The story of the war in Chechnya is both tragic and uplifting, and far from over. The clash of the two cultures, one imperial and modern and the other tribal and traditional, has wider implications for other small cultures throughout the world. In my documentary photo project, I hope to accomplish a humane, complete portrayal of both peoples, Russian and Chechen, because both are misunderstood in the West, and because their shared story is universal to many zones of conflict around the world.

I think this project is relevant because understanding their experience provides insights into how these conflicts begin and how they can be avoided or understood in an unprejudiced, real way. I have documented the poignancy of this war, both on the Russian and the Chechen side, for over two years and feel it is important to continue the project now when these two neighbors are grappling with a new reality, harder than just hurdling down the frenzied path to war: they must build a road to peace.

The small patch of territory called Chechnya was virtually unheard of in the West before the Russian Army brutally invaded it in the winter of 1994-95, determined to stop the former Soviet brothers' bid for independence. The friction exploded into a brutal war reaching scales of destruction the world has not seen since World War II.

This modern-day clash featured two opponents: on one side a Goliath--brutish, powerful, superior in size and strength and sure of certain victory-- and on the other a David--small, clever, brave, using untraditional but effective fighting techniques. How the latter ultimately felled the titan has caused repercussions affecting the dynamics of the Russian government and altering its sense of identity. Such repercussions are still surfacing today throughout Russia.

Over the course of the two-year war, the rugged landscape of the North Caucuses was transformed into a physical and spiritual battleground. The area became a crucible for a volatile mixture of Muslim versus Western ideals, ancient mountain customs versus modern beliefs, a warrior people's pride versus a conqueror's abandon. Also, it became a high-stakes game for control over future oil pipeline royalties, which will gush forth from the Caspian Sea basin in a few years.

I photographed all of this as a part of a multi-year project because I found that the story of the Chechen people, who number just over one million (less than one percent of Russia's population), mirrored the predicament of many small cultures around the world, who face the same treatment by their own governments or by modern pressures. Their dilemma is how to preserve autonomy and identity in the face of the increasing globalization of weaponry, communications, technology, assimilation, capitalism and crime.

The traditional Chechen greeting and farewell is simply, "Come in Freedom" and "go in Freedom." It is the deeply-instilled love of freedom which makes these clannish, mountainous, spirited people as ruthless to their enemies as overwhelmingly kind to their friends and guests. The Chechens, above all the people inhabiting the Caucuses, have always fought long and hard against domination, living by a code of fighting, vendettas and honor that still prompts outsiders and especially enemies, to conveniently label them bandits, wild men and criminals.

In my project, I would like to probe the character, culture and spirit of the Chechens that make them such an unyielding opponent to domination. Both sides walk a tightrope on which they must find prosperity and trust with their former enemy. Despite the virtual destruction of their country and the death of so many loved ones, the Chechens are experiencing a revival. Yet they are also experiencing anarchy, and civilians are fearful of destabilization and economic hardships.

Beyond the physical destruction of war there is also the psychological effects that haunt or shape perceptions throughout a lifetime and history of a nation or a people. As part of my project, I also spent time photographing what for countless centuries has been Russia's secret weapon--what the Czar's called their "General Manpower"- the endless numbers of expendable soldiers from across the vast expanses of Russia who by their sheer numbers outlasted their enemies. I photographed the faces and moods of these youngsters drafted into the unpopular Chechen War. I hoped to reveal the difference between the war fought by governments and by men on the ground.

I also intend in my project to document the post-war effects on these soldiers and on the Russian people, who, as a nation long shrouded in propaganda, are also misrepresented in the Western media. I feel the war has unalterably shaped the way Russians look at themselves. I intend to explore this by following those men who I photographed as 18 year-old soldiers and the prisoners of war through their experience as veterans. I also photographed their mothers, who came searching for them among the battlefields and over the mountains of Russian military bureaucracy. They provide a voice and human face to the real effects of Russian involvement in a conflict often singed with civil-war-like proportions and emotions. Not without great pain, Russians are now looking differently at themselves their country and the world. I would like to keep documenting this transformation.