Maybe. But the real reason is that they want to secure the Caucasian region for petrol and pipelines. Russia aims to control the Caspian Sea oil. To do so, it has to make sure that the pipelines starting (mainly) at Bakou (Capital of Azerbaidjan) pass through its borders. That's why it clearly tries to keep the Caucase and the Chechens. If they lose one region, as you said, Russia's influence on the region would tumble down as a castle made up of cards.Kharn wrote:
The problem is a political one. They can't give up Chechnya without sending another house of cards tumbling down, from their Southern countries to disputed borders between China and Russia to the isles between Russia and Japan. That's a political non-option, so it's war. Ethnic cleansing in that sense seems to only viable way out, as they can't grant freedom to Chechnya
But hell, that's rediculous, Russia has little to gain from ethnically cleansing the area. They simply want to win, permanently, and are fighting a war which is costing them many, many lives. If the result is that it looks like ethnic cleansing, so be it, that happens sometimes during war.
It's all about economics and petrol. The proved oil reserves in the Caspian Sea are enormous, although not as much as what you would find in Irak or Saudi Arabia, for instance, but still huge. And Russia wants the money.
