SHALI, Chechnya -- He is a 31-year-old former oil refinery worker who grew up in Shali, a town in Chechnya that tried to stay out of the Chechen war. He was a ""peaceful, normal guy'' who decided not to fight with the rebels against the federal army. But Rasul, who gives only his first name, has become a killer who sleeps in the woods by day and shoots at soldiers by night. Meanwhile, the people of this dusty, ragged town, which surrendered without a shot of resistance in November, feel embittered and betrayed after enduring rocket attacks and the random, drunken violence of the occupying army. Nearly nine months into its ongoing war with separatist rebels, Moscow has failed to win the hearts and minds of the people, or even their grudging respect. Nor has it stopped angry young men from joining the rebels to fight the Russians in a cause that seems hopeless.

""Visas with Dignity,"" was the slogan at this meeting at the Sakharov Museum.

After more than a year of investigation, Swiss prosecutors Tuesday formally charged the head of Mabetex.