One Soldier's War in Chechnya

Arkady Babchenko fought in both Chechnya wars before being demobilized in 2000; he later became a journalist with the non-conformist Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta (where he worked next to the since-murdered Anna Politkovskaya). This book collects his recorded memories of this most brutal of guerrilla wars, from New Years celebrations with rifles and condensed milk to the death of fellow soldier Yokovlev, who was `slit open like a tin of meat' by Chechen rebels and strangled with his own intestines.