Hey there Zac,
I understand what you say.
When I first read about that, I was thinking about this a lot and I was feeling bad thinking about this during some days.
There is no words to explain all this.
And at the same time, nothing is really black or white. There's no all good guys and all bad guys.
What I mean is when you say:
''It's wrong to treat people this way, and while what you've described is horrible, it just makes it worse that they think what they're doing now is ok.''
I don't know who are 'they', I assume you talk about military attacking Chechnyans. But from what I read, it's that even between those military who were doing the purges in the villages or neighborhood, there was so much pressure. When one military who didn't agree to do such extreme violence, he was killed or tortured along with the Chechnyan civilians. Those military get became quickly insane, it's a serious mental illness that is going on. So violence escalades terribly, and their whole becomes an insane life. I heard that sometimes it is even called ' Chechnyan syndrome' or so.
That is an extreme problem and it goes from a lot of years of colonialism and violence.
Remember that Russia was an immense empire with a broad territory.
Since we are really far from there (I assume you are a 'westerner' like me who lives on America continent or West Europe), we feel also helpless in a way that it becomes frustrating. Our information access about there is filtered and very little. Try to imagine how people out there are feeling in the everyday life.
Hate generates hate and this a vicious cycle.
A person wastes a lot of vital and psychological energy while being frustrated very often.
When I feel very frustrated, I believe it's important to set free that frustration and this energy can used in another way where it can become a good help around (helping a friend in a chore, creative energy for example).
It's also very benefic to talk about our helplessness to friends who wants to share.
Writing is very good and it's good to get outside to walk or work on something else we like to give time on.
Look on the internet about alternative medias of Chechnya. Some Chechnyans are abroad and there is some organisations spreaded a little bit everywhere in the world. Maybe you could know better the situation by reading their writings of their organisations.
We should also remember that here in America and the west world, we have a lot of blood on our hands.
Colonisation is a major part of our history.
And a common example: buying a brand-new modern cell phone is an example:
"We have Canada mines in Romania, rare minerals mines in Africa continent that cost lives, exploitation of Asian manufactures with underpaid and underaged personnel, etc..."
It costs the lives of people too, but we don't see it at all. It is also a torture.
We live on the couch of the world.
I don't like to be in that position.
We can act to make life better, starting for ourselves and doing our best for around us and beyond...
It seems heavy to be said like that, but it can give better clues from the choices of life we do.
I know we have good intentions all the time.
Taking time to think can help to make a better decision and hoping it will have better impacts.
Don't lose hope.