Reasons are, on the one hand, objective circumstances, and on the other, subjective. A variety of things are usually cited as reasons and prerequisites: terrible threats from Chechnya that had to be urgently prevented; a terrible amount of oil, or vice versa - the need to lay an oil pipeline through which a terrible amount of oil had to be pumped from the Caspian Sea; protection of the rights of the Russian-speaking population. And much more. But upon closer examination, it turns out that none of them worked as an incentive.
They became concerned about the rights of the Russian-speaking population only when they became fully involved in the war. No one had thought about this before. There is practically no oil in Chechnya. It was pumped out over a century of exploitation of the field, now about 2 million tons are mined there per year, this is complete nonsense. Yes, in Chechnya there was a large oil refinery, powerful factories, but nothing remained of them: something was bombed, and what was left was cut up and scrapped by ferrous metallurgists. The pipeline from the Caspian Sea was not particularly popular. As for Chechen crime, this is a myth built from our modern one. The fact is that the Chechens turned out to be incapable of the mafia. Or rather, they are capable to the same extent as statehood. The Chechen, anarchic structure of society (from about the 16th century) did not imply the construction of hierarchical systems.
As of 1992-93, Chechnya largely suited everyone in Russia. She set up the special services as a kind of offshore, where weapons could be transported to third world countries through the Northern Airport; as an offshore where it was possible to hire militants to perform a variety of tasks. For example, in Abkhazia they fought with Russian weapons with Russian instructors, but the detachments of the Confederation of Peoples of the Caucasus were under the command of Shamil Basayev.
Chechnya, as an offshore, suited large oil (then still state-owned) companies, because it was possible to transport oil through it and lie about the fact that all taxes were paid there, and send it further for export.
It would seem that everyone is happy, but what happened? And then a completely intra-Moscow event happened. By the end of 1992, the confrontation between President Boris Yeltsin and the parliament, where Ruslan Khasbulatov was, intensified. At the same time, in November 1992, Yegor Yakovlev, a man, in general, with a conscience, was removed from Ostankino. And the main propagandist, as it happened, became Mikhail Poltoranin (an old party cadre under Yeltsin, known for his biased attitude towards Jews). But what can you do: there is a parliament, there is a speaker, and he is Chechen. And then the entire propaganda machine, as part of the confrontation with Parliament, is being restructured to “attack this Chechen Khasbulatov!”
That is, if we return to the texts of 1993, it turns out that we do not have a bad parliament there, but Khasbulatov is bad and under him 70-odd objects in Moscow are controlled by the Chechen mafia. It turns out that the White House Security Department guarded about 70 other objects, but they had nothing to do with the Chechens. By October 1993, this had intensified to such an extent that if you listen to radio conversations on the night air on October 3-4, it turns out that the police preparing for the assault were going to take either Grozny or Kabul. They were going to fight either with the Chechens (because Khasbulatov), or with the Afghans (because Rutskoi had the misfortune of being captured in Afghanistan, and for some reason this was blamed on him). One way or another, the campaign was raised. And that’s when conversations started about the Chechen mafia. Then a surprise happens: The White house we took a little and burned a little on October 4, and on the 12th - bang! – and for some reason there is no majority in the elections. Many seats in parliament were occupied by communists and Zhirinovites. And then the political strategists (who weren’t called that then) were born bright idea: in order to intercept the electorate, it is necessary to intercept the slogans of opponents. We need to do something national and patriotic. For example, return a fallen province to the fold of the Empire. Nothing raises ratings like that.
