What is Chechnya like? Anyone ever been there?

>>1076913
I know this is just 'pretend to be jihadi' trolling, but I have, believe it or not, actually visited Grozny. It's more normal than you probably expect. Small post-Soviet (ie, slightly dismal) city, with an atypically gleaming, newly constructed center (since the original city center was, of course razed). Apart from that and a couple of prominent mosques, it doesn't look much different than other minor provincial centers in greater Russia. There is very little visible evidence of support for the various separatist movements--Moscow is ostentatiously in charge--so there are no martyrs' monuments or much in the way of political iconography. There are still some ruined/scarred buildings, but they're not everywhere. I was visiting a university (again, almost all new-built; few standing original buildings are drab commie cement), so I probably didn't meet too many ordinary Chechens, but everyone was friendly. A small minority of the female students (or young women in general) covered their heads, and many dudes off-campus were beardy, but I was served wine and araq at dinner.

>>1076959
>small *majority of female students
Typo. It was a pretty headscarfy place but it was by no means universal.

>>1076964
Not OP, but like Istanbul's less well-kept areas or more like eastern Turkey? It's the only muslim country I've ever been to.

>>1076969
More like Eastern Turkey overall, but with a visibly non religious cosmopolitan segment of the population that resembles Istanbul. But again, I was hanging out with academics, some of whom weren't even from there, so I probably got a nonrepresentative sample.

I knew a Chechen guy who told me that it's like any other Russian but the people are slightly friendlier to strangers and generally interested. Though it is becoming more and more "Islamic" because the head of the republic is sucking up to the clan elders who are quite powerful, but that shouldn't be a problem since there are plenty of non-Chechens there too.

>>1076978
it shouldn't be a secret, what you did there. You gave a lecture?

What's your field?

https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/3skm00/a_guide_to_chechnya_via_land/

https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/42wvoh/a_guide_to_dagestan/

>inb4 lebbit