Well, first, Troll, I think you're confusing "nation" with "nation-state." The word "nation" is commony used to describe communities of people, united by various characteristics, regardless of whether they have a state or not. Don't worry, common mistake; I still love you.

Second, the Chechens declared their independence from Russia more than ten years ago, and still have an active, independent (if innefective) government headed by Aslan Maskhadov.

Third, even by the Russians, the Chechens are considered a nationality, with their own semi-autonomous Republic within Russia.

So... Oh, yeah: I'm at home now, and found the book with a quote about the Chechen conflict that I wanted to include in my first post, by the late Alexander Lebed:

"Bombardments have an unpleasant side effect: They engender wolves who for a very long time will not conceal their fangs. The most splendid soldiers are made of the people who are leaving their homes in the morning without even thinking about a war, but after returning home in the evening discover the place of their houses are now shell-holes in which their wives, children and parents had evaporated... Only one thing remains to such people---revenge."

---Lepus Rex