CHECHEN WARS
In the aftershock of the Soviet Union’s collapse, a breakaway region in the North Caucasus makes a bid for independence, prompting a brutal response from the Kremlin
CHECHEN INDEPENDENCE
After his election as president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Dzhokhar Dudayev declares unilateral independence for the Chechen-Inguish Republic. Meanwhile, Ingushetia opts to join the Russian Federation. Dudayev fails to consolidate power in the remains of Chechnya after dissolving parliament and struggling to fend off attacks from Moscow-backed militant opposition groups.
FIRST BAT TLE OF GROZNY 01
War breaks out with the Battle of Grozny, which ends in a pyrrhic victory for Russia. The battle culminates in a fierce bombardment of the Chechen Presidential Palace followed by attacks on the Chechen headquarters in the south of the city. By late January, Dudayev decides to pull most Chechen forces back to a temporary capital.
SAMASHKI MASSACRE 02
After Chechen forces flee from a village 22 miles (35km) from Grozny, security services lead a violent operation to ‘mop-up’ in Samashki. The Russians execute up to 300 Chechens in cold blood during house-tohouse searches and torture much of the male population. Shortly after, Boris Yeltsin publicly compares Chechens to Nazis.
BOMBING CAMPAIGN
Russia opens a second conflict with a bombing campaign, including missile attacks and aerial bombing targeting militants in Serzhen-Yurt, Benoy and the Vedeno Gorge before shifting to Grozny. In total, Russian planes conduct 1,700 sorties, crippling Chechen infrastructure and forcing 78,000 to flee to neighbouring Ingushetia. A video of Chechen militants committing atrocities is used by Russia’s FSB security aparatus as justification.
GROZNY FIGHTS BACK
Guerilla forces led by Aslan Maskhadov overrun key Grozny districts and lay siege to Russian bases. Efforts by the Russian forces to rescue trapped troops are unsuccessful, leading to an ultimatum threatening that Grozny will be levelled if Chechen forces do not leave the city. After eight hours of talks, Maskhadov signs the Khasavyurt Accord, requiring both sides to leave Grozny and ending the First Chechen War.
INTERWAR UNREST 04
Aslan Maskhadov is elected president in 1997, but struggles to maintain control of a republic in economic turmoil, with countless armed form