In the second half of December, Shakhrai’s plan for Chechnya, signed a month ago (and shelved), was suddenly taken out from under the cloth: a plan for negotiations against the backdrop of forceful pressure that should ensure a solution to the problems of the separatist region. It turned out that negotiations were very bad, but forceful pressure was very good. Various kinds political strategists and analysts were cut off from this project after six months. It was controlled by the security forces (which then included the Ministry of Nationalities, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the FSB). This project was partly supervised by Sevastyanov, head of the Moscow department of FSK ( federal Service counterintelligence). But something went wrong. We give the anti-Dudaev opposition money, they take the money, but they do not overthrow Dudayev; we give weapons - Dudayev is also not overthrown; we give weapons with crews - on November 26, 1994, the storming of Grozny takes place (supposedly the opposition, but in fact the tanks were filled with officers hired by the FSK in units near Moscow). We fought a little hybrid. Tanks enter Grozny. In Grozny they think: “Wow, there was someone who was able to build 40 tanks in a column and reach Grozny! My mother! Yes, he can be given power!” Because there was no such person in Chechnya at that time. But suddenly non-locals climbed out from under the armor, and everything changed. They were burned and taken prisoner. Then, as always, the foxes hide in the forest, and small blood can only be washed away with large blood. During the year, no one addressed the analysis of errors and returning to the previous stage. Next - the beginning of the war. What's funny is that this war did not raise the rating. By the beginning of 1996, Yeltsin had it at a background level. And the elections were won in part because it was then that his team said: “Peace!”, “Peace!” Nazran negotiations, Yandarbiev flies to Moscow to negotiate, he is picked up at the ABC special facility in Tyoply Stan. At this time, Yeltsin flies to Chechnya and says: “That’s it, peace has come.” Yeltsin is elected in the second round, but at the same time, he took a third into his team (and the third was Lebed at that time), and appointed him secretary of the Security Council. And Lebed decided to become the winner. Tikhomirov (who then commanded an army group in Chechnya) gave his former deputy for Transnistria Tikhomirov carte blanche to win. And in July 1996, the war resumed as soon as the results of the second round of elections were officially announced. It must be said that the victory did not work out, because three days before Yeltsin’s inauguration, the Chechens entered Grozny and occupied the city. Not that they were a superior force, there were about 800 of them. And no one dared to spoil the master’s mood with bad news. Therefore, within three days Paralysis reigned, during which time the Chechens, in surprise, fortified themselves in the city and it was no longer possible to drive them out. After which Lebed, when the fighting resumed, arrived at the place, realized that there was nothing to catch here and concluded the Khasavyurt agreements. That is, here we had one driving force, a simple one: neither oil, nor money, nor anything else. And power, which is more important than oil, money and much more.
I must say that after Khasavyurt they tried to forget about Chechnya, like horrible dream. We did not rescue our prisoners, although this could have been done in the fall of 1996. Hostage-taking began, the situation was in turmoil, and they tried to forget about Chechnya. And so we came to 1999. In the winter of that year, a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was kidnapped in Chechnya; a year later his remains would be found in the mountains. And that was the last straw. Prime Minister Stepashin said that we will use force. The war machine spun. For example, the formation of the 77th Marine Brigade began in Dagestan (this is not funny, at that time the Marines were the only units that had at least some mountain training). The transfer of tactical missiles to the south began. And here, even against anyone’s will, we were irresistibly heading towards war, because on the other side the machine was spinning. Why? Let's go to the other side and notice that in 1997 Maskhadov won the elections in Chechnya (he won convincingly), and Shamil Basayev took second place. It was terribly unstable there, because Basayev had detachments. Not that big, but he knew how to unite very restless local comrades under him. At some point, Maskhadov gave him control for six months (somewhere at the turn of 97-98, Basayev headed the government). It must be said that he achieved brilliant success: budget capacity fell 20 times. After which, it seemed his career was over. Having left this post, as promised, six months later, he immediately spoke at the congress of the congress of the peoples of Chechnya and Dagestan, declaring powerful goals of expansion. Preparations began for what eventually resulted in the invasion of Dagestan.
Basayev, having found himself on the political outcast, found himself on the verge of death not only politically, but also physically. The only thing that saved him from such a prospect was the start of a war, which would inevitably lead to the unity of everyone and save him from death (at least delay this death). And so it happened.
In the summer of 1999, Basayev was already amassing his forces in the Tsumadinsky region in Dagestan. And what boomed there at the turn of July-August 1999 could have boomed a little earlier, or a little later. One way or another, a war began, which was declared a counter-terrorism operation (although there were no explosions in the cities yet). I don’t want to say that these explosions were carried out by the special services, except “ Ryazan exercises“The role of the special services has not been proven anywhere. But the point is different. The fact is that this war was used. If you look at Vladimir Putin’s rating for August-November 1999, you will see that it suddenly began to grow from insignificant background values. Every week there is some brutal statement like “to wash in the toilet.” And the rating hop - 7% jumped up until it went to stratospheric heights. Actually, this is exactly the situation when we can say something like the following: we don’t know who organized all this, but we know for sure who used it.
