Recent History

Conflict between Russian and Chechen forces dates from Tsarist times. The defining moment in Chechen historical consciousness is the 1944 deportation of the entire population to Kazakhstan. It is thought that only half the original population was still alive when they were allowed to return home in 1957.

Amid the chaos of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Chechnya unilaterally declared itself independent. Unsurprisingly, Moscow did not recognise this and relations with the then Chechen ‘President’ Dzhokhar Dudayev deteriorated until, in 1994, Yeltsin authorised the sending in of troops ‘to restore constitutional order’ and to boost his waning popularity in time for the Presidential elections. After a disastrous campaign for the Russians, a peace agreement was signed in 1996, troops were withdrawn and a decision on Chechnya’s status put on hold.

In January 1997, the rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov was elected President in elections considered free and fair by ‘Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’ (OSCE) observers. However, the dire economic situation and destroyed infrastructure meant that he was unable to prevent a huge rise in crime and kidnappings. This period also marked a rise in influence of militant Islamic groups. In the summer of 1999, Islamic militants from Chechnya invaded Dagestan with possible encouragement and funding from Moscow. This was then used as justification to launch an ‘anti-terrorism operation’ in Chechnya. Maskhadov was killed in 2005 by Russian forces.

Over ten years after the resumption of hostilities, extreme violence continues to scar the lives of civilians in the Republic of Chechnya. As during the first war, the civilian population is bearing the brunt of the violence. The climate is characterised by frequent disappearances, summary executions, rape and torture and causes many civilians to live in fear for their lives.

The period from 2004 to the present has witnessed a rise in serious security incidents across the North Caucasus in general – in Ingushetia, North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan and further afield in Moscow. The situation is particularly bad in Ingushetia and parts of Dagestan.

At the time of the 1989 census, about 1,270,500 people lived in the Chechen-Ingush republic. The latest available official data indicates that in 2002 there were 1,100,000 people in Chechnya and 468,900 people (not including Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)) in Ingushetia.

Chronology of the Conflict:

1991 – Collapse of the Soviet Union. Dzhokhar Dudayev wins a presidential poll and proclaims Chechnya independent of Russia.

1992 – Chechnya adopts a constitution defining it as an independent, secular state governed by a president and parliament.

1994 – December – Russian troops enter Chechnya. Up to 100,000 people – many of them civilians – are estimated to have been killed in the 20-month war that followed.

1996 - May – Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Yandarbiyev sign a peace agreement; truce lasts until July.

1996 – August – Chechen rebels launch a successful attack on Grozny; Alexander Lebed and Aslan Maskhadov sign the Khasavyurt Accords which provide for a ceasefire. An agreement on Russian troop withdrawals is signed in November.

1997 – January – Russia and the OSCE recognise Maskhadov’s government following Chechen presidential elections.

1997 – May – Yeltsin and Maskhadov sign a formal peace treaty, but the issue of Chechen independence is not resolved.

1999 – July/August – Chechen fighters clash with Russian troops on the Chechnya-Dagestan border; Chechen rebels stage armed incursions into Dagestan in an attempt to create an Islamic state.

2000 – February – Russian troops capture Grozny; much of the city is razed.

2000 – May – President Putin declares direct rule from Moscow.

2000 – June – Russia appoints former Chechen cleric Akhmat Kadyrov as head of its administration in Chechnya.

2002 – October – Chechen rebels seize a Moscow theatre and hold about 800 people.

2003 – October – Akhmad Kadyrov elected president.

2004 – September – Hundreds are killed or wounded – many of them children – when a siege at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, ends in bloodbath.

2004 – October – Kremlin-backed former Interior Minister Alu Alkhanov sworn in as president following August elections.

2005 - February – Separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov calls ceasefire and urges the Russian authorities to agree to peace talks. The official Chechen leadership dismisses his overtures and says he should give himself up.

2005 – March – Aslan Maskhadov killed in a special operation in Chechnya.

2005 – May – Abdul-Khalim Saydullayev confirmed as Maskhadov’s successor.

2005 – November – Regional parliamentary elections held. More than 50% of the seats are won by Kremlin-backed United Russia.

2006 – June – Separatist leader Abdul-Khalim Saydullayev killed by government forces. He is succeeded by Dokka Umarov.

2007 – March – Russian President Vladimir Putin names Ramzan Kadyrov as President.

2009 – April – Russia declares the nearly decade-old “counterterrorism operation” against separatist rebels to be over, a month after President Medvedev said “life in the republic had “normalised to a large degree”.