A group of young Chechens is battling to save their social club – the only place where they can talk politics, stage plays, practise their English and dress as they please. It wouldn’t be anything unusual in the West – but in the deeply conformist society of Chechnya, it’s revolutionary.
The reconstruction of the capital, Grozny, after the two wars of the 1990s and early 2000s, is impressive. But despite the outward polish, Chechens are still living with deep psychological damage. And while young people may have been born too late to have seen much of the war, the thread of trauma runs through families.
