Chechnya is perhaps the most salient of the problems that contribute to the current deterioration in the substance, and above all the atmosphere, of relations between Russia and the West. This is especially the casein Western Europe and at the level of public opinion. And the negative role played by Chechnya in Russia-West relations has become even more significant in the wake of the tragedy at Beslan, which had a traumatic emotional impact in Russia comparable with the impact of 9/11 in the United States. Beslan confirmed that terror, like armed conflict, has not only its operatives and paymasters but also a broader circle of sympathizers, whose stance encourages terrorists and weakens the capacity to act against them. The events in Beslan must open our eyes to many things that we have up to now ignored or good-naturedly tolerated. We must not allow our indignation and hatred to be confined to tragic stupidities at the top or the bottom of society.

But it is no less important to the struggle against terrorism that we regain our dignity. I would be glad if more of my fellow citizens found it unacceptable to refer to our country by expressions like "the stinking morass of Putin's Russia." This phrase appeared recently in one of the Rossian socio-political weeklies, again with a shameless reference to a similar assessment in The International Herald Tribune. It is necessary to understand that such a description of our country serves as moral legitimization of the next act of terror against Russia. And those who do not understand this must be taught to understand or be duly rebuffed.