INTRACTABLE WOMAN

“PEOPLE SOMETIMES PAY WITH THEIR LIVES, FOR SAYING ALOUD WHAT THEY THINK.” -ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA,RUSSIAN JOURNALIST(1958-2006)

STUDY GUIDE

1

Illustration credit Jordan Wieben

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT IMAGO

Imago Theatre produces thought-provoking works that reflect women’s voices and stories of our times.

Read more about History here. Check out our Production Archives here. For our Team click here.

About Imago Theatre--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 2

The Team for Intractable Woman---------------------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 3

Intractable Woman Synopsis----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 4

Honouring Anna’s Fight for Freedom A Note from the Playwright, A Note from Anna’s Daughter----------------------------------------------PAGE 4

Intractable Woman Synopsis----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 5

About Anna Politkovskaya--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 6

History of the War in Chechnya and Timeline--------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 7-8

Themes in Intractable Woman--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 9

Curriculum Connections----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 10-13 (English, Arts Education, Geography History and Citizenship)

Vocabulary and Glossary of Public Figures--------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 13-14

Helpful Links and Resources---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PAGE 15

2

ABOUT IMAGO THEATRE

Visit our website at www.imagotheatre.ca

THE TEAM

STEFANO MASSINI Playwright

PAULA WING Translator

DEENA AZIZ Cast

LAURA CONDLLN Cast

WARONA SETSHWAELO Cast

LESLIE BAKER Movement Coach

ARIANNA BARDESONO Translation Dramaturg

PETER CERONE Sound Design

MICHELINE CHEVRIER Director

EO SHARP Set and Costume Design

ROB THOMPSON Lighting Design

*Click on the Creative Team’s names to read bios

3

INTRACTABLE

WOMAN

HONOURING ANNA’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM

“I would like to thank Stefano Massini from the bottom of my heart, the author, who is the same age as me, the Teatro delle Donne and the municipality of Calenzano, for the performance that they decided to dedicate to the memory of my mother. I believe that all of this helps to support the cause of everyone who fights in defense of the right to information and freedom of speech. Russia is living a hard time, but numerous are the nations in the world, where, like in Russia, to tell the chronicle of facts is synonymous to condemnation to death.” -Vera Politkovskaya (Anna’s daughter)

VERA POLITKOVSKAYA ON HER MOTHER

INTRACTABLE WOMAN PLAYWRIGHT STEFANO MASSINI ON ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA

“It is certainly easy to write superfluous, glowing tributes/epitaphs about a personality like Anna Politkovskaya, to proclaim amazement at her incredible courage or her nearly unshakeable capacity to be a witness to her time. But I would be lying if I said that was my reason for wanting to create a play. Instant hagiography is such a widespread – and even inflated – practice in the media, it needs no help from the theatre. And the audience would surely be opposed to such universal praise. No. It was about something else.

I barely had time to delve into the record when it jumped out at me: this journalist was a kind of thin red line running through the scattered fragments of a historical scenario buried in a pervasive fog. The recurrent phrase was “Anna Politkovskaya was there.” In the literal sense of the word: she was present, she was involved, she experienced it personally. An eyewitness to the many bombings in Grozny …

It’s as if conjuring this woman’s name could suddenly put the broken shards of the Russia-Chechnya mirror back together. In fact, she appears in every detail of the picture. Just as with a heap of random puzzle pieces, we figure out their placement by following the one image that ties them all together. And so I began to find inspiration in this whirlwind of episodes, characters, situations, protagonists, and players from all sides and all social strata combined …

At the risk of demystifying her, for me, Anna Politkovskaya represents a funnel. Through her, the epic “Chechen Guernica” passes through a container – her two eyes – and emerges from a narrow tube: her pen. Basic tools. Remarkable result.”- Stefano Massini, playwright of Intractable Woman

4

SYNOPSIS

Intractable Woman is a memorandum of Anna Politkovskaya’s life, the only Russian journalist to have covered the Second Chechen War, a woman the State dubbed “not able to re-educate,” a person with courage in the marrow of her bones and the faithful voice of those who lived through such a senseless and bloody conflict. She fought for justice despite numerous and constant death threats until October 2006, when she was assasinated outside her apartment building in Moscow.