Ironically, what failed in the first war (using it as an electoral tool) succeeded perfectly in the second. Afterwards, of course, no one needed the war. For example, already before Putin’s election as president, they tried in every possible way to declare that “Victory, guys! That's it, it's already a victory! There are battles in Komsomolskoe.” However, the terrorist attacks strongly reminded us of the opposite. But they were again used to further strengthen power. But attempts to claim that subsequent large-scale terrorist attacks were organized by special services are also, in my opinion, unfounded. However, we see that the reason here turns out to be something much more attractive than oil and than money. Power. Uncontrolled power that does not stop at playing with fire in order to maintain this power.
On September 6, 1991, a military coup was carried out on the territory of what was then the Chechen-Ingush Republic. The Supreme Council of the Republic was dispersed - partially. He was partially thrown out of the window (literally). It must be understood that this Armed Forces supported the State Emergency Committee - therefore Yeltsin reacted to the “local initiative”... not that he was very unkind. And, probably, everything would have gone downhill... if the Chechens of that time had shown at least a little brains in building their state. Government New Russia For almost three years he courageously turned a blind eye to all the arbitrariness that was happening in the republic. To robberies of trains traveling through the region; on de facto genocide against national minorities (“Russians - to Ryazan! Ingush - to Nazran! Armenians - to Yerevan!” (PS - “Yerevan” with a soft sign I write purely for rhyme)), but there the proud highlanders completely lost their shores and began to jackal in the border regions - for example, in the Mineralnye Vody they took hostages in the summer of 1994. Somewhere around here the feds' patience ran relatively thin. They reached an agreement with the anti-Dudaev opposition, providing it with “vacationers” from a number of divisions near Moscow (along with tanks). In this regard, it should be noted that the “graters” in Chechnya itself were serious - for example, Dudayev forcibly dissolved the parliament of “Ichkeria”. The opposition suffered a humiliating defeat when attempting to storm Grozny at the end of November of that year. Since during the battle the Dudayevites captured Russian officers - it was impossible to continue to pretend that everything was “ok” - and Yeltsin signed the Decree “On some measures to strengthen law and order in the territory North Caucasus". The second Decree - "On measures to suppress the activities of illegal armed groups on the territory of the Chechen Republic and in the zone of the Ossetian-Ingush conflict" and marked the beginning of the Chechen War.
Decree_of_the_President_of_the_RF_from_09.12.1994_No._2166
Because not one country is interested in letting its region go
The Russian Federation is a big country. and multinational. If you let go of one region, everything will fall off one by one.
think. the Far East didn’t want to get into perestroika? just as I wanted. Why did they need us in their Moscow? they are half a world away from us. and in general, all the rich Siberia can easily fall away, because there are immeasurable resources there, and there are plenty of people who want to take its wealth. they will give loans and build houses and generally do anything, as long as they get diamonds, timber, oil, fish, caviar and so on - all this is the Far East.
Our other republics (and we are still a federation, let me remind you, that is, we have semi-autonomous republics within us) could also get rid of it and go about their own business.
All mine school years television showed reports about the war in Chechnya - at that time television still covered such things quite objectively, showing this war through the eyes of both sides of the conflict. From the outside, it looked like the Chechens were fighting for the right to live according to their customs and pursue a policy independent of Moscow, and Moscow wanted to deprive them of this right and force them to live according to its own rules.
And then the First died down Chechen War, and then the second one. "Wikipedia" in the column "results of the Second Chechen War" writes: "The result is the victory of Russia, the restoration by Russia of full control over the territory of Chechnya." One can agree with the “restoration of full control” (albeit with reservations), but I would argue about the “victory of Russia”.
Let's look at the facts:
— De jure Federal legislation is in force in Chechnya, but de facto there are many legislative nuances, this is noted by many Russian journalists and political scientists, for example, a quote from Yaroslav Trofimov: “Theoretically, Chechnya, although it is predominantly Muslim, is an integral part of the secular Russian Federation, and the same laws apply there as in Moscow. However, in practice, this North Caucasus republic with a population of 1.4 million people, destroyed and tormented by two wars in a row, lives by completely different rules."
These rules apply, for example, to weddings and other aspects of civil life - at the internal level, even those laws apply that may run counter to federal legislation.
— The leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, pursues a largely independent policy, this is noted by many researchers of the issue. This is what Mikhail Khodorkovsky said in one of his interviews published in " The New York Times": "In many respects, Chechnya is a virtually independent Islamic republic where Sharia law is widespread. Some neighboring republics have only the appearance of belonging to the federal structure."
