First Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Сampaign, First Russian-Chechen war, or officially Armed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian Federation was a rebellion by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the Russian Federati…
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was an unrecognized secessionist government of the Chechen Republic.
Why is Russia fighting Chechnya?
Russia wants natural resources and Chechnya is very rich on that. Russia wants a gate entering Caucasus and Middle East. Chechens marginalized themselves after facing many Russian Muslim armies against them. Lack of unity since Aslan Maskhadov. Worst, the massacre in Beslan 2004 and Boston bombings had reduced global sympathy to Chechens.
Why is Chechnya considered a stateless nation?
A stateless nation is an ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state and is not the majority population in any nation state. The term "stateless" implies that the group "should have" such a state. Members of stateless nations may be citizens of the country in which they live, or they may be denied citizenship by that country. Stateless nations are usually not represented in international sports or in international organisations such as the United Nations. Nations without state are
Why is there a revolt in Chechnya?
For more about oil related issues, check out the following:
- Petrodollars Behind the Chechen Tragedy
- America's Push on the Caspian Pipeline is Not Good Sense for the Oil Companies
- The History and Politics of Chechen Oil
- Why Should Chechnya Need a New Oil Pipeline?
- What does Russia see in Chechnya? Oil
- Petroleum, Pipelines and Paranoia in the Caucasus
Why did Chechnya wanted independence?
Why did Chechens want to separate? They wanted to have control over their own religion, Sunni Muslim. ... Chechnya declared independence from Russia. 1994.
Why did Chechnya fight Russia?
In 1999, the Russian government forces started an anti-terrorist campaign in Chechnya, in response to the invasion of Dagestan by Chechen-based Islamic forces. By early 2000 Russia almost completely destroyed the city of Grozny and succeeded in putting Chechnya under direct control of Moscow by late April.
Who won the war in Chechnya?
Following long local resistance during the 1817–1864 Caucasian War, Imperial Russian forces defeated the Chechens and annexed their lands and deported thousands to the Middle East in the latter part of the 19th century.
Is Chechnya still part of Russia?
Chechnya (Russian: Чечня́, romanized: Chechnyá; Chechen: Нохчийчоь, romanized: Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, close to the Caspian Sea.
Who controls Chechnya today?
Head of the Chechen RepublicStandard of the Head of the Chechen RepublicIncumbent Ramzan Kadyrov since 15 February 2007Executive Department of Chechen RepublicStyleHis Excellency (formal), Sir (informal)7 more rows
What wars were part of the Chechen War?
Part of the First Chechen War, War of Dagestan, Second Chechen War, Insurgency in the North Caucasus and Islamic terrorism in Europe. v.
When did Chechnya start?
Chechnya within Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union. Chechen resistance against Russian imperialism has its origins from 1785 during the time of Sheikh Mansur, the first imam (leader) of the Caucasian peoples.
What happened after the fall of Grozny?
Following the fall of Grozny, the Russian government slowly but systematically expanded its control over the lowland areas and then into the mountains. In what was dubbed the worst massacre in the war, the OMON and other federal forces killed at least 103 civilians while seizing the border village of Samashki on 7 April (several hundred more were detained and beaten or otherwise tortured). In the southern mountains, the Russians launched an offensive along the entire front on 15 April, advancing in large columns of 200–300 vehicles. The ChRI forces defended the city of Argun, moving their military headquarters first to completely surrounded Shali, then shortly after to Serzhen-Yurt as they were forced into the mountains, and finally to Shamil Basayev 's ancestral stronghold of Vedeno. Chechnya's second-largest city of Gudermes was surrendered without a fight, but the village of Shatoy was fought for and defended by the men of Ruslan Gelayev. Eventually, the Chechen command withdrew from the area of Vedeno to the Chechen opposition-aligned village of Dargo, and from there to Benoy. According to an estimate cited in a United States Army analysis report, between January and June 1995, when the Russian forces conquered most of the republic in the conventional campaign, their losses in Chechnya were approximately 2,800 killed, 10,000 wounded and more than 500 missing or captured. However, some Chechen fighters infiltrated already pacified places hiding in crowds of returning refugees.
How many Russian soldiers were killed in Grozny?
At the same time, Russian troops in the cities of Argun and Gudermes were also surrounded in their garrisons. Several attempts by the armored columns to rescue the units trapped in Grozny were repelled with heavy Russian casualties (the 276th Motorized Regiment of 900 men suffered 50% casualties in a two-day attempt to reach the city centre). Russian military officials said that more than 200 soldiers had been killed and nearly 800 wounded in five days of fighting, and that an unknown number were missing; Chechens put the number of Russian dead at close to 1,000. Thousands of troops were either taken prisoner or surrounded and largely disarmed, their heavy weapons and ammunition commandeered by the separatists.
How many soldiers were in the Chechen army in 1995?
Many others formed local self-defence militia units to defend their settlements in the case of federal offensive action, officially numbering 5,000–6,000 armed men in late 1995. Altogether, the ChRI forces fielded some 10,000–12,000 full-time and reserve fighters at a time, according to the Chechen command.
How many Russians were killed in the 1994 attack on Grozny?
