I wouldn't say that the Russians have "ruled that area for several hundred years," Troll. They've attempted to rule Chechnya for several hundred years, but only annexed the entire area about 140 years ago. Even then, their grip on Chechnya was rather weak, and there have been periodic rebellions ever since. It's NOT Russia, and never has been.

The Chechens, decimated as they are, still form a vast majority in Chechnya, have declared their independence, and, legally, are not even a part of the Russian Federation, as they refused to sign the Federal Treaty in '92. What more should a nation have to be recognised as independent? They have a better case than... Belgium.

There's not much more to say here about the apartment bombings, other than that no-one who knows anything about the conflict (including many Russians) believes that Chechens were involved. While it can't yet be proven that the FSB did it, either, the evidence points in their direction.

---Lepus Rex