i am posting my reply to el serracho:

the numbers are hard to come by (because of the absolute-ish press ban in chechnya, obviously enforced only by the russian gov: also it's insanely dangerous to be a journalist in chechnya). this is more or less the (high) average of all the sources i consulted. the truth, unfortunately, is hard here. the best sources say "between 100,000 and 300,000." there is no doubt they leveled grozny with thermobaric weapons: makes dresden circa 1946 look intact. and the cleansing operations throughout the countryside: no idea: sheer rape: kill all the males in the village etc. i'm telling you this is the great untold story of our generation. when it all falls out there will be trials for  crimes against humanity etc. putin has portrayed this as part of the war on terrorism, which we buy because it's convenient, because the rhetoric is familiar, even as we express...reservations.
the palestinians, if you ask me, have been dispossessed and repressed. that is no excuse for killing innocent people. the chechens have been completely destroyed as a culture: murdered in their totality. i am not sure i myself would not respond with terrorism.