I need help here. What is the true nature of this struggle? Is it all about Chechnya's oil, as a lib told me last evening?
This seems like a good overview for you.
"It is also worth noting that the aggressive culture of the militarized Chechen population of the last 10 years is not the traditional culture of the Chechen people. During the conflict, a new generation grew up. They are unwilling to work and prefer the criminal ways of life. The new values of the Chechens are very dangerous."
No. That would be simple wouldn't it? I'm just an armchair historian. There is another who posts on FR who is the expert on Russian history.
It is a longstanding conflict left in the void of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The Sufi, if I remember correctly, called for a Jihad in 1785 against Imperial Russia. It continued to the mid-19th C with the Crimean War in 1853 and the focus on Russia's gateway to the Mediteranean Sea, and the Turks. There's a back and forth history of genocide and pacification. There is the religious aspect and demands for independence. Oil may play a role, yes, in today's world, but this is not a conflict that arose overnight and won't be settled by Chechen independence, not when the security of the Russian state is at risk.
Hope that helps in your argument and perhaps someone else can add or correct my information.