That is, in essence, the Chechens retained the right to live the way they want and resolve issues in their own way.
— From the 2000s to the present, the Chechen Republic has been one of the most subsidized regions of Russia; colossal funds are sent there. I have come across different figures, but in general, all the graphs put Chechnya in the top 5 among the subsidized regions of Russia; only Dagestan, Kamchatka and Crimea are higher than Chechnya (data for 2016). In my opinion, this state of affairs suits both the central Russian government and the Chechens themselves, this is what Chechen parliament member Magomet Khambiev (former assistant to Dudayev) says: “If Dudayev were alive now, he would like everything he saw . He would say: “Ramzan managed to do what I couldn’t do.”
In this regard, I have a question - why were two Chechen wars needed and what was their real outcome?
Because now everything looks as if Chechnya did not lose in that struggle for independence, but won - the Chechens live the way they want, and even receive colossal funds from Moscow.
There are many wars written into the history of Russia. Most of them were liberation, some began on our territory and ended far beyond its borders. But there is nothing worse than such wars, which were started as a result of the illiterate actions of the country’s leadership and led to terrifying results because the authorities solved their own problems without paying attention to the people.
One of such sad pages of Russian history is the Chechen war. This was not a confrontation between the two different nations. There were no absolute rights in this war. And the most surprising thing is that this war still cannot be considered over.
Prerequisites for the start of the war in Chechnya
It is hardly possible to talk about these military campaigns briefly. The era of perestroika, so pompously announced by Mikhail Gorbachev, marked the collapse of a huge country consisting of 15 republics. However, the main difficulty for Russia was that, left without satellites, it was faced with internal unrest that had a nationalistic character. The Caucasus turned out to be especially problematic in this regard.
Back in 1990, the National Congress was created. This organization was headed by Dzhokhar Dudayev, a former aviation major general in Soviet army. The Congress set its main goal to secede from the USSR; in the future, it was planned to create a Chechen Republic, independent of any state.
In the summer of 1991, a situation of dual power arose in Chechnya, since both the leadership of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic itself and the leadership of the so-called Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, proclaimed by Dudayev, acted.
This state of affairs could not exist for long, and in September the same Dzhokhar and his supporters seized the republican television center, the Supreme Council and the Radio House. This was the beginning of the revolution. The situation was extremely precarious, and its development was facilitated by the official collapse of the country carried out by Yeltsin. After the news that Soviet Union no longer exists, Dudayev’s supporters announced that Chechnya was separating from Russia.
The separatists seized power - under their influence, parliamentary and presidential elections were held in the republic on October 27, as a result of which power was completely in the hands of ex-General Dudayev. And a few days later, on November 7, Boris Yeltsin signed a decree stating that a state of emergency was being introduced in the Chechen-Ingush Republic. In fact, this document became one of the reasons for the start of the bloody Chechen wars.
At that time, there was quite a lot of ammunition and weapons in the republic. Some of these reserves had already been captured by the separatists. Instead of blocking the situation, the Russian leadership allowed it to get even more out of control - in 1992, the head of the Ministry of Defense Grachev transferred half of all these reserves to the militants. The authorities explained this decision by saying that it was no longer possible to remove weapons from the republic at that time.
However, during this period there was still an opportunity to stop the conflict. An opposition was created that opposed Dudayev's power. However, after it became clear that these small detachments could not resist the militant formations, the war was practically already underway.
Yeltsin and his political supporters could no longer do anything, and from 1991 to 1994 it was actually a republic independent of Russia. It had its own government bodies and had its own state symbols. In 1994, when Russian troops were brought into the territory of the republic, a full-scale war began. Even after the resistance of Dudayev’s militants was suppressed, the problem was never completely resolved.
Speaking about the war in Chechnya, it is worth considering that the fault for its outbreak, first of all, was the illiterate leadership of first the USSR and then Russia. It was the weakening of the internal political situation in the country that led to the weakening of the outskirts and the strengthening of nationalist elements.
As for the essence of the Chechen war, there is a conflict of interests and an inability to govern a vast territory on the part of first Gorbachev and then Yeltsin. Subsequently, it was up to the people who came to power at the very end of the twentieth century to untie this tangled knot.
First Chechen war 1994-1996
Historians, writers and filmmakers are still trying to assess the scale of the horrors of the Chechen war. No one denies that it caused enormous damage not only to the republic itself, but to all of Russia. However, it is worth considering that the nature of the two campaigns was quite different.
