Chechen War Diaries remain topical, people say at presentation of Zherebtsova's new book (+video)

On May 30, the Sakharov Centre in Moscow hosted a presentation of the book written by Polina Zherebtsova, a documentary journalist and a poet entitled "An Ant in Glass Jar; 1994-2004. Chechen Diaries". The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that the rights defenders and figures of culture, who came to the presentation, said that reflections on the events of the two Chechen Wars have not ceased to topical.

The author of the book was not present there. Polina Zherebtsova had survived the two Chechen Wars, but was forced to leave Russia in peacetime. In 2013, because of received threats after the publication of her first book, she emigrated to Finland, where she lives now. The presentation of the book at the Sakharov Centre was attended by more than 40 people. Almost every speech transformed into one's personal memories about the events in Chechnya and ended with statements about his or her attitude to what is happening in Ukraine today.

While presenting the book, the writer Stanislav Bozhko said that Polina Zherebtsova began writing her diaries when she was 9, and continued doing that, despite the wars, where she was an eyewitness. Bozhko has treated the book as "the blockade diaries of modern history."

Elena Sannikova, a former Soviet political prisoner, expressed the opinion that "the Chechen war is not over, since the criminals who unleashed it remain unpunished; and the war was not condemned, thus, it goes on."