Osakatomebaby

Wondering what Chechens are reading? Of course you are.

People in Grozny don’t read as much as they did before the war. Nowadays, they prefer escapist reading.

You would too.

Antiwar books don’t reach the territory at all, and possessing books on Chechen aspirations for independence can be life-threatening. We received reports of people being executed when Russian soldiers found such books or video materials.

I wonder if they can read this article?

...With telephone lines in Chechnya virtually nonexistent, most Chechens cannot go online anyway—and in the computer room of the university, students are greeted by a sign prohibiting access to Chechen sites produced abroad.

So what to read?

Young Chechens make painstaking efforts to acquire books by Japanese author Haruki Murakami and Brazilian novelist Paolo Coelho.

I don't know the latter but you can believe I'm going to go find it. Holy moses.