Russia’s military presence in Georgia has unnerved refugees who fled here from Chechnya in the 1990s.   When Russian tanks rolled toward Tbilisi, Georgia, in August, shops closed and streets emptied as residents stayed indoors, glued to their televisions and radios. A hundred miles northeast, in the mountainous enclave of …

The bear is back. That’s what all too many Russia-watchers have been saying since Russian troops steamrolled Georgia in August, warning that the country’s strongman, Vladimir Putin, was clawing his way back toward superpower status.  

On October 5 a combined celebration of several anniversaries, primarily President Ramzan Kadyrov’s birthday, took place in the Chechen capital. It included a public ceremony to mark the reopening of the newly restored Victory Avenue, which was attended by the Chechen leadership, representatives of federal government agencies, leaders of neighbouring …