Intractable Woman pieces together fragments of Politkovskaya’s work in an array of vivid snapshots of the infer-no of the Chechen war: dialogues with teenage military combatants and corrupt officials, meetings with terrorists and kidnappers, and encounters with doctors struggling to help with little to no resources.The play is a journey into the heart of a woman who witnessed and reported on the Grozny Truck Bombing, who dared to negotiate with the Chechen rebels during the Moscow Theatre Hostage Crisis, and who was poisoned while on her way to the Beslan School Siege.

Anna Politkovskaya’s words live on as we hear descriptions of everyday life in Chechnya during the war. We learn about the spirit of the people as well as their fears, and we see her own humanity reflected in her work. We see a journalist whose life is at risk because she chose to present the point of view of the ‘other,’ without bias – disre-garding her own cultural roots and possible prejudices – in an effort to increase understanding and speak for those who would be ignored or misrepresented. In the end, she chose to live for a cause greater than her own needs and preoccupations.

5

“I don’t write comments, or opinions, or personal views. I have always believed and I continue to believe that our role is not to criticize. I am a journalist not a judge. I tell the story, the facts as they are”- Anna Politkovskaya

ABOUT ANNA

6

Anna Politkovskaya, a courageous Russian journalist who made enemies among Russia’s official and unofficial power and survived more than one attempt on her life, was murdered in Moscow in 2006, on the day of president Putin’s birthday. She will forever be one of the great examples of a truly independent journalist.

She was born Anna Stepanovna Mazepa on August 30, 1958, in New York, where her Soviet-Ukrainian parents worked as diplomats at the United Nations. In the 1970s she studied journalism and literature at Moscow Universi-ty, graduating in 1980. Politkovskaya began her journalism career with Izvestia, a leading Soviet paper of the time, then worked as a correspondent for Aeroflot Soviet Airlines, travelling extensively throughout the former Soviet Union. During perestroika and after the collapse of the USSR, she worked for such Russian newspapers as Obshcha-ya Gazeta, and Novaya Gazeta, among others..

From 1999 to 2006 Politkovskaya worked for Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper with strong investigative reporting that was overtly critical of Russian political and social affairs. She was the author of A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya(2003), She was also the author of two books in English, A Dirty War (2001) and Putin’s Russia (2004). She covered a broad range of topics, such as human rights abuses, brutality in the army, the failures of the judicial system, problems in the South of Russia, the Caucasus, especially the conflict in Chechnya, and the struggling de-mocracy in Russia. Anna Politkovskaya won numerous awards for her reports and books, including the prestigious Prize for Freedom and Future of the Media (2005), the Olof Palme Prize (2004), OSCE Award (2003), Golden Pen of Russia (2000), and the Golden Gong (2000).

6

SUMMARY OF THE CHECHEN CONFLICT

Formal hostilities between the Russian government and separatists in Chechnya, a tiny, oil-rich province in the North Caucasus region, date back to 1758, though elements of the conflict can be traced back considerably further. During World War II, Stalin deported well over 500, 000 people from Chechnya, tens (or possibly hundreds) of thousands of people died or were killed in the process. After Stalin’s death, a decree was passed allowing re-pressed nations to freely travel in the Soviet Union; many exiled Chechens took this opportunity to return to their ancestral land. Later, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Chechnya is declared independent of Russia.

The First Chechen War (December 11th 1994 – August 31st 1996) began when Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, sent troops into Chechnya to assasinate separatist leader, Dzhokhar Dudayev. After Dudayev’s death, Zemlikhan Yandar-biyev became Acting President and eventually came to a peace agreement with Russia. Tens of thousands died----casualties from atrocities committed by both sides---and many more were displaced in the war. The year following the war, a presidential election is held in Chechnya and Aslan Maskhadov is elected. Yeltsin’s Russia recognizes Maskhodov’s government but the issue of Chechen independence is not resolved.

