He watched as Carol, his comrade-in-arms, ran over to the other side of the clearing, looking for anything left standing.

NEWYORKER: Max at Sea

Yet, despite the company he keeps, Mr Basaev and his comrade-in-arms, Chechnya's rather more pragmatic president, Aslan Maskhadov, are Russia's best hope for stability in the turbulent North Caucasus.

ECONOMIST: Chechnya