The disaster claimed the lives of an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 Russian soldiers, mostly barely trained and disoriented conscripts; the heaviest losses were inflicted on the 131st 'Maikop' Motor Rifle Brigade, which was completely destroyed in the fighting near the central railway station. Despite the early Chechen defeat of the New Year's assault and the many further casualties that the Russians had sustained, Grozny was eventually conquered by Russian forces amidst bitter urban warfare. After armored assaults failed, the Russian military set out to take the city using air power and artillery. At the same time, the Russian military accused the Chechen fighters of using civilians as human shields by preventing them from leaving the capital as it came under continued bombardment. On 7 January 1995, Russian Major-General Viktor Vorobyov was killed by mortar fire, becoming the first on a long list of Russian generals to be killed in Chechnya. On 19 January, despite heavy casualties, Russian forces seized the ruins of the Chechen presidential palace, which had been heavily contested for more than three weeks as the Chechens finally abandoned their positions in the destroyed downtown area. The battle for the southern part of the city continued until the official end on 6 March 1995.
How many people died in Grozny?
According to the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University, Estimates of the number of civilians killed range widely from 20,000 to 100,000, with the latter figure commonly referenced by Chechen sources.
Where did the war in Chechnya originate?
The region was historically a buffer zone between Russia to the North and Turkey to the South.
What was the first war between Russia and Chechnya?
North Caucasus region. The First Chechen War also known as the War in Chechnya was fought between Russia and Chechnya from 1994 to 1996 and resulted in Chechnya's de facto independence from Russia as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. After the initial campaign of 1994–1995, culminating in the devastating Battle of Grozny, ...
What was the Russian campaign in 1994?
After the initial campaign of 1994–1995, culminating in the devastating Battle of Grozny , Russian federal forces attempted to control the mountainous area of Chechnya but were repulsed by Chechen guerrilla warfare and raids on the flatlands in spite of Russia's overwhelming manpower, weaponry, and air support.
How many Russian troops were in Grozny?
In spite of the fact that the Russians had about 12,000 troops in and around Grozny, more than 1,500 Chechen fighters, led by Aslan Maskhadov, Shamil Basayev and Ruslan Gelayev, had overrun the key districts within hours. The attackers then laid siege to the Russian posts and bases and the government compound in the centre, while a number of Chechens deemed to be Russian collaborators were rounded up, detained, and in some cases executed. At the same time Russian troops in the other cities of Argun and Gudermes were too surrounded in their garrisons.
Why did the Chechen industry fail?
Chechen industry began to fail as a result of many Russian engineers and workers leaving or being expelled from the republic. During the undeclared Chechen civil war, factions both sympathetic and opposed to Dudayev fought for power, sometimes in pitched battles with the use of heavy weapons.
How many soldiers did the Chechens have?
Altogether, Chechens fielded some 10,000–12,000 full-time and reserve fighters at a time, according to the Chechen command. According to the UN report, the Chechen separatist forces included a large number of child soldiers, some as young as 11 (including females).
What was the policy of Stalin?
Stalin's policy made the state of Chechnya a non-entity. Eventually, Soviet first secretary Nikita Khrushchev granted the Chechen and Ingush peoples permission to return to their homeland and restored the republic in 1957.
When did the Chechen war start?
The war began on December 31, 1994, with a wholesale assault against the capital, Grozny.
When did Chechnya join Russia?
Chechnya was incorporated into Russia in the mid-1800s, but had long struggled against Russian rule and resisted social and cultural assimilation. In 1944, Stalin deported the entire Chechen population to Kazakhstan; they returned en masse in the years following Stalin’s death. When the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991, ...
How many civilian deaths in Chechnya?
Most scholars and human rights organizations generally estimate the number of civilian casualties to be 40,000 [iii]; this figure is attributed to the research and scholarship of Chechnya expert John Dunlop, who estimates that the total number of civilian casualties is at least 35,000.
Who was the main cause of the civilian deaths in Grozny?
Some accounts speculate that the majority of civilian deaths inside Grozny were Russians, as the vast numbers of ethnic Chechens fled to surrounding villages. Chechen fighters retreated to outlying villages and towns, most of which were by Spring 1995 captured by Russian soldiers.
Who was the Chechen soldier who captured a hospital in Budyonnovsk?
Particularly notable was violence in the town of Samashki, where over a hundred civilians were killed in April. In June 1995, Chechen soldier, Shamil Bayasev, captured a hospital outside Chechnya in Budyonnovsk, taking hostages and demanding an end to the war and direct negotiations between Russian and Chechen leaders.
Who was the leader of the Chechen Republic?
Chechen leaders sought to take advantage of the political upheaval to assert the long-sought independence from Russia. Led by General Dzhokhar Dudayev, the Chechens unilaterally proclaimed the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) on November 1, 1991. Many non-Chechens fled the area and a turbulent period ...
Did Russia win the Guerilla War?
Despite Russia’s overwhelming military advantage, it could not easily the win the guerilla war and the fighting took a toll not only in terms of Russian soldiers killed, but also in the Russian morale, with several high level resignations over the conflict, poor Army morale, and low support from the population.