During the Yeltsin era, when the first Chechen campaign of 1994-1996 was launched, Russian troops could not act coherently and freely enough. The country's leadership solved its problems, moreover, according to some information, many people profited from this war - weapons were supplied to the territory of the republic from the Russian Federation, and militants often made money by demanding large ransoms for hostages.
At the same time, the main task of the Second Chechen War of 1999-2009 was the suppression of gangs and the establishment of constitutional order. It is clear that if the goals of both campaigns were different, then the course of action was significantly different.
On December 1, 1994, airstrikes were carried out on airfields located in Khankala and Kalinovskaya. And already on December 11, Russian units were introduced into the territory of the republic. This fact marked the beginning of the First Campaign. Entry was carried out from three directions at once - through Mozdok, through Ingushetia and through Dagestan.
By the way, at that time Ground forces Eduard Vorobyov was in charge, but he immediately resigned, considering it unwise to lead the operation, since the troops were completely unprepared for full-scale combat operations.
At first, Russian troops advanced quite successfully. The entire northern territory was occupied by them quickly and without much loss. From December 1994 to March 1995, the Russian Armed Forces stormed Grozny. The city was built up quite densely, and Russian units were simply stuck in skirmishes and attempts to take the capital.
Russian Defense Minister Grachev expected to take the city very quickly and therefore did not spare human and technical resources. According to researchers, more than 1,500 Russian soldiers and many civilians of the republic died or went missing near Grozny. The armored vehicles also suffered serious damage - almost 150 units were damaged.
However, after two months of fierce fighting, federal troops finally took Grozny. Participants in the hostilities subsequently recalled that the city was destroyed almost to the ground, and this is confirmed by numerous photographs and video documents.
During the assault, not only armored vehicles were used, but also aviation and artillery. There were bloody battles on almost every street. The militants lost more than 7,000 people during the operation in Grozny and, under the leadership of Shamil Basayev, on March 6 they were forced to finally leave the city, which came under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.
However, the war, which brought death to thousands of not only armed but also civilians, did not end there. Fighting continued first in the flat part (from March to April), and then in the mountainous regions of the republic (from May to June 1995). Argun, Shali, and Gudermes were taken successively.
The militants responded with terrorist attacks carried out in Budennovsk and Kizlyar. After variable success Both sides decided to negotiate. And as a result, on August 31, 1996, agreements were concluded. According to them, federal troops were leaving Chechnya, the republic's infrastructure was to be restored, and the question of independent status was postponed.
Second Chechen campaign 1999–2009
If the country's authorities hoped that by reaching an agreement with the militants, they would solve the problem and the battles of the Chechen war would become a thing of the past, then everything turned out to be wrong. Over several years of a dubious truce, the gangs have only accumulated strength. In addition, more and more Islamists from Arab countries entered the territory of the republic.
As a result, on August 7, 1999, the militants of Khattab and Basayev invaded Dagestan. Their calculation was based on the fact that the Russian government at that time looked very weak. Yeltsin practically did not lead the country, the Russian economy was in deep decline. The militants hoped that they would take their side, but they put up serious resistance to the bandit groups.
The reluctance to allow Islamists into their territory and the help of federal troops forced the Islamists to retreat. True, this took a month - the militants were driven out only in September 1999. At that time, Chechnya was led by Aslan Maskhadov, and, unfortunately, he was not able to exercise full control over the republic.
It was at this time, angry that they failed to break Dagestan, that Islamist groups began carrying out terrorist attacks on Russian territory. Horrible crimes were committed in Volgodonsk, Moscow and Buinaksk Act of terrorism, which claimed dozens of lives. Therefore, the number of those killed in the Chechen war must include those civilians who never thought that it would come to their families.
In September 1999, a decree “On measures to increase the effectiveness of counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation” was issued, signed by Yeltsin. And on December 31, he announced his resignation from the presidency.
As a result of the presidential elections, power in the country passed to a new leader, Vladimir Putin, whose tactical abilities the militants did not take into account. But at that time, Russian troops were already on the territory of Chechnya, again bombed Grozny and acted much more competently. The experience of the previous campaign was taken into account.
