When I was doing my initial research on the Chechen War a few years ago, I came across an interesting autobiography about an American mercenary named Aukai Collins who packed up his things and traveled to Chechnya to take up arms against the Russians.  I must admit, it was one of the most interesting and captivating true stories I’ve read about the war or any war in quite some time.    From intense firefights, to finding a Chechen girl whom he marries to opting to have his leg removed so he could have better mobility in future fights, Aukai Collins proves himself to be quite an interesting fellow.  We follow him trying to sneak his way into the country by attaching himself to some dangerous characters in the bordering country of Azerbaijan, hooking up with the resistance in Grozny and trekking across Chechnya fighting the Russians along the way.

The story takes the turn toward the fantastical when he admits to being approached by the FBI once back in the USA, and the book turns into some sort of spy tale.  He even mentions meeting Hani Hanjour in a CIA training camp inside the USA, which begs the question, was more or one of the 9/11 hijackers really CIA assets?  All amazing stories that are hard to verify without talking to Aukai, who incidentally has a bounty on his head from the Russian government at this point.  Inevitably, pre 9/11 his story is harrowing and he seems like a true hero defending his people’s struggle; post 9/11 through no fault of his own, he is lumped in with the murderous sect of radical muslim terrorists.  He says as much in his book that he himself laments this fact that his religion is used to murder civilians and for the most part I am inclined to believe that he is more of a defender of all civilians and not a terrorist.  Before 2001, the term JIHAD would not be associated with the greatest threat America has ever had, in fact the American CIA were helping the Jihadists fight the Russians in Afghanistan, Chechnya, and other countries where they needed assistance clandestinely.  9/11 changed the meaning of Jihad and now it is seen as a rally cry of our greatest and most elusive enemies.

The book leaves Aukai stuck in a Mexican prison and for the best of my knowledge that’s where he still is.  My attempts to try and contact the co-author of this book to find out what exactly happened to Aukai met with no response from him.  So, verifying this story was completely impossible. But, I’m inclined to believe most if not all of it and to a large degree Aukai has gained my respect as a human being and soldier more than anything, religious beliefs and allegiances aside.

Read a preview of MY JIHAD here

In my research into the Russian Spetsnaz “special forces” units I came across this interesting set of videos about the training Spetsnaz go through.

The video shown here exemplifies almost super human abilities to not feel pain or even be inflicted by injuries from knife attack, broken glass, or burns from fire. While I don’t question the authenticity of the feats that are carried out here, I do question its effectiveness in battle. Especially in light of how many Spetsnaz troops are killed in operations such as Beslan and the untold amount who were killed or captured in the years of fighting in Chechnya. They are elite, some of the best in the world, no question, but what is at work here? Magic? Superhuman abilities? You decide.

Another awesome video about “No Contact Combat” where it seems the instructors are using their attackers’ energy against them instead of using a striking blow with their body at all. Vadim Starov is really a master at this idea of No Contact Combat and it seems almost too good to be true that you can defeat an attacker without touching them.

In this final video, Vadim Starov shows us methods of using wave energy to take down attackers as far as 15ft away! Most people comment and call it staged, I still don’t know. Russian scammers or truly an amazing form of martial arts? Here is a video of Gene Lebell, founder of MMA attesting to the authenticity of Starov’s methods, another staged meeting? You decide.

This film is based in Chechnya, while far fetched, is one of the only western films that actually has Chechnya as a central them, set, and location. Wesley Snipes is armed and extremely dangerous in THE MARKSMAN, an explosive action-adventure thriller where nothing is what it seems. With Russia on the brink of nuclear annihilation, there’s only one man who can save it: The Marksman (Snipes). An elite U.S. Special Forces operative, he’s been ordered to take out a Chechen nuclear power plant before terrorists set off a live reactor. Infiltrating the heavily-guarded facility, The Marksman indicates the target for an American \missile strike and makes his escape. But when he discovers it’s the missiles and not the terrorists that’ll ignite the device, The Marksman realizes he’s been set up. And so begins a race against time as he attempts to disarm a target whose detonation will trigger the death of thousands and topple two world powers. Not sure if, or why, Chechen terrorists would cause a meltdown of a nuclear reactor in their own country, let alone if a nuclear reactor would ever be built there by the Russians for that very fact, but it is not a bad action flick.

