One Soldiers War in Chechnya - Download free ebook

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getting killed... Cannon fire thunders past me, so mighty that it smothers the world - nothing else exists, no love, truth, justice, bravery. The only thing that matters is to hide from the cannon fire. I wriggle across open ground like a worm, my senses dulled to everything. I dig my face into a rut on the hillock, away from the horror. The forest is right by us, so close that we can hear their shouts: ‘What are you hiding for, you Russian dogs! Come here, we’ll show you hand-to-hand fighting! You shout about it enough in your newspapers!’ They have advanced to within fifty metres of us and are now raining down
close-range fire on three sides, shooting figures as they writhe on the ground... I come to my senses. It’s all in the past, just a delusion. This is just a normal Russian cemetery, as you could find anywhere across the land - quiet, peaceful, familiar, melancholic. A flock of crows takes off over the crosses and somewhere someone is ringing a bell. No-one is shooting or killing here. A volley of fire erupts overhead. I jump and crouch down instinctively. Immediately there is fear, heat, and one single thought: it’s not a delusion, bloody hell, I’m really there! I don’t know how this can be but I’m there, and *
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ONE SOLDIER’S WAR IN CHECHNYA ARK
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WRITER, AND HIS REMARKABLE STORIES
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LITERARY TRADITION [...] FOR SHOWIN
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BUT KILL AND MAIM PEOPLE SPIRITUALL
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ONE SOLDIER’S WAR IN CHECHNYA ARK
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difficulty sorting out. The Chechny
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of the non-Chechen population was a
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General Grachyov’s announcement t
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at the frontline town of Mozdok, on
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he was therefore powerless as presi
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for sure. My experiences of the sec
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themselves. Many of them were hardg
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ONE
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ackpack. You need ammunition, so yo
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alongside. They are even worse off:
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and everything. They looked at us w
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sulphide was good for the kidneys.
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to the water barrel they brought to
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We spotted them by the greenish tin
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was standing on lookout at dawn, sa
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there was no-one closer or dearer t
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open the door, and wait. Silence. S
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forever, and in the time it takes t
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wait for cries, moans, point-blank
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attalion is a serious matter and th
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06/ The Cow We inherited the cow fr
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it like God’s nectar. We drank in
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‘It’s only a cow.’ ‘I know.
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puttees was soaked. And we were shi
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into an animal I was summoned by th
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08/ The Ninth Neighbourhood Before
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we ask one of them, ‘Are you aliv
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having taken the houses so easily.
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hitting our guys. Infantrymen pour
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At last the bombardment dies down a
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When the lads get back, Sigai comes
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gnawed on corpses in the ruins. Thi
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our feet and listened to us discuss
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10/ The Apartment I had an apartmen
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anyone. I didn’t want some strang
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ests on my rough, dirty, cracked an
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I’ll take it with me. I might nee
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TWO
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spread out on top to dry as we soak
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lipped and small, the smallest sold
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to get the hell out of here faster.
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ottle of lemonade and a kilo of cho
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‘As far as I'm concerned, it’s
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smelled so appetizingly of wild str
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hundred blokes uniformly expressed
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to escape from the bombardments. Th
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een waiting almost a week, and buil
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grabbed them by the corners and whe
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But now I sense he will spill the b
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her, she never pulled another stunt
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up like foetuses, and if we had eat
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with transparent slices of salted p
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‘What makes you think the planes
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wounded, put them on stretchers and
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unway piled up with corpses, and tw
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and probably more than a month. ‘
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others will stay here. Maybe not fo
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inside the Arctic Circle where life
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ecome brothers, where we experience
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‘Well, Kisel, see you then,’ I
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his head he barks: ‘A team of fiv
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the middle of this field. They are
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‘It’s the same Ural,’ says Lo
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no more war. I have left it all beh
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the dark tarpaulin and we didn’t
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‘Bloody hell, what is this place?
