Pulitzer Center
Catastrophe in the Deadliest Village in Russia
The Caucasus is a place where easy definitions of victim and persecutor break down almost immediately.
It is clear, however, that people here have a catastrophic lack of trust in the Russian state — and that to a large extent, Russia has earned that mistrust through neglect and bad policy, helping to create a pool of disaffected young people who see little chance to control their futures…
But the key challenges remain unaddressed: Elections are still rigged, bureaucrats still steal on a mind-boggling scale, and jobs are scarce. Add to this the ongoing savagery of the FSB and other security forces, and it is little surprise that young people are seduced by Islamists who promise a world of purity and brotherhood…
”Our culture is different. If we are slighted or wronged we don’t go and get drunk on vodka. We pick up a gun and go out to murder the one who wronged us.”
-excerpted from The Deadliest Village in Russia part of a series on conflict and human rights in the North Caucasus by Tom Parfitt