Chechnya had been badly damaged by the war and the economy was in shambles. Many former guerrillas took control over small districts and used kidnappings for ransom and primitive oil extraction as sources of income. On Maskhodov’s insistence, Russia sent money to help rebuild Chechnya, but much of it was stolen by Chechen au-thorities and divided between favoured warlords. Yeltsin remained in power, but workers across Russia eventually began protests against the government and called for his resignation. Yeltsin would not resign for another 3 years.

The Second Chechen War (August 26th 1999 – April 15th 2009) started when Yeltsin passed a decree ordering the start of the “counter-terrorist operation” in response to the invasion of the Russian Republic of Dagestan by a Chechnya-based Islamist group, led by warlords Shamil Basayev and Ibn al-Khattab. Russian military and pro-Rus-sian Chechen paramilitary forces faced Chechen separatists in open combat and seized the Chechen capital Gro-zny after a winter siege that lasted from late 1999 until February 2000. Russia established direct rule of Chechnya under President Yeltsin with the new Prime Minister, an ex-KBG officer, Vladimir Putin. Putin would soon become President after Yeltsin’s resignation. Although large-scale fighting within Chechnya had ceased, daily attacks contin-ued; particularly in the southern portions of Chechnya and spilling into nearby territories of the Caucasus as well. In 2009, Russia declared the nearly decade-old “counterterrorism operation” against separatist rebels to be over. Shortly after, it was said that life in the Republic had “normalized to a large degree”. Casualties of Chechen civilians have been estimated to be up to 50,000 with Russian numbers over 5,000.

7

HISTORY OF THE WAR IN CHECHNYA

TIMELINE: ANNA’S LIFE DURING THE CHECHEN CONFLICT1957 – Chechens are free to return to their homeland after 13 years of exile1958 – Anna Politkovskaya born1980 – Anna Politkovskaya graduates from Moscow State University and begins career in journalism1991 – Collapse of the Soviet Union. Chechnya proclaimed independent of Russia. 1994-1996 – First Chechen War: December 11, 1994 – August 31, 1996 (1 year, 8 months, 2 weeks, 6 days)1998 – Amid growing lawlessness, a state of emergency declared in Chechnya1999 – Anna begins writing for Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper with strong investigative reporting that was critical of Russian political and social affairs1999-2009 – Second Chechen War: August 26, 1999 – May 2000 Battle Phase; June 2000 – April 15, 2009 Insurgency Phase (9 years, 7 months, 3 weeks)2000/2001 – Anna Politkovskaya’s first book published: A Dirty War: A Russian Reporter in Chechnya2001 – Anna Politkovskaya taken into custody and accused of spying after her journalistic exposé about the mystery surrounding a mass grave discovered near a Russian military base. She was kept in a pit with no food or water for three days2001 – Anna Politkovskaya awarded: The Russian Union of Journalists’ Golden Pen Prize and Amnesty International’s Global Award for Human Rights Journalism2002 – Moscow Theatre Hostage Crisis: Chechen rebels seize a Moscow theatre and hold about 800 people hostage. Anna Politkovskaya entered the building and attempted to negotiate with the militants. Most of the rebels and some 120 hostages are killed when Russian forces storm the building2002 – Grozny Truck Bombing: Suicide bomb attack on the Grozny base of the Russian-backed Chechen government kills around 80 people and injures many more2002 – Anna Politkovskaya awarded: Norwegian Authors Union Freedom of Expression Prize, Index on Censorship’s Defence of Free Expression Award, PEN American Center’s Freedom to Write Award and International Women’s Media Foundation’s Courage in Journalism Award2002/2003 – Anna Politkovskaya’s second book published: A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya2003 – Anna Politkovskaya awarded: Lettre Ulysses’s Award for the Art of Reportage and Hermann Kesten Medal2004 – Beslan School Crisis: Hundreds are killed or wounded - many of them children - when a siege at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, ends in bloodbath. Anna Politkovkaya boards a plane to go to Beslan in order to assist with negotiations. She fell violently ill and lost consciousness after drinking a cup of tea given to her on the plane; she had been poisoned.2004 – Anna Politkovskaya awarded Olof Palme Prize and Vázquez Montalbán Award of International Journalism2004/2005 – Anna Politkovskaya’s third book published: Putin’s Russia: Life in a Failing Democracy2005 – Anna Politkovskaya awarded Civil Courage Prize and Prize for the Freedom and Future of Media2006 – Anna Politkovskaya awarded Tisiano Terzani International Journalism Award and named a World Press Free-dom Hero by International Press Institute2006 October - Anna Politkovskaya is shot dead outside her apartment in Moscow.2007 – Anna Polikovskaya posthumously awarded UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, National Press Club/John Aubuchon’s Freedom of the Press Award and National Endowment for Democracy’s Democracy Award to Spotlight Freedom2007-2011 – Anna Politkovskaya’s books published posthumously: A Russian Diary: A Journalist’s Final Account of Life, Corruption, and Death in Putin’s Russia; Nothing But the Truth: Selected Dispatches; Is Journalism Worth Dying For? Final Dispatches 8