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a sling is trying to find out somet
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lock since the captain brought us h
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faster and faster along the strip,
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are now barefoot and the soldiers s
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‘Shall we go for a quick march to
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my home in the Taganka district, an
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We leap to our feet like madmen and
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porch, smoking and watching the att
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slaves and do what the hell they li
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no way I can leave here; I have ano
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warm and sticky. I lick the blood f
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me to get a cloth and clean up the
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tell me I’m a snitch and that thi
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never to end so that there is alway
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factory, and it’s dirt cheap. Eve
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for breakfast. And me. Well, are yo
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But I have no right to complain, I
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only you and me left. Kisel’s gon
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twig. The afternoon sentry muster i
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‘Listen, maybe Sanya has some in
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get up to. We walk along the street
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Chechnya but home, to the north. We
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Today Timokha doesn’t kick me out
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duty soldier. No officer ever comes
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the barracks. Only Timokha and I ar
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carried their bag of stuff into Moz
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Now Khariton and Smiler are sitting
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down you,’ says Timokha. He’s a
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waking every time we hear shouts co
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threads from blue legs, mouths gapi
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that he’s done for. ‘You are su
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some; they were just in Chechnya an
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He gets off the windowsill and plop
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Well, I imagine you’ve already go
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major starts to dictate: ‘On 7 Ju
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with it by towing the carrier into
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the jar with his fingers. He pushes
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sentry musters and our company just
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there all night long. Whenever I he
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est of us, Loop, Andy and I have de
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Zyuzik and I scrubbed those crapper
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Timokha takes the news surprisingly
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my hands in my pockets I’d also g
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granddad and then there are conflic
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dembels, with three months service
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have any right to live at all, and
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separately in a different barracks,
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‘Now that’s a shitty place they
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‘Take it easy, I’ve had my fair
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orchard where we can hide without a
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Lenochka, how I’d love to...' Loo
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offended. ‘Natasha, who I was at
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him. Andy spits over his shoulder t
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stuff. We don’t even know how to
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Andy. ‘No, not all of them, Vital
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effective, blood everywhere, and mo
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guts and I fancy a sleep. We laze a
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day, then you regard it as a day wa
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triumphantly, as if he has uncovere
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from Russia just for the asking,’
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‘No-one can explain the whys and
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eating the pulp out of each other o
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somewhere. After we hear this we lo
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They start kicking him and make him
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these things, soldiers of the radio
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Chechnya. We don’t care any more,
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callers. For example, the phone rin
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successes and we are starting to ge
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flight of stairs, open the door and
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split the proceeds, and even our Mo
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flares or thunder-flashes, but that
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fitted with a siren that, when acti
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that’s not what he’s after. He
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‘Why?’ Said says with surprisin
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ecause he knows that will be more p
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‘Listen lads, let’s take him do
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me get out of bed. This isn’t eve
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Something in my right side has swol
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and I rock backwards and forwards,
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know that I am now in total shit. W
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charred and swollen, are brought to
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tormented by lice and filth, be bea
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I can’t tear my eyes away from th
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These two are crazed way beyond any
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a helicopter in a forty-degree heat
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egiment, used to the beatings and t
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cynicism, and it can never be cross
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left to waste away. These tents con
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with a stool. They say a fair bit o
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all right. What if I manage to hang
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‘Great girl, isn’t she? Everyon
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us more than the commanders and the
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and cling onto me from all sides, m
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itch.’ He splits my lower lip wit
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have the strength to change anythin
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the level crossing, townsfolk waiti
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Her name is Aunt Lusya. There were
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downwards, entering his chest and e
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Everything that happens here should
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look at my busted face to realize t
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forming columns here and sending th
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mean they’ve already sent more th
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Kotenochkin, jumping up onto his ca
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lagging behind.’ The column stops
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dumped concrete blocks. On both sid
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the other side of that barrier at t
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‘Defensive positions!’ We all j
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It’s the carriers firing, aiming
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armour. His knee is warm. The sun i
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The plains of Chechnya are surround
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these to the top every day, which i
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appears. You can smell the stale al
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answer. The skinny one brushes his
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a long way off, making the carrier
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let their guys run errands for them
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‘Where are you from, Tall Boy?’
