned pre-election operation by the Kremlin. This data raises more questions about the involvement of Russian authorities in the terrorist attacks of September 1999, which claimed 300 lives, and the raid into Dagestan by Islamic militants of Chechen field commander Shamil Basayev in early August.

In an interview with "Nezavisimaya Gazeta," former Prime Minister Stepashin left no stone unturned regarding official statements that this war was a "response to acts of international terrorism" and "to incessant acts of aggression against Russia." He explained that already in March 1999, a decision was made to conquer Chechnya. "I was preparing for an active intervention; we planned to be north of the Terek in August-September." Stepashin emphasized that "this would have happened even if there had been no bombings in Moscow," and that Vladimir Putin, "then director of the FSB, possessed this information." Sergei Stepashin also expressed a critical opinion regarding the current military operation. "I would have thought twice before forcing the Terek and moving south... the blitzkrieg failed, and we encountered guerrilla warfare."

The article by the French journalist was published on January 26, 2000—our society had just entered a state of euphoria over Putin's iconic slogan: "Wipe them out in the outhouse."

Yes, they waited for this war, they wanted this war, otherwise it would not have been particularly difficult to close the border between Chechnya and Dagestan with Russian troops (and it was guarded, as you remember, only by Dagestani police and militiamen). Just as they would not have let Khattab or Basayev calmly escape retribution.

That's why we, as it were, still don't notice the second Chechen war.

It's somewhere far away, the glow of fires! It's not us, it's in another country that soldiers are dying!...

In the first 7 months of the military operation in Chechnya, Vladimir Putin's approval rating rose from 2% to 54%.

The road to the Kremlin was open.

The story of Andrei Babitsky, a correspondent for Radio Liberty, happened precisely then.

In May of this year, I wrote in "Novaya Gazeta":

"Until midday last Wednesday," I wrote in my newspaper in May of that year, "I knew only what everyone knew: the detention of a journalist at a checkpoint, initial silence, then an increasingly escalating scandal, semi-coherent comments on TV news from various semi-coherent officials, accusations leveled against him of involvement with illegal armed groups, then a retreat: someone is assigned from Moscow to the Caucasus, someone is ordered to investigate honestly and objectively.

Oh well. You all know about that yourselves.

On Wednesday afternoon, I learned that Andrei Babitsky was being accused of illegally exporting an icon from Chechnya to Moscow, that is, from war to peace. The icon, it turned out, was valued by experts from the Andrei Rublev Museum at exactly ten rubles. I managed to write a short note for the upcoming Thursday issue of "Novaya Gazeta." On the same day, or rather, still on Wednesday evening, I learned that Andrei Babitsky had been moved from the pre-trial detention center, where he was held in a cell for four, to Mozdok, our military base, where the warrant was changed—from arrest to a pledge not to leave his permanent place of residence, that is, Moscow. I remember, I even got upset that the newspaper issue was already being printed and my associations with the past (nothing to accuse him of? Plant drugs, etc., etc.—we'll put him away good and proper) were stupid and inappropriate.

Mistakes—we correct them. Got carried away—who hasn't...

That is, I still had hope.

Yes, that was on Wednesday evening... Then what happened, happened. To Andrei Babitsky, though not only to him. I suddenly realized what a threshold we stood before. Almost crossed. Or are already crossing.

Just don't say: "Oh, I see! Since a journalist, a colleague, got into trouble, you'll start scaring everyone now!"