According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), it was not an isolated incident, as Russian troops had been systematically looting villages and towns under their control.
According to the 2000 HRW report:[2] (Russian soldiers) first expelled, temporarily, hundreds of civilians from Alkhan-Yurt, and then began systematically looting and burning the village, killing anyone in their way.
Looted goods were stored in the homes occupied by Russian commanders as well as the tents of soldiers, and were transported openly in military vehicles out of Alkhan-Yurt.
It is simply impossible that such widespread looting could take place in broad daylight without the knowledge and, at a minimum, the tacit consent of Russian commanders.
The villagers and Malik Saidullayev, one of the most prominent of pro-Moscow Chechen leaders, identified the soldiers responsible for the abuses as the unit under the command of Major-General Vladimir Shamanov.