Russia, which has managed to restore peace...
Speaking at a meeting on social and economic development of the newly established North Caucasus Federal District, the prime minister said it was hard for Russia to defeat terrorism in the region and topple those who seized power in the republic of Chechnya in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when it was torn by brutal separatist wars.
"Then, we won together and restored peace. Now, we should make a new step, which is apparently not easier," Putin said at the meeting in Pyatigorsk, the capital of the new district, which would include North Caucasus provinces of Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachai-Circassia.
Although militant activity has decreased in Chechnya since the last war, the republic has been recently swept by a fresh wave of violence. Shootouts and attacks on troops, police and other officials have been reported almost daily. The neighboring, mainly Muslim, regions of Russia have also been plagued by instability.