THEMES

Rhetoric in War (censorship, propaganda and othering)Intractable Woman explores the power of rhetoric to perpetuate violence, strengthen political power and reinforce the status quo. Russia’s censorship and control of media and their propagandic messaging about the Chechen population creates harmful us vs. them binaries.

Independence and Identity (power, disenfranchisement, displacement) Intractable Woman explores the meaning of independence as a fulcrum point for identity and belonging. The Chechen population, historically disenfranchised and displaced, are willing to sacrifice their lives for independence from Russia. These themes echo the treatment of indigenous populations in Canada and the wreckage wrought by displacing, “ghettoizing” and assimilating individuals fighting for the right to independent cultural expression.

The Psychology of War (indoctrination of young soldiers)The psychology of war is explored in Intractable Woman.This is especially evident in Anna’s interview with a young soldier who has lived his formative years in a war torn environment. His moral development and his sense of agen-cy are tainted by the ways in which war can twist and alter reality. Research into the effects of war on the psychol-ogy of a nation and on soldiers (accounts of PTSD) could offer a point of departure for discussions concerning the psychology of war.

Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Press Implicit in the theme of rhetoric’s relationship to war and violence is the consequence of the elimination of freedom of speech. Intractable Woman acts as a narrative embodiment of the fight for freedom of speech and for a media model that allows for dissent and a presentation of alternative perspectives. The lack of freedom of speech and freedom of press creates undemocratic conditions that support propaganda, control and misrepresentation.

Drawing Historical and Present-Day Parallels Displacement, othering, the psychology of violence, propaganda and censorship are historically and presently paralleled in other countries throughout the world. We invite you to explore the following website from Reporters Without Borders. The website delves into censorship’s role in mediating and perpetuating violence and control. Hopefully this website will serve as a catalyst for conversation about how the above themes are not unique to the Russian-Chechen conflict.

9

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS English and English as a Second LanguageTrain versatile and competent communicators

Skills Explored: Recognition of the importance placed on mastering language, transfer of learning both in the classroom and outside schools, exploration and analysis if texts, integrated competencies in oral communication, reading and writ-ing, increase in knowledge of the language and its usage

Suggested Activity 1:

Constructing Reality: Frames of Reference in News Production

“To say that a news report is a story, no more, but no less, is not to demean the news, not to accuse it of being fictitious. Rather, it alerts us that news, like all public documents, is a constructed reality possessing its own internal validity.”-(Tuchman, 1976:97)

“I never write commentary, or speculation, or opinions. I have always believed—and I continue to believe---that it is not up to us to make judgments. I am a journalist, not a court nor a magistrate. I limit myself to reporting the facts. The facts as they stand, as they are.” –Anna Politkovskaya

Choose a recent event in the news that has been published by 3 print or online media outlets. Have students perform an analysis of each article through the use of the following chart.

