Is Chechnya a Russian Republic or Independent?
Chechnya battled Russian imperial occupation throughout the 19th century, experienced Stalinist deportations in the 1940s, and fought the Russia military for independence from Russia in the two Russian-Chechen wars: 1994-1996 and 1999-2009.
First Chechen War 1994-1996.
The First Chechen War began in 1994, when Russian forces entered Chechnya on the premise of restoring constitutional order. Following nearly two years of brutal fighting, with a death toll exceeding 100,000 by some estimates, the 1996 Khasavyurt ceasefire agreement was signed and Russian troops were withdrawn from the republic
In the 1997 election, Aslan Maskhadov, the separatist leader was elected as president, serving between 12 February 1997 and 1 May 2000.
He survived several assassination attempts in 1998 and 1999. These were blamed on the Russian intelligence services. Putin was the director of the FSB from 25 July 1998 to 9 August 1999.
Following the start of the Second Chechen War in August 1999, Aslan Maskhadov returned to leading the resistance against the Russian military. He was finally killed in March 2005, and Russia refused to return Maskhadov’s body to his relatives for burial. The reason for this was Maskhadov’s claimed terrorist activity against Russia.
Second Chechen War 1999-2009.
The beginning of the Second Chechen War effectively began on 7 August 1999, when the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade (IIPB), assisted the Dagestan separatist rebels by invading the Russian republic of Dagestan. This war ended with a major victory for the Russian Federation and the retreat of the IIPB.
This invasion of Dagestan however, was one of the reasons given by Russia for their subsequent invasion of Chechnya, beginning the Second Chechen War.
However, 5 months previously, on 7 March 1999 the Russian Interior Minister, Sergei Stepashin, had already called for an invasion of Chechnya.
On 26 August 1999, Russia acknowledged bombing raids in Chechnya, and at least 100,000 Chechens were forced to flee their homes to safety.
On 1 October 1999, Russia’s new Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared the authority of Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov and his parliament illegitimate.
In October 1999, Maskhadov appealed to NATO for help in ending the fighting between his forces and Russian troops, but without effect.
The Russian military established control over Chechnya in late April 2000, and Chechnya was reincorporated into Russia.
In May 2000, Vladimir Putin, now the President of Russia, appointed Akhmad Kadyrov interim head of the pro-Moscow government of Ukraine.
Akhmad Kadyrov was assassinated by a bomb blast in 2004, and his son, Ramzan Kadyrov, became Chechnya’s defacto ruler. In February 2007, with support from Putin, replaced Alu Alkhanov as president of Chechnya.
- On 13 February 2004 the exiled former separatist Chechen President Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev was assassinated in Qatar.
- On 9 May 2004 the pro-Russian Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov was assassinated during a parade in Grozny.
Insurgency and hostilities continued for several years, with the end of the conflict being proclaimed by Russian authorities in 2017, theoretically ending a centuries-old struggle.
Chechnya and Ukraine.
A number of Chechen armed volunteer formations have been fighting on the side of Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. Most of these Chechen fighters see this as their way of continuing the fight against Russia, and hopefully eventually getting true Chechen Independence from Russia.
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