December 1999 is another painful and terrible chapter of the war. The Argun Gorge was otherwise called “Wolf Gate” - one of the largest Caucasian gorges. Here, the landing and border troops carried out the special operation "Argun", the purpose of which was to recapture a section of the Russian-Georgian border from Khattab's troops, and also to deprive the militants of the weapons supply route from the Pankisi Gorge. The operation was completed in February 2000.
Many people also remember the feat of the 6th company of the 104th parachute regiment of the Pskov Airborne Division. These fighters became real heroes of the Chechen war. They withstood a terrible battle on the 776th height, when they, numbering only 90 people, managed to hold back over 2,000 militants for 24 hours. Most of the paratroopers died, and the militants themselves lost almost a quarter of their strength.
Despite such cases, the second war, unlike the first, can be called sluggish. Perhaps that is why it lasted longer - a lot happened over the years of these battles. The new Russian authorities decided to act differently. They refused to conduct active hostilities carried out federal troops. It was decided to exploit the internal split in Chechnya itself. Thus, Mufti Akhmat Kadyrov went over to the side of the federals, and situations were increasingly observed when ordinary militants laid down their arms.
Putin, realizing that such a war could last indefinitely, decided to take advantage of internal political fluctuations and persuade the authorities to cooperate. Now we can say that he succeeded. It also played a role that on May 9, 2004, Islamists carried out a terrorist attack in Grozny, aimed at intimidating the population. An explosion occurred at the Dynamo stadium during a concert, dedicated to the Day Victory. More than 50 people were injured, and Akhmat Kadyrov died from his injuries.
This odious terrorist attack brought completely different results. The population of the republic was finally disappointed in the militants and rallied around the legitimate government. A young man was appointed to replace his father, who understood the futility of the Islamist resistance. Thus, the situation began to change for the better. If the militants relied on attracting foreign mercenaries from abroad, the Kremlin decided to use national interests. The residents of Chechnya were very tired of the war, so they already voluntarily went over to the side of the pro-Russian forces.
The counterterrorism operation regime, introduced by Yeltsin on September 23, 1999, was abolished by President Dmitry Medvedev in 2009. Thus, the campaign was officially over, since it was not called a war, but a CTO. However, can we assume that veterans of the Chechen war can sleep peacefully if local battles are still taking place and terrorist acts are carried out from time to time?
Results and consequences for the history of Russia
It is unlikely that anyone today can specifically answer the question of how many died in the Chechen war. The problem is that any calculations will only be approximate. During the period of heightened conflict before the First Campaign, many people Slavic origin were repressed or forced to leave the republic. During the years of the First Campaign, many fighters from both sides died, and these losses also cannot be accurately calculated.
If military losses can still be more or less calculated, then by ascertaining losses from the outside civilian population no one was involved - except perhaps human rights activists. Thus, according to the current official data, the 1st war claimed the following number of lives:
- Russian soldiers - 14,000 people;
- militants - 3,800 people;
- civilian population - from 30,000 to 40,000 people.
If we talk about the Second Campaign, the results of the death toll are as follows:
- federal troops - about 3,000 people;
- militants - from 13,000 to 15,000 people;
- civilian population - 1000 people.
It should be borne in mind that these figures vary greatly depending on which organizations provide them. For example, when discussing the results of the second Chechen war, official Russian sources talk about a thousand civilian deaths. At the same time, Amnesty International (an international non-governmental organization) gives completely different figures - about 25,000 people. The difference in these data, as you can see, is huge.
The result of the war is not only the impressive numbers of casualties among killed, wounded, and missing people. This is also a destroyed republic - after all, many cities, primarily Grozny, were subjected to artillery shelling and bombing. Their entire infrastructure was practically destroyed, so Russia had to rebuild the capital of the republic from scratch.
As a result, today Grozny is one of the most beautiful and modern cities. Other settlements Republics were also rebuilt.
Anyone interested in this information can find out what happened in the territory from 1994 to 2009. There are many films about the Chechen war, books and various materials in the Internet.
However, those who were forced to leave the republic, lost their relatives, their health - these people hardly want to immerse themselves again in what they have already experienced. The country was able to withstand this most difficult period of its history, and once again proved that dubious calls for independence or unity with Russia are more important for them.
The history of the Chechen war has not yet been fully studied. Researchers will spend a long time looking for documents about losses among military and civilians and rechecking statistical data. But today we can say: the weakening of the top and the desire for disunity always lead to dire consequences. Only strengthening state power and the unity of people can end any confrontation so that the country can live in peace again.
