From Independence to war.Mairbek Vatchagaev, the former press secretary and first adviser to Chechen President Maskhadov, chronicles the dramatic events that took place in Chechnya during the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Chechen war for independence. Engaged on one side of the Russian-Chechen conflict, he presents what he witnessed, how he became involved, how the struggle with Russia and the internal Chechen rivalries evolved, and how it impacted his family, his friends, his acquaintances, and the Chechen people.