En las primeras horas del Año Nuevo de 1994, las tropas rusas invadieron la República de Chechenia, sumiendo al país en un prolongado y sangriento conflicto que continúa hasta el día de hoy. Asne Seierstad, corresponsal extranjera en Moscú en ese momento, viajaba regularmente a Chechenia para informar sobre la guerra, describiendo sus efectos en quienes intentan vivir su vida cotidiana en medio de la violencia.

Em dezembro de 1994, tropas russas invadiram a Tchetchênia, levando o país a um prolongado e violento conflito. Como correspondente internacional em Moscou naquela época, Åsne Seierstad viajou regularmente à Tchetchênia para fazer reportagens sobre a guerra e descrever os seus efeitos sobre aqueles que tentavam viver normalmente, apesar das circunstâncias desfavoráveis. Depois de percorrer os vilarejos pobres da Tchetchênia e ouvir as histórias dramáticas de um povo marcado pelo sofrimento causado por guerras e confrontos, Seierstad viajou à capital do país para investigar junto às autoridades as razões da atual miséria tchetchena e as políticas implementadas pelo governo no sentido de conduzir o país à prosperidade. Em Grozni, a autora entrou em contato com universitários, ministros, assessores do governo e empresários, tendo oportunidade de registrar as ambiguidades de uma democracia autoproclamada envolta num véu de censura feroz. Ela visitou ainda instituições oficiais do país e observou o funcionamento de um aparelho burocrático servindo ao único propósito de incensar e promover o presidente da república, Ramzan Kadirov, que em entrevista reproduzida no livro não consegue dissimular os maniqueísmos de uma administração atroz e assassina.

It may be effective for Errol Morris to allow his interviewees to gush unchecked and create a culpable subtext. This is a fine strategy - for him. It works well on film. Pages of raving do not make for persuasive or evocative prose. If the person in question is a young man leaning towards jihad or a Russian reactionary whose son has been imprisoned for a hate crime, it doesn't lead anywhere to have pages of stuttering conspiracy theories and gnashing hate speech.

I couldn't tell if Angel of Grozny wanted to be journalism or a memoir. It was closer to the latter, though hobbled by overly creative writing and a sore lack of editing. Åsne Seierstad is likely a fine journalist, her perseverance at seeing first hand both wars in Chechnya is intrepid without question. As a Russian speaker, she was able to access personal elements well beyond a World Service broadcast. That may be the problem right there. These are stories, grounded in a nightmare but as interchangeable as those on any newscast. The trauma at the heart of this is extremely graphic and uncomfortable. There are simply better ways of approaching it.
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> Son livre est plus qu’un reportage, un récit qui met une femme en majesté : Hadizat. Ces pages appartiennent à la littérature, et Asne Seierstad à la race des véritables écrivains.
--Jean Marc Gonin, Le Figaro Magazine

This book is possibly one of the most hopeless and depressing books that I have read. It was not fun to read, but I learned a lot about the conflict in Chechnya, and I am glad that I read it. The author was a reporter in Chechnya during the war in the mid-1990s and she then secretly returned to the area ten years later. In the book she tells the stories of the people she met during her stays there.

Pretty much every story was heartbreaking, depressing, and hopeless. From the deportation of much of the Chechen population to Stalin's prison camps during World War II to the modern wars, the history is filled with bloodshed and suffering. The book illustrates the cyclic nature of war. The actions of the Russian government and the Chechen rebel forces fuel the hatred that each side has for the other. It is no wonder that this hatred grows as many people have watched their loved ones disappear and be tortured or killed.

Overall, the book is very accessible and a worthwhile read if you want to learn more about the recent history of Chechnya. ( )