MOSCOW, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A new book suggests Kremlin manipulations, not Chechen terrorism, were behind the start of the second war in the rebellious Russian republic in 1999.
"Der Krieg im Schatten" (The War in the Shadows) -- released this week in Germany as the war enters its fifth year -- includes contributions from German, Russian, Chechen, British and American authors.
The Moscow Times said the book argues that truth was the first casualty of the war: "The history and run-up to the second Chechnya war is laced with lies: lies by the rebels, but above all the lies of the Kremlin, the Russian military and the secret services. They have lied and continue to, to an extent that it is difficult for Western citizens to understand."
The newspaper said while the official cause of the war is that it was a reaction to continuing terrorism and rebel leader Shamil Basayev's invasion of Dagestan in August 1999, the book presents evidence the war started for similar reasons to the first: the Kremlin wanted a "small, victorious war" -- in this case to help Vladimir Putin get elected president.
