Map of the Caucaus
region's ethnic groups and Chechnya
NAME
OF CONFLICT:
The
Second Chechen War (1999-Present)
ALTERNATE
NAMES FOR CONFLICT:
Operation Horseshoe (Russian)
The Dagestan War (first
phase of conflict)
BELLIGERENTS:
Islamic
Dagestani Rebels
(calling themselves the
"Islamic Republic of Dagestan") and the "independent"
region of Chechnya
vs.
Russia
DATES OF
CONFLICT:
BEGAN:
August, 1999
ENDED:
Continuing
TYPE(S) OF
CONFLICT:
Ethnic/Regional
Rebellion
RELATED
CONFLICTS:
PREDECESSOR:
(Related conflicts that occurred
before)
The
Chechen War (1994-1996)
CONCURRENT:
(Related conflicts occurring at the same
time)
None
at this time.
SUCCESSOR:
(Related conflicts that occur
later)
None
at this time.
CAUSES OF
CONFLICT:
In
order to understand the roots of the conflict in
Russia's South Caucasus region (Chechnya, Dagestan,
Ossetia, Ingushetia), an examination of the historical
conflicts in that part of Russia in general, and
Chechnya in particular, is necessary. The area in
southern Russia known as the Caucasus Region is home
to a large variety of non-Russian ethnic groups, many
of whom follow the Islamic faith and want little to do
with the government of Russia. After the communist
Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, the three
southernmost Soviet Republics declared independence:
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The areas immediately
north of these new nations remained part of the new
Russian Republic, though their populations largely
were not Russian. Several of these ethnic groups began
agitating for more autonomy from Moscow or for
outright independence.
One of the more vocal
groups were the Chechens; a group with a long and
bloody history of opposition to Moscow's rule. During
World War 2, the Communist Soviet government deported
the whole Chechen population to Central Asia out of
fear they were going to aid the invading Germans.
Though they were allowed to return to their homeland
decades later, the Chechen populace maintained their
dislike of the Russian-dominated Soviet government.
The Chechens declared themselves a sovereign nation in
1991. By 1994, relations between the breakaway
government in Chechnya and the Russian government had
drastically deteriorated. In December of that year,
Russian forces attacked Chechnya, beginning a bloody,
embarrassing conflict in which the Russian military
proved rather inept. That war ended in August, 1996
with the Chechens claiming victory and independence,
and the Russian government claiming victory and the
retention of Chechnya as a part of Russia. In other
words, both sides agreed to disagree and halted the
major fighting. Clashes along the border continued as
several Chechen rebel leaders and groups continued to
harass the Russians in nearby areas. One such area is
Dagestan, another largely Muslim (Islamic), region of
southern Russia. Some Dagestanis are reported to have
helped the Chechens in their war and some of the more
radical Chechen war leaders wish to force Russia out
of the area and unite the Muslim peoples of the
Caucasus region. However, in comparison to Chechnya,
Dagestan has over 30 separate ethnic groups, as
opposed to the more homogenous population of
Chechnya.
"Khattab", an Arab who
is a militant leader of the fundamentalist Wahhabi
Islamic movement and Shamil Basayev, a famous rebel
leader from the First Chechen War, commanded of the
guerrilla forces which invaded Dagestan. They are
known to favor the unification of Chechnya and
Dagestan. *This
was written prior to the Russian invasion of Chechnya
in 1999. Moscow used the Dagestan conflict as an
excuse to end Chechnya's semi-independence.
The
Chechen Campaign (2000-Present)
During the Dagestan
Campaign, Russia suffered from several terrorist
attacks in which powerful explosions destroyed
apartment buildings in cities throughout the nation.
At least 300 people died due to the explosions in
September of 1999. Russia's government, then headed by
President Boris Yeltsin, claimed that the Islamic
rebels (meaning the Chechens) were responsible for the
terrorism. Using this as an excuse to continue the
Dagestan Campaign into Chechnya proved quite popular
with Russian voters. After Yeltsin's retirement,
Acting President Vladimir Putin won the March 2000
election largely on the strength of his continuing war
against the Chechens and Islamic
"terrorists."
