Five years after the tragedy of the Beslan school massacre in Russia's North Ossetian province was supposed to have signaled a ‘turning point' in Russia's relationship with terrorism and violence, sadly we see nothing of the sort.

Whilst then-President Vladimir Putin paraded the attack internationally as evidence that Russia was on the front line with the US in the Global War on Terror, a full account of what happened on the ground and what led to the extraordinary high number of deaths remain murky and confused. Victims' rights groups in Russia remain convinced that it was the fault of the post-KGB Russian Federal Security Service, who they say triggered the massacre after firing grenades at the school, setting it on fire and trapping the hostages inside to deadly effect. Regardless of whether or not this was the case, there have still as yet been no satisfactory inquiries into the tragedy and no-one has been held to account. The families, as so many other victims of violence and brutality in Russia, are still waiting for justice and an explanation.

Rather than addressing the root causes of the conflict in Chechnya at the time, including the unaccountable brutality of the occupying Russian army and the dearth of freedoms for Chechen citizens, Putin's response was to yet again strangle democratic processes and concentrate more power in his own hands.

Since then, the detrimental effects of these policies are clear. The escalating violence in the North Caucasus over the last year is a tragic reminder of how desperately there needs to be a total overhaul of Russia's approach to the region. In the two months prior to the anniversary of the Beslan massacre, 260 people were killed in Ingushetia, Dagestan and Chechnya. This is not progress.

The spiraling cycles of attack and counter attack, repression and arbitrary reprisals in the North Caucus have lost all sense of political direction but rather serve to make the lives of ordinary people unbearable and push those who are susceptible and desperate further towards extremism and violence.

There must be a change in tactic, the Russian government must radically review its strategy in the region and bring to the table people who can truly represent the democratic wishes of the people. This is must happen now, with utmost urgency.

Ivar Amundsen
Director, Chechnya Peace Forum