The senior non-religious Chechen rebel leader, Aslan Maskhadov, wants to make peace. This further isolates the al Qaeda and purely criminal factions of Chechen rebels. Bit by bit, the Russians have won over Chechen clan and gang factions, getting them to accept Russian ownership (if not control) of Chechnya, and an agreement to keep criminal activity inside Chechnya, and out of neighboring Russian territory.
