Chechen society has traditionally been organized around many autonomous local clans, called teips. Even today, many Chechens consider themselves loyal to their teip above all, one reason why it has been difficult to forge a united political front against Russia.
Imperial Russian forces began moving into Chechnya in 1830 to secure Russia's borders with the Ottoman Empire. The Chechens resisted fiercely, led by national hero Imam Shamil, but Chechnya was finally incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1859.
The Chechnya-Ingushetia region received status of an autonomous republic within the Soviet Union in 1936. During World War II, the Soviet government accused the Chechens of cooperating with the Nazi invaders. On orders from Stalin, the entire population of the republic was exiled to Kazakhstan. Over a quarter died. The Chechens were allowed to return only in 1957, four years after Stalin's death in 1953.
After the demise of the Soviet Union, the situation in Chechnya became unclear. Below is the chronology of that time:
Post-Soviet History
The civil war then started. The Russian Federal government refused to recognize Chechen independence and made several attempts to take full control of the territory of the Chechen Republic. The Federal government supported a failed coup designed to overthrow Dudayev in 1994. There were two armed conflicts involving the Federal army known as the two Chechen Wars.
As a background, many ethnic minorities exist in the Russian Federation alongside a predominately Russian culture, and commentators speculate that if Russia permits Chechen independence, then other groups might also push for independence.
Russian federal forces overran Groznyj in November, 1994. Although the forces achieved some initial successes, the federal military made a number of critical strategic blunders during the Chechnya campaign and was widely perceived as incompetent. Led by Aslan Maskhadov, separatists conducted successful guerrilla operations from the mountainous terrain.
By March 1995, Amir Khattab became leader of the Chechen resistance, yet Russian President Boris Yeltsin declared a unilateral cease-fire in April 1995.
In June, 1995, Chechen guerrillas occupied a hospital in the southern Russian town of Budyonnovsk, taking over 1,000 hostages. Federal forces attempted to storm the hospital twice and failed. The guerrillas were allowed to leave after freeing their hostages.
This incident, televised accounts of Chechen soldiers torturing and executing captured federal soldiers and pro-federal Chechens, and the resulting widespread demoralization of the federal army, led to a federal withdrawal and the beginning of negotiations on March 21, 1996.
Separatist President Dudayev was supposedly killed in a rocket attack on April 21, 1996 (also there are versions that he was killed by his rivals in fight for local power). Negotations on Chechen independence were repeatedly postponed by the federal government due to alleged terrorist attacks, and finally tabled in August, 1996.
Maskhadov was elected President in 1997 (only a minority of the population participated), but was unable to consolidate control as the country devolved into regional bickering among local teip leaders and organized criminal factions.
Renegade separatist Chechen army commanders reportedly financed by Osama bin Laden led a band of soldiers into Dagestan in August, 1999. On September 9, 1999, Chechens were blamed for the bombing of an apartment complex in Moscow and several other unexplained explosions in Russia. Despite a lack of evidence, Russia's new prime minister, Vladimir Putin, ordered forces back into Chechen territory on these pretexts. Currently, most of Chechnya is controlled by the federal military and republican police. In 2002, federals installed a government of pro-federal Chechens into local government offices. In 2003, referendum on constitution and presidential election were held and a government formed. Chechens who work in government jobs are very often assassinated by the Chechen separatist forces.
Many Chechen separatists have retreated into Kerigo Gorge in Georgia. Russia accuses the Georgian government of willingly harboring terrorists and demands that the Georgian government take action against the separatists - and Georgia refused this. Several separatists have been detained by Georgian authorities, but Russia claims that these are empty gestures, and has repeatedly warned Georgia that if real measures are not taken soon to control the Chechen separatists, it will invade and control them itself.
Putin announced that the Chechen war had ended in early 2002, but separatist forces still control a large portion of the mountainous southern regions of the country and regularly skirmish with federal troops and pro-federal Chechens. However, in according with the announcement, the federal army releases power to the republican police.
Amir Khattab, the prominent leader of Islamist forces, was poisoned in Chechnya in March 2002. He was replaced by Amir Abu al-Walid.
The war budget for Chechnya is a tremendous source of personal revenue for various officials, both federal and regional, who skim money designated for equipment and soldiers', teachers', medics, etc. salaries (during both wars, money was being transferred in belief that they would reach civilian population), and most of the separatist soldiers' weapons are Russian made; a major part was left by the federal army in the early 1990s and a significant part supposedly has been illegally purchased from federal soldiers. For their part, the separatists control a lucrative illegal drug and oil smuggling trade, and routinely kidnap foreign aid workers and others for ransom. There is also strong evidence that local terrorist activity is supported with money and arms from international extremist Muslim terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda.
Both the federal and separatist armies have been widely criticized by human rights groups such as Amnesty International for alleged war crimes committed during the two Chechen wars, including well-documented accusations on both sides of rape, torture, looting, and the murder of civilians.
Colonel Yuri Budanov became the first Russian to be tried on charges of war crimes committed in Chechnya. He was brought to trial in late 2002 on charges of murder and abduction, after being accused of raping and strangling Heda Kungayeva, an 18 year old Chechen girl whom Budanov claims was a separatist sniper. In a controversial decision, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity on December 31, 2002 and committed to a psychiatric hospital for further evaluation and treatment. However, upon further study, it was decided that he understood everything he did, and so was found guilty.
At about 2:30 PM local time on December 27, 2002, two car bombs were driven at high speed into the Grozny headquarters of Chechnya's federal-backed government in an apparent suicide attack, killing at least 72 people, injuring at least 76, and destroying the Chechen government administrative building.
The next day, Russian counterterrorism officials accused President Mashkadov of conspiring with Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev and an Arab named Abu al-Walid, said to be a member of a terrorist organization called the Muslim Brotherhood, to plan the attack. Mashkadov issued a statement condemning the attacks and denying any involvement.
According to Russian officials, the vehicles used in the attacks were a large, heavy truck and a smaller Jeep-type vehicle with Russian military license plates. The drivers wore federal military uniforms and carried official passes which allowed them through three successive military checkpoints on their way to the headquarters building. A guard at the fourth and final checkpoint attempted to inspect the vehicles, and began firing on the trucks as they drove through the checkpoint towards the building.
After the bombings of the government headquarters, Chechen militants staged more suicide bombings throughout the region. On May 12, 2003, a truck bomb killed 59 at another government building. Two days later, 2 women bombers killed 16 in an attempt to kill the pro-Moscow future president of Chechnya. On June 4, a female bomber blew herself up near a bus in Chechnya, killing 20.
On July 5, two bombers killed 14 at a rock concert outside Moscow, the first time such an attack has occurred there. On August 1, a truck bomb levelled a Russian military hospital and killed 50. A suicide bombing December 5 killed 44 on a Russian train, and on December 9, a female bomber killed 6 people in Moscow, apparently targeting the Russian parliament.
See also: Moscow Theatre SiegeFirst Chechen War: 1994-1996
Second Chechen War: 1999-2002, post-effects now
Suicide Attack on pro-Moscow Government Headquarters
Other Terrorist Attacks