Thank you It is only an attempt at some sort of snapshot of the complexities, as is this:
Yup to the internal conflicts, and a whole new generation who grew up with those who survived terrible times. Grozny in particular, which was declared the most destroyed city on Earth by the UN, and the surrounding areas during the 2nd Chechen war, which many consider to be mainly a cleanup operation of the success of the first.
Two and a half decades ago the luckless 40,000 odd trapped Grozny inhabitants, mainly poor, old, and women and children, surviving in basements, were warned that if they didn't get themselves out they would be 'considered terrorists and everyone not leaving the city by December the 11th would be destroyed as such.' The people still there were mainly those without resources, or too terrified to previously try to flee.
On December the 11th a supposed safe corridor was opened, that was then bombed and shelled. After that the ultimatum was withdrawn in the face of international outrage.
But amongst many other atrocities over the next few weeks, approx eight weeks later, Katyr-Yurt where many refugees from Grozny had fled, was without warning heavily bombed for two days causing approx 20,000 refugees to try to flee. The Russians then organized a large white flagged refugee convoy of busses. And shelled it.
In Novye Aldi which was cluster bombed the day before, surviving residents were made to emerge for 'inspection' by paramilitary police. Russian soldiers had actually warned residents the feared OMON were following up behind them.
Many residents were summarily executed with automatic rifle fire at close range. Some who hid in their cellars had hand grenades tossed in. They then looted, raped surviving women and girls, in some cases gang rape, and set homes on fire to cover their atrocities. While none of this stuff is unusual for civilians as part of war, that massacre was after the soldiers had searched for Chechen fighters, notably organized and to this day only one man was ever charged, and his case then suspended. (The day after the massacre a small group of Chechen fighters turned up, but the OMAN had moved on)
Some tried to seek justice through international courts. In 2009 3 particularly notable human rights activists, political journalists and lawyers involved, were abducted and murdered. Women who had children as a result of the rapes went into hiding.
There is so much more than this. I'm just trying to give an idea of what ordinary people went through and why it might politicize people. Memories are long, history is rarely forgotten by those who suffered it, or the next generation growing up with it as their history, and it is passed from generation to generation.