Right now I'm drinking vodka with a Chechen guy who's staying at my hostel here in Tbilisi Georgia.
I told him I would like to visit Chechnya but it's too dangerous. He reacted like I imagine somebody from Israel or Belfast would if I told them I thought it was too dangerous to visit their homes!
He tells me it is safe for travellers after all. The only problem is he doesn't speak English and we can only communicate so much via Google Translate. He did manage to tell me that his Italian friend who brought him to my hostel was recently travelling in Chechnya though.
Now this is the exact opposite of what Wikitravel says about Chechnya. It is 99% warnings of how horribly dangerous it is with just a tiny 1% telling you about actual travel there.
So is it just that sources like Wikitravel are out of date, possibly because so few people have tried to visit recently? Or is my friend wrong and I shouldn't go there at all?rav
What are some other places I can read current travel information about Chechnya besides Wikitravel?