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heading. ‘How about you go and ge
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whole battalion is now sitting in t
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people lived in the steppe a thousa
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take in the dead city. There is sho
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Two vehicles are knocked out but th
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Fighting rages on in Grozny. No-one
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odies. ‘Hold your fire!’ shouts
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The next night our side brings up a
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‘Bastards!’ says Murky, unable
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you’ll see,’ Andy says. ‘Teet
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we are willing to live in whatever
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Then they melt the TNT from them. N
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found it immediately. Just imagine
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for it here. I can’t imagine a ra
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used it to bump me up in my service
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with a heavy army stool every day f
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few rounds with each other, they co
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square. They were thrown down in pi
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Slav and Tom. Two more move along t
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over. After the blast, we scooped t
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Next to it there is a coil of wire
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nowhere to withdraw to for a rest,
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machines. Boys? We have the same ar
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ground, with pieces of shrapnel fly
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The next regiment lost fifteen men
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In Grozny they set up joint command
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We leave through streets that we to
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watch our column in silence. Their
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and looks at me again. They laugh.
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We don’t know what we are fightin
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anyone ever asks me, ‘What were y
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sniper fire. They wrap them up in t
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for the ‘special cargo’, cartin
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work side by side with his subordin
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I tried to push my feet under the c
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although he was only nineteen like
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usual tomfoolery I’d throw him ou
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men. At least they are afraid of de
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into my armpit to warm it up while
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I was afraid that my frozen legs wo
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look lively, they've already called
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guilty in front of her, the guilt a
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stand in her presence...’ I didn
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that the major had slapped on us; t
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‘Uh-huh.’ I curled up, pulled t
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embrace. Such a date only happens o
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spare second sleeping, and he can
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double portion of pearl barley toda
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‘Five to twelve,’ he answers. H
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no light, no joy, no love, and no h
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Everyone is firing ceaselessly, let
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the commander and closer to the kit
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idly poking at the fire with a clea
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together with nature, concentrated
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seemed to work out for him, or it w
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to make a big song and dance out of
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humps on the top of two of them, sh
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ackside - the armour’s wet.’ Th
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driver on the head and he let the c
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adio to save the battery. Grey Chec
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around on this armoured carrier, st
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Alkhan-Yurt. They’ve got them hem
Page 503 and 504:
it had an imperious ring to it, lik
Page 505 and 506:
put and jumped down. I stood up, st
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I followed him ‘OK, take it easy.
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‘No, some moron infantry. I mean,
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headed back there too. ‘OK Vasya,
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of the carrier and covered our rear
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of them there, easy as anything, an
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people. They survive but they lose
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spreading out among the ditches and
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undergrowth, vanished into the mars
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washed clean of mud, grease and die
Page 525 and 526:
We poked around by the edge of the
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were any in the lowland area, didn
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I moved a little, trying to slip of
Page 531 and 532:
I stood up to my full height, bent
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I remembered how I had once spotted
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those dickheads in a minute.’ He
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and a packet of raisins. Ventus onl
Page 539 and 540:
After we’d taken care of the tin,
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‘We fancied a bit of hunting, so
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minibus to our Moscow region unit,
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johns. They had more lice than thre
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like that wouldn’t simply give up
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get it? Incurable. And now you are
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get out of it for a day Heating, my
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‘Right... And you call me a philo
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state of delirium I’d jump around
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Islands. I have a completely differ
Page 559 and 560:
ut who knows? Two days ago they did
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cast a circle of pale light on the
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on. The lads are pretty tired. Lay
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where the tarpaulin should be. I pu
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conserve warmth, and now I desperat
Page 569 and 570:
leak and light a fire. I raised mys
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ground. The infantry sat about ten
Page 573 and 574:
Someone with his chin tucked into h
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ebbs. Then war crawls out of you in
Page 577 and 578:
too rough.’ But after the hot dri
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his dirty fingers picked off a coup
Page 581 and 582:
waited. Any moment now, one more st
Page 583 and 584:
emptiness of my stomach? I suddenly
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juicy. I picked another, then a thi
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tired ourselves. Everyone returned
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They could at least send us water.
Page 591 and 592:
Alkhan-Kala seemed to vanish, swept
Page 593 and 594:
you and leaves you speechless. ‘N
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couple of minutes. As the dust sett
Page 597 and 598:
usual arrogant pose, his arm restin
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the Bee launcher from the carrier.
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only a wet, eternally muddy dug-out
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on top of the carrier and I was ama
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very important, so much so that it
Page 607 and 608:
I started to sweat and my clothing
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a centimetre above it. ‘I’ll bl
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‘Comrade Major! Comrade Major!’
