Chechnya before and after the war

The city made of ruins

- this slogan refers to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. The city, which for 10 years was the scene of bloody fights during the two Chechen wars.

Consequently, the UN called it "the most destroyed city in the world" in 2003. Currently, it is developing highly, and modern skyscrapers and

apartment buildings have been emerged in the city center.

Grozny - the city centre rebuilt after 2002

The main street or Lenin Prospekt before the collapse of the USSR. The view from a 16-storey

apartment building gracefully called "Lepiestok" , Eng. petal.

During the reconstruction, many buildings were not rebuilt. In 2004 the main street was

renamed Achmat Kadyrov Prospekt.

The photos show Kadyrov Prospekt and the street nearby today.

Grozny – the main street, February the 1st, 1995

Presidential Palace (former headquarters for the CPSU in the Chechen-Ingush ASSR and later the official residence of the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria), Grozny – the

destruction caused during the First Chechen War in 1996.

Grozny in January 1995 - the destroyed Presidential Palace occupied by Russians trying to capture Joukara Dudayev.

The destruction: the centre of Grozny shortly after the end of the second of the two wars.

Grozny in 2000

Grozny –a market in the city center, 2003

Grozny – the city center with the Grozny-City Towers complex, April 2012.In the towers there is also a five-star hotel. In the foreground there is

the Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque, called the Heart of Chechnya - one of the biggest in the world opened in 2008.

Grozny – colourful lights in the city center, 2011

The view of Grozny-City and "the Heart of Chechnya" mosque, April 2012

Grozny - the interior of the Achmad Kadyrov mosque (the Grand Mosque of Grozny, the Heart of Chechnya), 2011

Grozny - the Achmad Kadyrov mosque (the Grand Mosque of Grozny, the Heart of Chechnya), 2011

Grozny – a panorama of the city by night

The administration building in the capital of Chechnya in Grozny 2014

The Ukrainian-Russianconflict - Crimea

Sevastopol, Crimea

The Church of Christ's Resurrection on the rock is a popular tourist attraction on the outskirts of Yalta in the Crimea

The Swallow's Nest – a neo-gothic castle on the southern coast of Crimea

Supporters clash outside the parliament building in the Crimean capital, Simferopol

A man with a Russian flag greets armed men in military fatigues blocking access to a Ukrainian border guards base not far from the village of

Perevalne near Simferopol on March 3, 2014

The Russian and Crimean flags in front of the administration building in Kerch