Crying Sun: The Impact of War in the Mountains of Chechnya is another remarkable documentary outlining the horrors, reasons, and results of the protracted Russian military campaign in the Caucasus region of Chechnya.  Crying Sun tells the story of people from the Chechen mountainous village of Zumsoy and their struggle to preserve cultural identity and traditions in spite of the protracted military engagement, kidnappings, and killings by the Russian army.  It features attacks by guerilla fighters, and subsequent displacement and it’s effects on the villagers. By helping to articulate the voices of Zumsoy villagers in the public and policy spheres, the video calls on local and federal authorities to end impunity for human rights violations and to restore policies for the return of mountain villagers to their ancestral homes. In the international advocacy fora, the video will help bring visibility to calls for justice in Chechnya.

Sample of “Crying Sun: The Impact of War in the Mountains of Chechnya”

A Prayer For Beslan is a remarkable Documentary, very poetic and powerful.  It explores how the Chechen War would overflow into the relatively peaceful Southern Russia town of Beslan, not too far from Chechnya itself.    This documentary presents never before released footage of the terrorist attack in the 43 minute documentary that investigates what really happened.  Key elements include exclusive interviews with eye witnesses, hostages, the Russian negotiator and the Head of the Investigation committee.This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.

Preview of “A Prayer For Beslan”

I just thought this was an interesting video of what it’s like to ride on a tank, and I do mean ON a tank, through the hills and mountains of Chechnya. I was waiting for something to happen, and this video really does make it seem like something might actually occur at any moment. But luckily for this group, it doesn’t.

Movsar Buharovich Barayev (Russian: Мовсар Бухарович Бараев) (October 26, 1979 - October 26, 2002), earlier known as Suleimanov, was a Chechen terrorist and militia leader during the Second Chechen War, who led the seizure of a Moscow theater that led to the deaths of over 170 people.

Movsar Barayev, born 1979, was the nephew of the notorious Chechen warlord Arbi Barayev who allegedly worked under FSB guidance.^[1] After his uncle’s death in June 2001 until his own, Movsar was the leader of a Chechen terrorist militia known as the Special Purpose Islamic Brigade (SPIR).^[2] Barayev junior was said to be a sworn enemy of the Chechen leader and elected president, Aslan Maskhadov.^[3] He used the nom-de-guerre of “Yassir”.

He was falsely announced by the command of the Russian forces in Chechnya to have been killed on August 21, 2001, and again on October 12, 2002, eleven days prior to the Moscow theater crisis (this report of Barayev’s death came from Colonel Boris Podoprigora, deputy commander of Russia’s Joint Group Forces).^[4] It was also claimed that two months before the hostage-taking, the Russian GRU military intelligence had arrested Barayev and contained him “until his release had provided leads to the hostage taking at the Dubrovka theatre.”^[5]

Death

On October 23, 2002, Barayev and a mysterious man known as “Abu Bakar” led a group of some forty SPIR militants and their family members (who had dubbed themselves “the suicide squad from the 29th Division”) to seize the theater in the Russian capital Moscow, demanding negotiations with Russian authorities for an end to the second war in Chechnya, withdrawal of Russian forces and Chechen independence,^[6] threatening to execute his hostages.

Movsar Barayev was killed on the third day of the crisis, when the Russian FSB special forces launched a chemical attack and stormed the theater. The day when he died was his 23rd birthday.

Barayev’s bloodied corpse was shown by the Russian TV lying on the ground of the theater amidst broken glass with the intact bottle of cognac near his hand. Later, the Russian authorities said his body was secretly buried in an undisclosed location.

Foreign video taken during the terrorist siege of a middle school in Beslan Russia. At least 330 people were killed over three days, including 172 small children. In this footage we see the “rescue” operation, the Russian security forces and Spetsnaz storming the school. Reports are conflicted on who ordered the attack, the Russian authorities blame locals for storming the school, but as we have seen in the past, those in charge were concerned more with squashing the threat than the safety of those at risk. Did the call come down from Putin to attack? We do know that the Russians lied to the Chechens about sendin high ranking negotiators that were supposed to be there that day, perhaps to buy time for the attack to be planned and carried out. Opinions will most likely vary depending on your allegiance.