DESCRIPTION
OF CONFLICT:
Fighting broke out in
August, 1999 in the Russian area of Dagestan as
guerrilla forces infiltrated from neighboring
Chechnya. Following months of clashes and tension in
the border area of the semi-independent state of
Chechnya and the Russian Republic of Dagestan, rebels
seized control of several villages and battled Russian
troops. Approximately 2,000 self-proclaimed Islamic
rebels battled the growing numbers of Russian troops.
The Russian government reinforced the 17,000 soldiers
already in the region and carried out airstrikes
against the rebels. Within the first six days of the
war's outbreak, Russian warplanes flew at least 200
sorties.
The local populace did
not flock to the rebel banner, allowing the Russian
forces the opportunity to take the initiative and
drive the rebels out of Dagestan and back into
Chechnya.
After driving the
rebels from Dagestan, Russian forces pursued the
rebels into Chechnya with the intent of ending the
separatist republic's existence. To this end, a
ruthless military push toward the Chechen capital of
Grozny began. Learning from their failed 1994-1996 war
against the Chechens, the Russians made extensive and
heavy use of long-distance weaponry. Chechen cities
and villages were leveled by intense Russian air
attacks and artillery bombardment designed to maximize
rebel losses while minimizing Russian casualties.
Russia now claims
control of Grozny, but rebel units and snipers still
fight on inside the city as the war turns to the
countryside. The war then turned into a rural
guerrilla conflict, and then, by 2002, into an urban
terror campaign designed to weaken Russia's will to
fight.
As the rural guerrilla
war continues to simmer, the Chechen resistance has
begun a bloody campaign in Russia's heartland.
Continual bombings have struck terror in Moscow and
other Russian cities as the Chechens target subways,
concerts, commercial aircraft, theaters and, in
September of 2004, the middle school in the town of
Beslan, where hundreds of children and parents were
killed. Chechen terrorists also set off suicide bombs
in Moscow's Domodedovo airport on January 24, 2011,
killing at least 35, and wounding over 150.
One of the allegations
that Putin's government claims is that the Chechens
hold ties to al-Qaida, the Islamic terror network
founded by Osama bin Laden. Evidence exists to support
this claim, which aids Moscow in its assertion that
they, too are part of the world-wide War on Terror
proclaimed by American President George W.
Bush.
Russian losses
continue to grow as they pursue the Chechen forces
into the mountainous regions to the south. Also, areas
that Russia claims are pacified periodically erupt in
hit and run ambushes of Russian troops. The war for
Chechnya does not appear to have an end in
sight.
CONSEQUENCES
OF CONFLICT:
Russia's
relations with the West originally were strained due
to the harshness of the Chechen campaign, though
American criticism lessened considerably after the
2001 attacks on the U.S.
The April, 2013 Boston
Marathon bombings carried out by two Chechen brothers
that caused over 170 casualties brought the realities
of the Chechen conflict to the United States. While at
this writing (4.20.13), the exact motivation for why
the Tsarnaev brothers planted the bombs is as yet
unclear, what is clear is that in some small way, the
Chechen conflict has assumed international dimensions.
One of the known facts about the Tsarnaevs is that
they entered the U.S. with their family as refugees
from the Chechen War.
CASUALTY
FIGURES:
Russia--Total
Russian Military Deaths: 6,988
3,725 Russian Army soldiers
2,085 Interior Ministry troops
1,072 Chechen police officers
106 FSB and GRU officers
Russian Civilian Deaths: 600 (most from
terrorist attacks inside Russia by Chechen
forces)
Chechnya--
Militants: 14,113 killed
Civilians:
Civilian deaths are thought to exceed
50,000.