ANALYSIS ARTICLE 1 ARTICLE 2 ARTICLE 3 Headline:

Placement of story in the news (ie: front page, page 20 etc.)Placement of content in the article (What seems to be the most important content?) Stylistic choices/differences (Language choices, use of quotations)What is excluded from the story or from discussion?What world views or “tacit little theories about what matters” are these particular frames of the news reinforc-ing?Outline 3 ways the article could be interpreted differ-ently.

10

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS Suggested Activity 2: Identifying Rhetoric in Mass Media

“Russia has gone about portraying the conflict in Chechnya as ‘an anti-terrorist operation…fighting the threat of interna-tional Islamic terrorism rather than secession’ by utilising the ‘War on Terror’ as an ‘overarching conceptual prism’ (Snetkov 2007: 1352).”

“The main feature of this has been the use of rhetorical action both at a governmental level and through the official me-dia…It has proven to be a powerful instrument for Russia to designate the Chechens as Islamic terrorists ‘immersed in the totalitarian ideology of global jihad’ (Souleimanov 2008: 1200) rather than as fighting for the freedom of their homeland.”

Read the following two statements. Consider how each speaker uses rhetoric (speaking or writing that is intended to persuade) to control discourse on terrorism and on the Chechen conflict.

How does the speaker appeal to the audience’s emotion? How does the speaker build credibility and trust? How are rhetorical devices (alliteration, consonance, repetition, simile, metaphor etc.) used to create a more united and persuasive argument? What is presented as fact? What is excluded from the conversation?

Russian Foreign Ministry Statement (3rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks)

“Terrorism is Nazism of the 21st century. The only way to defend ourselves against it is rooting it out. On September 11, 2001, many came to realize that the world had undergone an irrevocable change. New-generation terrorism then put itself on the world map in a most hideous manner. Back then, not all of us could fully comprehend the actual magnitude of the threat posed by our attackers. The entire world reawakened to this threat when shaken by yet another barbarous terrorist act – this time around, in Russia. Terrorism, which affects many countries, is international in nature and has no ethnic, religious, cultural, or any other affiliation. Terrorism defies all legal and moral constraints. Its goal is to destroy the very foundation of our civilization, to subdue the world to its will. We, the civilized world, will surely win in the mortal combat against terror if we come to realise that terrorism is our No. 1 enemy and if we join hands and act consistently and honestly toward one other […] countering terrorist threats’ new dimension with a qualitatively new level of anti-terrorist partnership, absolutely free of double standards.”

Russian Foreign Ministry: New-Generation Terrorism has put Itself on the World Map, RIA Novosti, http://en.rian.ru, 11 Septem-ber, 2004.

Russian President Vladimir Putin after the bombing on July 7, 2005 in London

“An enormous crime has been committed in London today. I would like to say that Russia has itself repeatedly ex-perienced terrorist attacks, brutal and bloody, which have taken hundreds of our innocent civilians. For this reason, in no other country has this event evoked such a response, and in no other country has such sympathy been shown for those affected or have such condolences been expressed as they have been in our country. What has happened is extra evidence that all of us are doing too little to pool our efforts in the most effective way in combating terror-ism. I would none the less like to express, not only hope, but also confidence that the world community, discarding double standards in the assessment of bloody crimes such as the one that has been committed in London today, will have enough strength to stand firm against terror, to stand firm against it together, and will be able to eradicate this plague of the 21st century, eradicate it completely and indefinitely.”

Putin: London Blasts an “Enormous Crime”, Interfax, www.interfax.ru, 7 July, 2005. https://uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:131143/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Discussion Question: In Intractable Woman, Anna defends the journalist’s ability to remain objective in the report-ing of events (“I limit myself to reporting the facts”). Do you believe it is possible for news to be reported without human bias or without a particular frame of reference?

