Still calling for help.

The article focuses on Chechnya, which remains battered and war-torn a decade after Russia's invasion. Since Russian troops invaded the rebellious republic in December 1994, tens of thousands of people have been killed. Kremlin claims that the war is over are plain wrong. And the horror is not confined to Chechnya. The war spawned the Moscow theatre siege in 2002, suicide bombings of two airliners and the Beslan school atrocity in 2004. There is every reason to expect future terrorist incidents. The cause has attracted Islamic radicals and extreme Russian nationalists. After President Boris Yeltsin sent troops into Chechnya, a 21-month bloodbath followed, ending in 1996 with Russian retreat and de facto Chechen independence. Russia's 1999-2000 offensive proved totally indiscriminate. Some 10,000 Russian soldiers, by official figures, have died in the two wars. Chechen losses have been far worse. The war is now an underground struggle, in which rebels and security forces infiltrate each other. In Grozny, which is deserted at night, comparisons are often made with the Stalinist 1930s. Even Chechens enlisted with Russian forces are fearful.