Exactly 20 years ago the First Chechen War began. On December 11, 1994, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed Decree No. 2169 “On measures to ensure law, order and public safety on the territory of the Chechen Republic.” Later, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognized most of the decrees and resolutions of the government that justified the actions of the federal government in Chechnya as consistent with the Constitution.
On the same day, units of the United Group of Forces (OGV), consisting of units of the Ministry of Defense and Internal troops Ministry of Internal Affairs, entered the territory of Chechnya. The troops were divided into three groups and entered from three different directions - from the west from North Ossetia through Ingushetia, from the northwest from the Mozdok region of North Ossetia, directly bordering Chechnya, and from the east from the territory of Dagestan.
Why did the First Chechen War begin? I discussed this topic in my book “Russian Ideas and Russian Cause.” Everything cannot be blamed on personal hostile relations between Yeltsin and Khasbulatov, and then Dudayev. Some have suggested that they fought over “black gold,” but this is not true, because large reserves of oil are extracted in Siberia and processed in the Urals. Moreover, at that time there was a shortage of oil in the Chechen Republic, so it was delivered to Grozny even during the war.
What are the true reasons for the war?! In my opinion, everything is simple and tragic. It was 1994, Parliament was shot last fall, an American dictatorship reigned in the country - dozens of all-knowing and all-knowing Washington advisers sat in every ministry. What problem did they face?! It was necessary to finally dispose of the Russian state. But how can this be achieved if Russia still has powerful armed forces capable of challenging the United States?! Let me remind you that in those days China was weak, although now it is not so strong. And Saddam Hussein was given a demonstrative flogging back in 1991. What should American advisers do? After all, it will not be possible to simply disband the powerful armed forces. Therefore, it was decided to carry out a reform that would destroy the Russian army, but present it as a necessary and urgent decision. What is needed for this?! Little dirty shamefully lost war! As a result of this action, demand reforms, since allegedly everything in the army is poorly and incorrectly organized. In addition, defeat in Chechnya would foreshadow a “parade of sovereignties” and then the collapse of Russia. Chechnya would be followed by the rest of the country's republics. It was precisely these deep-reaching plans that the American advisers nurtured.
Until then, Dudayev’s Ichkeria had been fed for three years, starting in the fall of 1991, when the Maidan took place in Grozny and the former leader of the republic was overthrown, and Dudayev seized power. For all three years, Chechnya did not recognize itself as part of Russia, although money regularly flowed into the republic for the social needs of the population - salaries, pensions, benefits. In turn, Russia did not receive a penny from Chechnya; the oil was sent to an oil refinery in Grozny. The republic in those days became a zone where the mafia had its own territorial and political entity. The puppeteers understood that the Chechens were courageous and wonderful warriors. It was in Latvia in August 1991 that 140 Riga riot police calmly established Soviet power on the territory of the republic. However, such a scenario will not work in Chechnya. The Americans counted on the military impulse of the Chechens, filling them with weapons and choosing the right time - the sunset of 1994. Military operations began in the winter, when the numerical and technical superiority of the federal forces, otherwise called “federals,” came to naught in the mountainous areas. Starting a war in December in the mountains is very difficult. But, nevertheless, it was for this reason that the war was started. The puppeteers were counting on a shameful defeat Russian army, after which they will sign a peace treaty and the purge of the armed forces will begin. The Chechen war was intended to be a huge defeat for Russia, so it began in December, at the worst possible time. For unknown reasons, not only Yeltsin, who was undergoing surgery, but also the generals were not at the post of Commander-in-Chief. The guys who were drafted into the army in the spring and autumn of 1994 were thrown into the war! The calculation was based on the defeat of the armed forces, but as always, when the headquarters calculate how to defeat Russia, what comes out is not at all what was intended.
From a military point of view, there were no defeats in the First Chechen War. Of course, there were failures at the start of the assault on Grozny, but, although with heavy losses, the city was taken and cleared of terrorists. At that time, there were also suspicious nuances when they demanded that the military take off their body armor, etc. If there were private military failures, they were all explained by betrayal at headquarters, because the Chechens knew almost everything. A special forces officer who participated in the First Chechen War told me a story about how the Chechens hung up a poster congratulating the unit commander on his birthday, his last name, first name, patronymic, and the name of the military unit that had just arrived in Grozny. They knew not only secret information, but also the personal data of the commanders.