Discussion Question: How do we encourage active and critical reception of news and mass media to safeguard against damaging rhetoric? 11

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS Arts Education Theatre

Skills Explored: convey their representation of reality and their world-view by means of symbolic language, openness to the world of sensitivity and subjectivity, development of critical aesthetic faculties, development of personal, cultural and social values, integration of meaningful cultural references, communication of ideas through various artistic productions, attitudes required for artistic development, stimuli for creation, performance and appreciation,use of intuition and imagi-nation, mobilization of a process and a procedure

Suggested Activity:

Part 1: Devised Theatre Activity

Research 5-8 articles (or interviews) written (or broadcasted) on the first and second War in Chechnya. Ensure that each article comes from a different news outlet. Incorporate at least one sentence of text or dialogue written or spoken by Anna Politkovskaya. Material can be sourced from interviews, articles or published books and examples of this style of work can be traced back to figures in theatre history, namely Bertolt Brecht’s Living Newspaper and Augusto Boal’s Newspaper Theatre. (see resources)

With a team of 3-5 people, create a 5 minute devised theatre piece that incorporates text from your research. Your piece can be a monologue or a scene and can relate to any of themes in Intractable Woman (see themes.) Submit your script and a 2 page Artist Statement outlining the decisions you’ve made as a collective. Give a 2 minute presentation explaining your choices and perform a reading of the piece for your class. (*NOTE: If students are only participating in PART 1 of the exercise they must submit the Artist Statement. If they are also participating in PART 2 they need to submit a Vision and Design Statement and not an Artist Statement along with their script)

Part 2: Direction and Design for Devised Theatre Scene

Direction

In your team of 3-5 people collectively decide on the Direction and Design for your 5 minute devised theatre piece. Present a staged (and memorized), short production of your devised theatre piece in front of the class. Include a 2-5 minute description of your direction and design choices. When submitting your script, make sure to include the following documents:

Your Collective Vision (1 page): A statement outlining three central themes in the play and a detailed description of your collective vision for the direction of your devised theatre piece.

Collaborating with Designers: (2-3 pages)Write a detailed description of how design elements (sound, lighting, video/multi-media, set and costume design) will help to articulate the themes and messaging present in your directorial vision of your devised theatre piece.

Discussion Question: Think critically about the play Intractable Woman. According to you, what were the central themes conveyed in this production? (list 3 themes)

Discussion Question: How did the play’s design elements (sound, lighting, video, set and costume) propel the narrative and the themes forward? 12

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS Geography, History and Citizenship Education

Skills explored: social literacy, conceptual tools, methodological tools, consciousness of citizenship

Suggested Activity 1: Female Journalists in War

Research 4 female journalists who have received the Anna Politkovskaya Award given by the Reach All Women in War organization. Create an identity chart for each woman. The identity chart should contain information about their personal, political and professional lives. Find a creative way to present their life, identities and contributions to your classroom. Learn more about Identity Charts here.

Suggested Activity 2: Censorship and Human Rights Violations in Canada

Research an instance in Canadian history where censorship contributed to or caused a human rights violation. Using Pierre Bordieu’s concept of “habitus,” explain how censorship contributes to institutionalized structures of power.

Discussion Question: How has Canadian history been affected by censorship of information? How has the ability to censor histories and identities shifted with the technological revolution and the advent of online communications?

Discussion Question: Consider the theme of psychology in war in the context of the play. How has war influenced the psychology of the young soldier Anna interviewed? How does the psychology of war skew a collective and indi-vidual sense of morality?

VOCABULARY

Framing Theory: The basis of framing theory is that the media focuses attention on certain events and then places them within a field of meaning. Framing theory suggests that how something is presented to the audience (called “the frame”) influences the choices people make about how to process that information. Frames are abstractions that work to organize or structure message meaning.

Bias: The action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment.

Rhetorical Device: A rhetorical device uses words in a certain way to convey meaning or to persuade. It can also be a technique to evoke an emotion on the part of the reader or audience.

Propaganda model of the media: The propaganda model is a conceptual model in political economy advanced by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky to explain how propaganda and systemic biases function in mass media. The model seeks to explain how populations are manipulated and how consent for economic, social and political poli-cies is “manufactured” in the public mind due to this propaganda. The theory posits that the way in which news is structured creates an inherent conflict of interest which acts as propaganda for undemocratic forces.