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the barn to the village outskirts;
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and waited until he’d reached the
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tugged the foot of the nearest sold
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the grass between the figures plast
Page 621 and 622:
I didn’t reply, so Sitnikov lower
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escape. The house withered under th
Page 625 and 626:
head. My skull was ringing, I could
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‘Call Armour, you dumb prick!’
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time. The kid’s stunned, I though
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to fight or to stand round scratchi
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and froze, their barrels quivering
Page 635 and 636:
killing was different, on a lesser
Page 637 and 638:
Crouching, the infantry ran after u
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knackered running through the woods
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shaking and I cursed my ungainly fl
Page 643 and 644:
with just as much difficulty. The i
Page 645 and 646:
I groped my way down onto a small r
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it all, I lowered my head to the la
Page 649 and 650:
had been a piece of cake this time,
Page 651 and 652:
were bullets going whack-whack in t
Page 653 and 654:
shrapnel, and I was entirely visibl
Page 655 and 656:
And dear God, do it right now, beca
Page 657 and 658:
his trousers, one by one, and dropp
Page 659 and 660:
heaving with laughter, unable to st
Page 661 and 662:
on her face as she listens to her f
Page 663 and 664:
this is all we get for our pains? I
Page 665 and 666:
The psychologist used to be a plato
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happened to the driver and the esco
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left. We stayed on the highway and
Page 671 and 672:
would run across the open ground. T
Page 673 and 674:
know where the driver is?’ ‘Gon
Page 675 and 676:
frilly edge of the pie, while this
Page 677 and 678:
all they could do is keep him pinne
Page 679 and 680:
sprouting wires from the burnt tire
Page 681 and 682:
again, this time with a mortar batt
Page 683 and 684:
and even happily. Now he stood by t
Page 685 and 686:
mortar guys raced around Chechnya d
Page 687 and 688:
He suddenly fell silent and turned
Page 689 and 690:
have field guns.’ The commander t
Page 691 and 692:
‘Just some locals,’ the infantr
Page 693 and 694:
others. And we had eagerly carried
Page 695 and 696:
stove. I only came to my senses whe
Page 697 and 698:
embraced us soldiers like babes in
Page 699 and 700:
night and snowfall had thrown a cle
Page 701 and 702:
opposite the cross-shaped hospital,
Page 703 and 704:
got blown up on a minefield. We too
Page 705 and 706:
and devouring our dry rations. We
Page 707 and 708:
here. I go out onto the porch and t
Page 709 and 710:
the sky. I go up to a platoon comma
Page 711 and 712:
operation, when he was pulling the
Page 713 and 714:
metres from our positions, sending
Page 715 and 716:
aren’t many of them, maybe a hund
Page 717 and 718:
and I am suddenly terrified, racked
Page 719 and 720:
eyes. The injured smoke agitatedly
Page 721 and 722:
without trouble - it’s dead groun
Page 723 and 724:
ow stretches about two hundred metr
Page 725 and 726:
way behind the enemy front line and
Page 727 and 728:
has any doubts about that. Only a t
Page 729 and 730:
the yard. There are no more tripwir
Page 731 and 732:
the Chechens can’t see us and are
Page 733 and 734:
pickles. Not a bad haul, I say to m
Page 735 and 736:
as we call the wounded guys, and it
Page 737 and 738:
a piece of shrapnel in the thigh du
Page 739 and 740:
and I wake. It’s ten to one. I ro
Page 741 and 742:
the lookout over in that house. One
Page 743 and 744:
apple tree quiver in the wind and i
Page 745 and 746:
fell asleep, their heads resting on
Page 747 and 748:
hurry - today we’ll have to advan
Page 749 and 750:
pieces that can take the edge off t
Page 751 and 752:
my mood a boost and I start to whis
Page 753 and 754:
18/ Argun We are halted for the fou
Page 755 and 756:
are, for there’s no-one in the wo
Page 757 and 758:
from the heels of a platoon.’ ‘
Page 759 and 760:
ibs. It turns out that some of them
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Sundays. How are they supposed to h
Page 763 and 764:
from the river and use those. Each
Page 765 and 766:
We finish the ribs. We’ve gnawed
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Sharo-Argun. What a terrible name.
