Without doubt the dirtiest war of the late 20th Century was the war in Chechnya . It was actually two wars from 1994to 1996 and flared up in to a second war that lasted from 1999 to 2007 and even today there's acts of sporadic violence . The wars have cost the Russians as much as 8,000 military while the Chechens themselves may have lost 250,000 people both combatants and civilian , a quarter of the population of Chechnya . The worst thing is neither can claim any moral high ground . The Chechens may claim to be victims of genocide but any resistance that involves massacring civilians at Russian schools , cinemas and hospitals has a hard time of claiming victim hood
The most compelling account of the conflict comes from the pen of Arkady Babchenko in his book One Soldier's War In Chechnya . It tells of his time as a conscript in the Russian army in the first war and of his time as a regular volunteer in the second war . What quickly becomes apparent is what a brutal institution the Russian army is . Recruits spend the first year of their service under " the rule of the grandfathers " soldiers in their second year where recruits are subject to effective slavery at its most brutal and unrelenting which will shock anyone who has any military understanding
PRISONER OF THE MOUNTAINS is set during the first Chechen war where two Russian soldiers , Sgt Kostylin and Private Zhilin , are captured by rebels . The film does allude to the structural gulf between an experienced soldier like Kostylin and a recruit like Zhilin , the older soldier doesn't believe the Chechens will trade the recruit because he's unimportant to the Russian army but this is quickly forgotten about as the film moves in to predictable and simplistic territory that states that no matter the conflict and the uniforms we wear we are all human beings caught up in situations made by others
It's a well enough made film but by the same token there's nothing outstanding about it either . There's also the problem that if you've read Babchenko's book featuring the very real atrocities each side has committed against the other - in fact each side also commits atrocities on their own - then it does have a rather Walt Disney feel
The most compelling account of the conflict comes from the pen of Arkady Babchenko in his book One Soldier's War In Chechnya . It tells of his time as a conscript in the Russian army in the first war and of his time as a regular volunteer in the second war . What quickly becomes apparent is what a brutal institution the Russian army is . Recruits spend the first year of their service under " the rule of the grandfathers " soldiers in their second year where recruits are subject to effective slavery at its most brutal and unrelenting which will shock anyone who has any military understanding
PRISONER OF THE MOUNTAINS is set during the first Chechen war where two Russian soldiers , Sgt Kostylin and Private Zhilin , are captured by rebels . The film does allude to the structural gulf between an experienced soldier like Kostylin and a recruit like Zhilin , the older soldier doesn't believe the Chechens will trade the recruit because he's unimportant to the Russian army but this is quickly forgotten about as the film moves in to predictable and simplistic territory that states that no matter the conflict and the uniforms we wear we are all human beings caught up in situations made by others
It's a well enough made film but by the same token there's nothing outstanding about it either . There's also the problem that if you've read Babchenko's book featuring the very real atrocities each side has committed against the other - in fact each side also commits atrocities on their own - then it does have a rather Walt Disney feel