War on Terror: The War on Terror is a metaphor of war referring to the international military campaign that started after the September 11 attacks on the United States. The Bush administration and the western media have since used the term to argue a global military, political, legal and conceptual struggle against both organizations designat-ed terrorist and regimes accused of supporting them.

Habitus: habitus represents the way group culture and personal history shape the body and the mind, and as a result, shape social action in the present. A system of embodied dispositions usually shared by people with a similar background (social class, religion, nationality, ethnicity, education, profession etc.)

VOCABULARY

13

GLOSSARY OF PUBLIC FIGURES

14

Vladislav Surkov: Deputy Chief of Staff of the President of the Russian Federation (1999 – 2011); He was widely seen as the main ideologist of the Kremlin who proposed and implemented the concept of sovereign democracy in Russia. Close ally to Russian President Vadimir Putin and Chechen Prime Misnister Ramzan Kadyrov

Tsar Nicholas the First: Emperor of Russia (1825 – 1855); He continued the Caucasian War (1817 – 1864) through-out his reign. The war consisted of a series of military actions waged by Russia against territories and tribal groups in Caucasia including Chechnya.

Joseph Stalin: Leader of the Soviet Union (1924 – 1953); In 1944 Stalin exiled the entire Chechen population from Chechnya. Well over 500, 000 people were deported, tens (or possibly hundreds) of thousands of people died or were killed in the process. They did not return to their ancestral land until 1957, three years after Stalin’s death.

Mikhail Gorbachov: Final leader of the Soviet Union (1988 – 1991); His political initiatives were positive: for free-dom and democracy in the Soviet Union, but the economic policy of his government gradually brought the country close to disaster.

Boris Yeltsin: Russian President (1991 – 1999); He began the First Chechen War in 1994, then at the end of his sec-ond term as President, the Second Chechen war began in 1999 just weeks after current Russian President, Vladimir Putin, rose to become Prime Minister.

Colonel Yuri Budanov: Russian Military Officer (1987 – 2003); He had widespread support of Russian households, but at the same time he was broadly hated in Chechnya, even by pro-Russian Chechens. In 2003, he was convicted by a Russian court of kidnapping and murder in Chechnya.

Ramzan Kadyrov: President of Chechnya (2007 – present); He is the son of former Chechen President, Akhmad Kadyrov who before he became President switched sides and offered his services to the Russian government at the outbreak of the Second Chechen War. Ramzam Kadyrov became President shortly after he turned 30 – the mini-mum age for the post. He has come under heavy criticism due to allegeations of human rights violations, corrump-tion, theft of public funds, and protection of criminals of Chechen origin.

*The above individuals were mentioned in Intractable Woman

help

help

HELPFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES War in Chechnya

CBC News Correspondent – Chechnya, roots of resistance (Documentary)

BBC News – Timeline: Chechnya

Aljazeera News – Chechnya, Russia and 20 years of conflict

About Anna Encyclopedia of World Biography on Anna

Letter to Anna: (Documentary)

Anna: Seven Years on the Frontline (Documentary)

Her Own Death, Foretold

Anna Biography Resource

English

THE USE OF RHETORIC AND THE MASS MEDIA IN RUSSIA’S WAR ON TERROR

How has Russia framed the conflict in Chechnya as part of the ‘War on Terror’?

Sociology of News Production

Example of Rhetorical Devices

Framing Theory and Techniques (Mass Communications)

Arts Education

Arts Alive (National Arts Centre Resource) for Students and Teachers

Newspaper Theatre/Theatre of the Oppressed: Augusto Boal

Living Newspaper: Bertolt Brecht

Geography, History and Citizenship Education

Pierre Bordieu Habitus Resources:

Social Theory as Habitus

The Psychology of the War on Terror

Amnesty International: Human Rights in Canada

RAW: Reach All Women in War (Anna Politkovskaya Award) 15