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hole.’ I shut my eyes, lie on my
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Then he’ll lie in a puddle and st
Page 773 and 774:
‘Some businessmen we are, Fixa,
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an straight into another group of f
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abducted his sister and demanded a
Page 779 and 780:
manage to. Suddenly there’s a sin
Page 781 and 782:
oad by the fence. They’ll get us
Page 783 and 784:
a long scratch on his cheek. What b
Page 785 and 786:
The fighters could inflict far more
Page 787 and 788:
He knows it sounds unconvincing but
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hooked the place up to the electric
Page 791 and 792:
We stand by the tents and bluntly s
Page 793 and 794:
eaking into the trailer wagon that
Page 795 and 796:
ground. The muzzle flash is invisib
Page 797 and 798:
children. To make matters worse the
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shooting but the commotion is gradu
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with my elbow and he bumps me back
Page 803 and 804:
well hidden in the ditch and there
Page 805 and 806:
Our raid has yielded eighteen cans
Page 807 and 808:
can’t get it past the fence and i
Page 809 and 810:
upon them and gave them a beating,
Page 811 and 812:
to his shoulder blades with a crack
Page 813 and 814:
and we have the right to bring it u
Page 815 and 816:
even greater rage. There’s someth
Page 817 and 818:
place. Thieving is both the foundat
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luxurious houses for generals that
Page 821 and 822:
post as our commanders down more vo
Page 823 and 824:
army. And since we want nothing mor
Page 825 and 826:
own children? Competent, conscienti
Page 827 and 828:
unway and I would sleep with a blan
Page 829 and 830:
the elevator. Our 8th company is ho
Page 831 and 832:
orders, nodding to the two prostrat
Page 833 and 834:
ut fine for a rinse. A captured Mit
Page 835 and 836:
distinguished themselves. Medals ar
Page 837 and 838:
ass fanfare,’ he says. ‘Otherwi
Page 839 and 840:
February, Defenders of the Fatherla
Page 841 and 842:
taken prisoner. But generals are an
Page 843 and 844:
officers get posted there with thei
Page 845 and 846:
should never be any luxury there so
Page 847 and 848:
the rest of us in a cashier’s off
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have to be bred, trained in the aca
Page 851 and 852:
that they have violent hazing even
Page 853 and 854:
in the ranks! After this he goes on
Page 855 and 856:
enemy were forced to abandon their
Page 857 and 858:
and fired on them at point-blank ra
Page 859 and 860:
‘Cooks, drivers, clerks, everyone
Page 861 and 862:
to receive a smack in the mouth fro
Page 863 and 864:
least bit shy and soon we forget ou
Page 865 and 866:
stand like orphaned children by the
Page 867 and 868:
food, scooping condensed milk into
Page 869 and 870:
he holds it in two fingers and read
Page 871 and 872:
postcard from a bunch of kids? Well
Page 873 and 874:
attalion. Our stomachs are unaccust
Page 875 and 876:
newspaper, and within two days only
Page 877 and 878:
smirking. ‘That’s prohibited we
Page 879 and 880:
attalion has flowers springing from
Page 881 and 882:
water. We keep our find a secret, b
Page 883 and 884:
officers is shot up near the villag
Page 885 and 886:
same rebel group that killed the of
Page 887 and 888:
give way and I sit down sharply on
Page 889 and 890:
and then did the same to two new gu
Page 891 and 892:
Sure enough, they’re already insi
Page 893 and 894:
position, climbing up the heap of r
Page 895 and 896:
ecome an obsession. That’s all I
Page 897 and 898:
the size of a baby’s palm. Smalle
Page 899 and 900:
Olga’s tender touch is so much li
Page 901 and 902:
jerk so Oleg grabs him by one arm a
Page 903 and 904:
muscles in his cheeks twitch. ‘Wh
Page 905 and 906:
here and they consider it an unacce
Page 907 and 908:
perimeter fence, and you can get lo
Page 909 and 910:
superfluous here in this place in t
Page 911 and 912: een a hoot! Then they would know wh
Page 913 and 914: dreadful crime, plain murder, slaug
Page 915 and 916: ‘Did you come here with the medic
Page 917 and 918: the war is over. It starts to rain.
