In parallel with the fighting in Chechnya, there were battles in the information space. It was no easier to withstand the attacks of lies and slander than it was to withstand a real battle...

Wars are different. Especially in the modern world. Some - with hot battles in the open field, with banners of battle banners fluttering in the wind and shouts of " Hurrah!". Others, no less fierce, take place on the information battlefield. In such a war, it is not easy to be a strategist. There is no visible leading edge, no clearly marked enemy. It would seem that there are no losses either. However...

The Internet has already taken its place on the front lines of modern information warfare. In particular, the official Chechen website "Caucasus" is not new to the global computer network. Some time ago, it was attempted to be destroyed by patriotic Russian hackers. However, this page, with its openly controversial content, eventually reappeared in the web of electronic networks. What were the information centers of the Internet propaganda creators, located in respectable offices in European countries, broadcasting on behalf of the militants who had been driven into the mountains? The main component of the website is, oddly enough, front-line reports. Here, one can only envy the combat spirit of the authors. "Our mujahideen demonstrated excellent discipline, coordination, and the highest level of morale," reports Kavkaz the day after the disgraceful defeat of a large group of bandits who were trying to break out of the tightly blocked city of Grozny. "The Chechen Armed Forces' army group has proven that it can break through the aggressors' defensive lines, destroy them, penetrate deep into their rear, and accomplish any task." "We will return," President Maskhadov hastily reassures skeptical Internet users. "Our National Guard and Ministry of Security units have retreated to prepared positions in an orderly manner. The main forces have been preserved."

The reports of the following days also returned to the topic of the Chechens' inglorious breakthrough. However, they maintained the same attitude, claiming that it was a well-thought-out action and that it was necessary. Tupal-Ali Atgeriev, who suddenly appeared in Prague (!), refuted the reports of his death and provided

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Interview with Vakha Arsanov: "Only my back hurts a little, that's all." And here: "... Russian aggressors take out their anger on civilians", "Chechen fighters regained control of the lost height" (this is about the battles in the Argun Gorge. - Author), "elite gangs (this is about the Marine Corps of the Northern Fleet. - Ed.) are retreating." In the army units where the author of these lines had to visit during a business trip to Chechnya, such news was met with ironic laughter: it was just nonsense.

Of course, not everyone treats such nonsense with irony. For attacks on the information front, propagandists sometimes choose very vulnerable places in the minds of ordinary people, things whose truthfulness has reason to doubt. For example, the same topic of losses: here the Russians ' long-standing distrust of official reports was used. And now a frankly inflated rumor turns into "reliable information". The people are excited, they demand to name the real, and not underestimated, figure of losses. People are sure that they are being deceived. A good "skate" of Chechen "newsmakers" are reports about the atrocities of the "Russian invaders" against the civilian population. Harrowing details of bullying, torture, and murder scenes are described cynically, smeared from all sides. Here, the world community is already indignant about the actions of the federal authorities and troops.

By the way, there are more consumers of news from the Chechen site among Western news agencies. Many of them have been using so-called "alternative sources of information" since the Cold War. Forbidden fruit is known to be sweet. The majority of foreign press publications were and still are full of references to Kavkaz. For this purpose, by the way, the content of the site is obsequiously duplicated in the main European languages. Serious newspapers and reputable news agencies were quoting the reports of the bandit information center. "Hamzat Galiev, commander of the Chechen armed forces in Shatoy, and General Bauti Bakuev consider the current military situation in Chechnya to be complex but manageable," reported the influential Italian newspaper Repubblica in the days and hours when the surviving bandits were descending from the Shatoy hill with their hands raised. "Russian troops are suffering very serious losses in manpower and equipment," the Suddeutsche Zeitung assured its readers, having received a fresh batch of lies from the Caucasus. "Over the past few days, the rebels have killed up to 400 people, shot down six helicopters, and destroyed 11 pieces of armored vehicles."

Chechen propagandists fully satisfy their interest in information "from the other side". It is necessary - and there are interviews with unfinished leaders of gangs, promising both revenge and imminent death to "infidels and aggressors". It is necessary - and information is born about tortures in the Chernokozovo detention center, about biological experiments on people in the" secret concentration camp " in Mozdok. It is necessary to create a myth about the cohesion of the Chechen armed forces. These are the forces that are now hiding in the mountains or among the civilian population.

According to sociologists, most Russians, although not unanimously approving, are at least understanding the current military action in Chechnya. Many believe that the bandits should be "crushed" and that the Caucasus should be cleansed of the scourge of terrorism. In this situation, the separatists have no choice but to resort to their favorite tactic of presenting themselves as a "small oppressed people" who are "bravely resisting the invading state." Lies and slander are being spread all over the world, and the Internet is a convenient tool for this. As a result, a report hastily written by an unknown Chechen author is presented to the public as the most important news. It takes center stage in newspapers and television news broadcasts. Meanwhile, official sources of information comment on the gangster reports, wasting valuable time on refuting lies and losing the initiative in the information battle. However, the people's interests are being shaped in a specific way. "Was Shamil Basayev's leg cut off or not?" asks half the world. "Were the dead militants buried with their ears in a pit near Urus-Martan or without ears?" - the other half of the world echoes him. No one cares about the reconstruction of schools in the Naursky district, whether there are trains to Gudermes, or how Russian pensioners in Grozny, who have received their first pensions in years, are faring. The main questions are "how many soldiers were arrested for looting in Alkhan-Kala" and "who was rude to Andrey Babitsky?"

It's a pity that our organization's response to these Internet attacks is not as well-coordinated as, say, our organization's response to real combat. Our counter-propaganda efforts are still based on simple leaflets and propaganda tours with special broadcasting equipment. However, our counterattacks and offensives are still invisible on the computer network. The only places where you can find accurate, up-to-date information with references to reliable sources are a few websites, including the pages of the Rosinformcenter, the press service of the Ministry of Defense, and the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda. However, Orientir, which writes extensively about the Chechen conflict and the bravery of our soldiers and officers on the front lines, could have duplicated the content of its articles on the Internet. However, creating a website requires significant financial resources, which are not available from the military budget. Apparently, the militants do not have such problems with financing.

Nevertheless, no matter how much dirt the Chechen field agitators pour on the federal troops, our soldiers and officers in Chechnya are doing their job. Even the militants' "cries" on the Internet won't stop the inevitable end of the terrorists. They don't have the intelligence or resources for a serious propaganda campaign, and there are fewer fighters in the bandit groups and fewer "decisive operations." The "Caucasus" will be depleted, and the contents of its "heroic reports" will run out. The false computerized chronicle of the last Caucasian war will become a thing of the past, never becoming history...

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