And this time, I don’t think Putin is going anywhere. As they say, history doesn’t repeat, but sometimes it rhymes.

Yesterday was Armed Services Day in Russia, so, of course, there were observances in Moscow. But yesterday also was the 60th anniversary of a Soviet crime perpetrated against the Chechen people -- and, of course, there was no official observance in Moscow.

On International Human Rights Day, 10 December, a representative of the Russian government and a representative of the Chechen government of former President Aslan Maskhadov sat down at a table together at a conference on how to bring peace to Chechnya.

As horrible as it was to watch the video footage from the Moscow streets around the theater where some 700 hostages were held until government forces stormed the building early this morning, it is as bitter to realize that this tragedy could have been predicted -- and in fact, was bound to happen.

As a result of the fighting in Chechnya, tens of thousands of Chechens and Russians have been killed. Human rights groups speak of war crimes, while Moscow characterizes its operations as the struggle against terrorism. The situation was supposed to improve after a recent Chechen referendum and elections. But has...

Russian media Monday accused the security services of placing a "mole" among radical Chechen rebels who seized a Moscow theatre last October in a siege that ended with 129 deaths.

The bloody denouement to the Beslan tragedy was barbaric: no other word will suffice. There could never be any justification for terrorists who we are told shot fleeing hostages in the back - nor for those who died at the hands of the ill-judged Spetsnaz operation. I have been asked many times about Chechen involvement in this appalling bloodbath. Of course there can be no denying the direct link between the Beslan tragedy and the war in Chechnya.

Any solution to the conflict in Chechnya must be realistic and pragmatic in its goals. Putin's actions have principally served to strengthen the extremists on both sides, while the moderates, who are the best hope for a lasting peace, have been killed or driven into exile.