Pavel Baev is a Research Professor at PRIO. Dr. Baev has published extensively on the Russian foreign policy, peacekeeping and conflict management in Europe. Dr. Baev is Norway’s foremost expert on Russia's conflict management in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Russia invaded the breakaway Republic of Chechnya in December 1994. In the wake of the humiliating defeat at the hands of Chechen rebels in September 1996, the Moscow government launched another military invasion in September 1999. This war has brought to power the current Russian President Vladimir Putin and to a certain degree affected the evolution of Putin’s regime. Following the hostage tragedy in the town of Beslan in September 2004 the intensity of guerrilla operations has declined substantially while the paramilitary forces under Ramzan Kadyrov have acquired a dominant role in the conflict. This stage in the protracted conflict did not bring about ‘normalization’, let alone peace. The reign of terror that has engulfed Chechnya undermines the increased efforts at rebuilding the devastated infrastructure of the Republic. The future of Chechnya will remain closely linked to that of Russia, though not according to a scenario drafted in Moscow.

See Professor Baev's CV at PRIO's pages