ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how Russian society remembers Russian soldiers killed in Chechnya, and how it deals with the context of the war. It compares cultural representations of Russian military casualties in Chechnya as illustrated by memorials, with media coverage of that subject. Tombstones honoring Russian casualties in Chechnya are also situated along the Alley of Heroes, between the Second World War monument and the Soviet Afghan War memorial. Analysis of media coverage shows that although the media repeatedly present paratroopers as heroes, they also present them as victims of the Chechen campaign. This representation of fallen servicemen as heroes, yet victims reveals the inherent contradiction in the emerging militaristic and nationalistic commemoration in Russia. The chapter examines changes in the media representations of Russian military casualties from the 1990s to 2009. It suggests that the 'revenge of the Caucasus' on Russian society described by Sakwa and Russell has been enabled by the absence of public discussion of the Chechen conflict.
