Misperceptions about the conflict in Chechnya: The influence of Orientalism

This paper examines the misperceptions about the Russian-Chechen conflicts, trends of which can be observed in the Western media and academia. The first section investigates issues related to Islamic fundamentalism in Chechnya, while the second section looks into discussion about the roots of the conflict. The third section is devoted to the issue of brutality - the most debated topic in the Western media. I argue that an overarching misperception about the Chechen conflict was caused not only by Russian propaganda, but also by the inherent attitude prevailing in the West. This attitude should be understood in the framework of Orientalism as was explained by Edward Said.