Overview
Internal conflict in Chechnya and the Grozny–Moscow tensions
From 1991 to 1994, tens of thousands of people of non-Chechen ethnicity left the republic amidst reports of violence and discrimination against the non-Chechen population (mostly Russians, Ukrainians and Armenians). During the undeclared Chechen civil war, factions both sympathetic and opposed to Dzhokhar Dudayev fought for power, sometimes in pitched battles with the us…
Origins
Chechen resistance against Russian imperialism has its origins from 1785 during the time of Sheikh Mansur, the first imam (leader) of the Caucasian peoples. He united various North-Caucasian nations under his command in order to resist the Russian invasions and expansion.
Following long local resistance during the 1817–1864 Caucasian War, Imperial Russian forces defeated the Chechens and annexed their lands and deported thousands to the Middle East in th…
Russian military intervention and initial stages
On 11 December 1994, Russian forces launched a three-pronged ground attack towards Grozny. The main attack was temporarily halted by the deputy commander of the Russian Ground Forces, General Eduard Vorobyov [Wikidata], who then resigned in protest, stating that it is "a crime" to "send the army against its own people." Many in the Russian military and government opposed the wa…
Storming of Grozny
When the Russians besieged the Chechen capital, thousands of civilians died from a week-long series of air raids and artillery bombardments in the heaviest bombing campaign in Europe since the destruction of Dresden. The initial assault on New Year's Eve 1994 ended in a major Russian defeat, resulting in heavy casualties and at first a nearly complete breakdown of morale in the Russian f…
Continued Russian offensive
Following the fall of Grozny, the Russian government slowly but systematically expanded its control over the lowland areas and then into the mountains. In what was dubbed the worst massacre in the war, the OMON and other federal forces killed at least 103 civilians while seizing the border village of Samashki on 7 April (several hundred more were detained and beaten or otherwise tortured)…
Spread of the war
The declaration by Chechnya's Chief Mufti Akhmad Kadyrov that the ChRI was waging a Jihad (struggle) against Russia raised the spectre that Jihadis from other regions and even outside Russia would enter the war. By one estimate, up to 5,000 non-Chechens served as foreign volunteers, motivated by religious and/or nationalistic reasons.
Continuation of the Russian offensive
On 6 March 1996, between 1,500 and 2,000 Chechen fighters infiltrated Grozny and launched a three-day surprise raid on the city, overrunning much of it and capturing caches of weapons and ammunition. Also in March, Chechen fighters attacked Samashki. A month later, on 16 April, forces of Arab commander Ibn al-Khattab destroyed a large Russian armored column in an ambush near Shatoy, …
Internal Conflict in Chechnya
The Russian War in Chechnya
- Initial stages
On December 11, 1994 Russian forces launched a three-pronged ground attack towards Grozny. The main attack was temporarily halted by deputy commander of the Russian Ground Forces, Colonel-General Eduard Vorobyov, who then resigned in protest, stating that the invasion was "cr… - Battle for Grozny
When Russians attacked the Chechen capital of Grozny from December 1994 to January 1995, thousands of civilians died from a week-long series of air raids and artillery bombardment of the sealed-off city in the heaviest bombing campaign in Europe since the destruction of Dresden.Aft…
Aftermath
- Casualties
According to the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, 3,826 troops were killed, 17,892 were wounded, and 1,906 are missing in action.Seely comments that official statistics can not be trusted because no one on the Russian side "showed the slightest respect for accuracy of infor… - Prisoners
In the Khasavyurt agreements, both sides specifically agreed to an "all for all" exchange of prisoners to be carried out at the end of the war. Despite this commitment, many persons remained forcibly detained. As of mid-January 1997, the Chechens still held between 700 and 1,…
Legacy
- In his 1902 draft of Hadji Murat,Leon Tolstoy wrote: Maskhadov's optimism, sadly, was misplaced. Over the next two years a few of Maskhadov's former comrades-in-arms, led by field commander Shamil Basayev and Ibn al-Khattab, launched an incursion into Dagestan in the summer of 1999, and soon Russia invaded Chechnya again starting the Second Chechen War. The Russian army …
References
- Arbatov, Alekseĭ Georgievich. 1997. Managing conflict in the former Soviet Union: Russian and American perspectives. (CSIA studies in international security.) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262...
- Barany, Zoltan D. 2007. Democratic breakdown and the decline of the Russian military. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691128962.
- Arbatov, Alekseĭ Georgievich. 1997. Managing conflict in the former Soviet Union: Russian and American perspectives. (CSIA studies in international security.) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262...
- Barany, Zoltan D. 2007. Democratic breakdown and the decline of the Russian military. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691128962.
- Bergen, Peter L. 2001. Holy war, Inc.: inside the secret world of Osama bin Laden. New York, NY: Free Press. ISBN 9780743205023.
- Dunlop, John B. 1998. Russia confronts Chechnya: roots of a separatist conflict. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521631846.
External Links
- All links retrieved April 10, 2017. 1. First Chechnya War - 1994-1996. Foreign Military Studies Office. 2. Why It All Went So Very Wrong TIME. 3. Wounded Bear. GlobalSecurity.org.