Page 919 and 920: 19/ A Soldier's Dream Snow fell the
Page 921 and 922: Night-time means fear. As dusk fall
Page 923 and 924: starting to beat down, warming my b
Page 925 and 926: he falls silent, looks at me strang
Page 927 and 928: sleep when they are dead tired. He
Page 929 and 930: His face becomes grey, dead. His te
Page 931 and 932: 20/ Field Deception War always smel
Page 933 and 934: then, the same tents, the tower, th
Page 935 and 936: General Shamanov, flew in to inspec
Page 937 and 938: us he was coming for. Turned out it
Page 939 and 940: went right through him. ‘There wa
Page 941 and 942: of barracks, green grass and white
Page 943 and 944: there isn’t, they’ll go and rob
Page 945 and 946: would happen as did after the Khasa
Page 947 and 948: us.’ ‘It’s bearable now,’ h
Page 949 and 950: soldier’s nose for lousy places h
Page 951 and 952: people wonder why they drop out of
Page 953 and 954: seven killed and sixteen wounded.
Page 955 and 956: and children, to go to God knows wh
Page 957 and 958: different and so similar, pass befo
Page 959 and 960: colonel: ‘No smoking here!’ I s
Page 961: different one. It’s very similar
Page 965 and 966: smile in mutual understanding. Some
Page 967 and 968: 22/ Lais At the base of the 45th re
Page 969 and 970: he was just eighteen years old. Eve
Page 971 and 972: quite happily. Sasha was one of tho
Page 973 and 974: men heading in the direction of Kir
Page 975 and 976: long before the column itself. Acco
Page 977 and 978: missed the Chechens too and kept mo
Page 979 and 980: paratroops had walked into a trap.
Page 981 and 982: don’t you hurry up then, we’ll
Page 983 and 984: ‘I didn’t know what was going o
Page 985 and 986: thinking that I can’t call him Al
Page 987 and 988: he remembers that fight. Only his h
Page 989 and 990: Regiment TV programme bring Sasha
Page 991 and 992: someone. On 7 August he doesn’t m
Page 993 and 994: When I first went to war in June 19
Page 995 and 996: while all the time she was subconsc
Page 997 and 998: yet seen anything of life. You’d
Page 999 and 1000: myself to my hearing, which grew ra
Page 1001 and 1002: kept creeping across the depression
Page 1003 and 1004: was in pain and if the bandage was
Page 1005 and 1006: instead. But Basayev made it throug
Page 1007 and 1008: leader and his deputy supply office
Page 1009 and 1010: torn-off arms, the white flesh of t
Page 1011 and 1012: my stomach. The sense of death in t
Page 1013 and 1014:
feet now there was just plain, hone
Page 1015 and 1016:
at that moment her eyes acquired an
Page 1017 and 1018:
with, then it becomes stronger in w
Page 1019 and 1020:
ead them the criminal code and dwel
Page 1021 and 1022:
him Limon), the other was called Ru
Page 1023 and 1024:
could have stayed with the Russians
Page 1025 and 1026:
would be quiet and not shout. Beati
Page 1027 and 1028:
ecause he was a conscript himself.
Page 1029 and 1030:
guards. When the graves were ready,
Page 1031 and 1032:
The teacher didn’t make it in tim
Page 1033 and 1034:
forcefully turning him over to the
Page 1035 and 1036:
office of the North Caucasus milita
Page 1037 and 1038:
prisoner but killed them on the spo
Page 1039 and 1040:
no-one could count even now. It was
Page 1041 and 1042:
junk back home, drink away the mone
Page 1043 and 1044:
the camps had taught them the tough
Page 1045 and 1046:
has not evaded the investigation. S
Page 1047 and 1048:
them to the army, and their main ch
Page 1049 and 1050:
a little gang of others who had don
Page 1051 and 1052:
anyway, someone has to mop the latr
Page 1053 and 1054:
26/ Operation 'Life' Continues No-o
Page 1055 and 1056:
life again. You learn to walk witho
Page 1057 and 1058:
You now remember the war as some ca
Page 1059 and 1060:
pen and paper and produce the first
Page 1061 and 1062:
should die before they know what wa
Page 1063 and 1064:
when they return. Ave Caesar, morit
Page 1065 and 1066:
keep up with life any more. All the
Page 1067 and 1068:
told me about getting his leg torn
Page 1069 and 1070:
‘Did you ever think the Dubrovka
Page 1071 and 1072:
have fun, live, drink beer and earn
Page 1073 and 1074:
Military Abbreviations AGS automati
Page 1075 and 1076:
Table of Contents Preface 01 Mounta
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