The top 7 books and articles on the North Caucasus insurgency
If you’re looking to learn more about the North Caucasus insurgency, here are some recommendations for books and articles that you can read. They have all informed my thinking in some way and will give you a solid understanding of the insurgency’s history and evolution. I try to make sure the recommendations cover the full post-Soviet period and the main issues.
Of course, drawing up such a list is an inherently subjective exercise and — as a disclosure of conflict of interests — I know most of the authors (the world of scholars focused on the North Caucasus is not a big one!). I’ve probably forgotten some really good ones, so please don’t be offended if your work is not included! I’ve also prioritised sources that are in English and are accessible, i.e. either free-to-access or affordable, and I engage in a shameless bit of self promotion.
But who doesn’t love a good book list?!
1. The Lone Wolf and the Bear
The North Caucasus insurgency traces its origins to Chechnya’s struggle for independence, so this is a good place to start your reading. Moshe Gammer’s book, The Lone Wolf and the Bear: Three Centuries of Chechen Defiance of Russian Rule, puts developments in a rich historical context, helping explain why Chechnya ended up at war with Russia.
You can read more about the book here.
2. The Chechen Struggle
There aren’t too many insider accounts of the Chechen state-building project, but The Chechen Struggle: Independence Won and Lost is probably the best one. Written by Aslan Maskhadov’s former foreign minister, llyas Akhmadov, it will help you understand the almost-impossible task Maskhadov faced in trying to rebuild Chechnya and the challenges he faced from radical Islamists.
3. Chechnya: From Nationalism to Jihad
James Hughes’ book, Chechnya: From Nationalism to Jihad, traces the evolution of insurgency in Chechnya and beyond, from a nationalist separatist struggle that emerges as the Soviet Union collapses through to a regional jihadist movement. There are more books available on the earlier phases of armed struggle in Chechnya than there are on the contemporary insurgency, but this is one of the better ones and will give you a good overview of the history behind armed struggle.
You can find out more about the book here, but it should be available at all good online bookstores.
4. Russia's Securitization of Chechnya
Julie Wilhelmsen’s book, Russia's Securitization of Chechnya: How War Became Acceptable, studies the statements and texts of Russian officials, experts, and journalists in the run-up and subsequent to the Second Chechen War. She shows how the Russian state legitimised its war and avoided the backlash that the First Chechen War provoked in society and the media. The book is theoretically dense, drawing on securitisation theory; however, I think it’s well worth sticking with, as the findings on how Russia uses discourses on terrorism remain relevant today.
5. The Challenges of Integration (II), Islam, the Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency
Over the years, the International Crisis Group and its indefatigable analyst Ekaterina Sokirianskaia published numerous reports on the North Caucasus. They are pretty much all worth a read, but I’ll highlight part two of a four-part series they published between 2012 and 2015, entitled The Challenges of Integration (II), Islam, the Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency. It provides a good and accessible survey of the situation that existed in the region in the mid-2010s.
Read it here.
6. Ideology along the Contours of Power
In 2025, I’ll release my book The Caucasus Emirate: Ideology, Identity and Insurgency in Russia’s North Caucasus. It’s a fully rewritten and much-improved version of my PhD, offering an extensive study of the ideology of the Caucasus Emirate, how and why it evolved in the way that it did, and where it fits on the landscape of jihadism. Since most people ignore the contemporary insurgency’s ideology or primary-source evidence, I’m confident it’s the most comprehensive account available! In the meantime, I offer an article written for Perspectives on Terrorism, “Ideology along the Contours of Power: The Case of the Caucasus Emirate,” which draws out the main findings from that study.
Read it here.
7. ‘Russian-Speaking’ Fighters in Syria, Iraq, and at Home: Consequences and Context
I co-authored this policy brief with Dr Cerwyn Moore in 2017, and it remains highly relevant for understanding the involvement of North Caucasian fighters in the Syrian conflict and the repercussions for the domestic insurgency. It places developments in their historical context and will help you evaluate the figures that circulate around the involvement.
Other recommendations
Rounding out the top 10, these didn’t make the shortlist — mostly because they are not open-access. But if you can get your hands on copies, they are definitely worth your time:
- Cerwyn Moore and Paul Tumelty, “Foreign Fighters and the Case of Chechnya: A Critical Assessment.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. https://doi.org/10.1080/10576100801993347
- Aurélie Campana and Benjamin Ducol, “Voices of the ‘Caucasus Emirate’: Mapping and Analyzing North Caucasus Insurgency Websites.” Terrorism & Political Violence. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2013.848797
- Aurélie Campana and Jean-François Ratelle, “A Political Sociology Approach to the Diffusion of Conflict from Chechnya to Dagestan and Ingushetia.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2014.862901
And you can find even more literary in The Library: Academic and grey literature