First of all, I'm positively surprised to see such a serious thread here - it's good to see that ppl here haven't lost their sense of reality and care about more than their hobbies and harmless jokes, even in the offtopic section of some unimportant forum. This shows that ppl here aren't total geeks... and it's somehow a very reassuring feeling that there are ppl left who think. Ppl who maybe don't have the answers, but do ask the right questions.
As for that conflict, I think that Russian history has always been a history of centralism and suppression. It doesn't matter if you take a look at the era of the Czars, at the Stalin dictatorship, at the post-war Communist Soviet Union or at today's Russian "democracy". Areas (or countries, if you prefer) like the Baltic states or central Asian areas like Chechnya have never been a part of Russia according to their own will. Russian regimes ruled them by force, and at least in the Baltic states, suppressed the old national languages etc. in an effort to integrate those people into a uniform Russia more easily. (In one of those Baltic states, they are having terrible trouble to complete an official dictionary of their native language because when Stalin's troops invaded the country, they were forced to abandon their work, but they had only reached the first half of the letters in the alphabet. Now that they are free, they are trying to get the second half together and catch up on all the modern developments they don't have names for because they were not allowed to use their own language.) I have talked to a Russian guy at my university, and he said that he couldn't understand why we Germans would feel guilty because of the millions who died in the Nazis' concentration camps - he said that under Stalin, many more people died, most of all those who dared to criticise the government and/or fight (peacefully or with weapons) for more freedom.
In all those areas, people have grown to become very sceptical towards the Russian government because over several generations they have learnt that everything that comes from Moscow is likely to be suppression and death. Of course, this breeds an atmosphere of mistrust and hatred...
And in Chechnya, any independent news agency or Human Rights Organization will confirm that Russian soldiers have plundered and tortured, violated and killed innocent people. The so-called "elections" in Chechnya are a farce.
That's why I think that the Chechens have a right to fight for their freedom. However, what happened in Beslan raises the question if it's still the Chechens who fight there, and if whoever IS fighting there is fighting the correct enemy (and in an "appropriate" way). Another question is if such a way is still a viable option at all because it takes two sides to make it possible.
I fear that Islamic fundamentalists are taking over the leadership in the war for freedom and try to turn it into just another battlefield in their "holy" war (now if THAT is no oxymoron, I have never seen one!). This is a dangerous development even for the Chechens themselves because it allows politicians to justify the Russian terror towards Chechnya (for that's what the Russian troops are doing there!). This way, they can say: "Look, this has nothing to do with Chechnya; we are fighting evil fundamentalists there who have declared war on Russia, no freedom fighters." Read the news, and you will see that Putin has indeed said something in this vein already! And now he wants to fight back with more violence, and that's the worst thing he can do.
For IMHO, the solution would be negotiating a moderate and peaceful way of separating Chechnya from Russia and giving it at least partial independence, and not just as a propaganda lie, but really. You can invade a country by force, but in the long run, you can't hold an empire together by force. The Romans had to learn that, the Huns had to learn it, all countries with colonies had to learn it, and that's not the end of the line. And why is Russia interested in Chechnya anyway? Is this poor and remote province in any way vital for Russia's survival or prosperity? No, it's not! Both sides could live quite well with a peaceful separation. But as long as violence on both sides is intensifying, what should moderate freedom fighters say? As long as Russia shows that there is no peaceful way, radical fundamentalists have the better answers and will get the support of the people. It's the same in Israel, by the way.
What really makes me sad is the reason why such a solution is unlikely. It's not because Russian and Chechen people can't get along with each other, that's for sure. I bet that most civilians are fed up with all this bloodshed and the suffering - but they don't have a say. Putin has promised a quick and easy military operation to get the situation under control, and any drawback will weaken his position in domestic politics and make him lose his face because it would mean a defeat, a weakness. And just because of this, women and children suffer and die... for the sake of the reputation of one man, or let's say a government, a regime, a system...
And the worst thing about violence and war: One violent action never comes alone, it is always the starting point of a long line of bloodshed and death, and it sows hatred that in turn can give birth to further violence... it's like a hydra. Cutting off more heads doesn't help. Bombs and rifles cannot fight terrorism. Terrorism feeds on violence, and every shot from a gun and every explosion of a grenade or a bomb will strengthen terrorism and give it what it needs to grow and prosper... unfortunately, the Western world is giving plenty nowadays - maybe too much to reverse this development in the not-too-far future.
Amen...