A Private of the Inglorious War: an Interview with a Participant in the Winter Assault of the Grozny in 1994

Abstract. The study of the two phases of the Chechen internal armed conflict 1994–1996 and 1999–2000 was possible by recording interviews with eyewitnesses and participants in hostilities. In the case of polls by representatives of federal troops and combatants on the side of the Chechen opposition, there is still fear for disclosing and further disseminating any information provided by them. This is primarily due to the extreme degree of politicization of the Chechen internal armed conflict, which still gives rise to rumors, myths, and legends contribute to the spread of ambiguous conclusions about the events of that period. The article provides an opportunity to get acquainted with the interview of a common soldier of the Russian Federation, which was thrown on the storming of the Chechen capital in the winter of 1994. The meeting with him took place on August 30, 2017, in the late evening in Rostov-on-Don, provided that the possibility of recording onto a dictaphone was to be discussed again during the actual meeting with the interviewer.

Keywords: interview, war, conflict, Chechnya, Chechen conflict, North Caucasus.