The most important headquarters was the first traitor in the war, which was started with the goal of a shameful loss of the federal forces. But it didn't work out. As General Lebed said, this was a custom-made military campaign. The Kremlin sometimes declared a truce in order to not defeat the Chechens so quickly. At one time he announced the introduction of a moratorium on aviation flights, although from the point of view of common sense it was possible in the spring, when there was no dense greenery, to destroy gangs using aerial bombing. Human rights activists were unleashed on the military like dogs. The entire Russian “fourth estate” fought for Dudayev, and the soldiers were called “federals.” This word has an ironic connotation; at that time the population was not yet accustomed to this term. Also, puppeteers created legends about bandits, they were glorified as freedom fighters, constantly spitting in the back of Russian soldiers!
This is an indicator of how our society has changed because of that war. Many people began to recover from the intoxication that had been going on since the times of glasnost and perestroika. The attempt to create an anti-war movement failed. Government figures - Gaidar, Yavlinsky - suddenly began speaking at rallies against the war in Chechnya! One of two things: if you are against the war, then resign, if you are for it, then don’t interfere. The calculation was for the emergence of an anti-war movement along with the dispersal of the army, which would throw a hysteria that would lead to the collapse of the army. But eighteen-year-old conscripts took and broke the backs of the Chechen wolves. What about military generals?! Let's remember Rokhlin, Babichev, Kvashnin! All these generals of the First Chechen War showed extraordinary abilities while fighting against the Chechens.
After the start of finishing off the bandits, the famous strange provocation followed - the Chechens captured Grozny while our troops were out on maneuvers, and only the police remained in the city. Newspapers write at lightning speed about the imminent capture of Grozny by the Chechens. But when General Vyacheslav Tikhomirov blocked the city, intending to destroy the militants with artillery fire, General Lebed arrived and signed the surrender in Khasavyurt. In the First Chechen War there was only one defeat - political. In military terms, despite a number of frequent setbacks, the war was won. The surrender in Khasavyurt was signed after the almost complete destruction of the gang. The media and traitors at the top played a shameful role in this matter.
From 1996 to 1999, Chechnya was again boiling own juice. By this time, “Russification” had occurred in Russia, after a decade of rabid glorification of liberalism. The press covered the beginning of the Second Chechen War (1999-2000) in a completely different way. Is this war over, given the recent terrorist attack in Chechnya? Unfortunately, wars have been going on in the Caucasus for tens and hundreds of years.
To some extent, the opinion that the Kremlin feeds the Caucasus is partly true. Masses of people with weapons were busy with something in these small conditions. No matter how we finance Chechnya, where over 90% of the revenue comes from the federal budget, no matter how it sounds, it is still cheaper than war.
Nowadays an interesting situation has developed in the Caucasus. On the one hand, they were beaten well, but, on the other hand, they began to be appeased and respected. Later certain time they will forget how they got hit in the neck. Placating sooner or later will lead to them saying - not enough, give us more money! To avoid war, the Kremlin pursued a policy that was initially effective and brought good fruits- he relied on local figures, including Akhmat and Ramzan Kadyrov. So far it's effective. He managed to quite calmly integrate many militants into normal life. In the Caucasus, as the tsarist and Soviet experience shows, the most effective was the general government headed by a Russian general. Why Russians?! Chechens are people of a clan society, and when one of the Chechens is in power, the rest of the clans can feel offended. So far, the current policy in Chechnya is producing good results, but it cannot be continued for long. Care must be taken to avoid war, which could break out with renewed vigor!
Security officials have drawn conclusions from two Chechen wars. Vladimir Putin came to power in the 1999-2000s with considerable support, primarily from the security forces. Among them there were many people associated with the Chechen war, so they were determined that entities like Ichkeria would not appear on Russian territory. It must be admitted that a number of military leaders who made a career in both Chechen wars entered the military-political elite. Of course, there are not many of them, but they exist. Let us remember that Shamanov was not very effective, but still a governor, and General Troshev was engaged in the revival of the Cossacks. These are the proponents of two Chechen wars.
The Kremlin made a conclusion about the media and public organizations, such as Soldiers' Mothers. The conclusions are correct - it is impossible to completely ban and close such organizations, creating an aura of martyrdom for them, otherwise the Kremlin will be suspected of hiding something. The Kremlin has put them on a short leash. Now a certain citizen Vasilyeva is trying to repeat the experience of human rights activists of the 90s. She created the “Gruz-200” society, gives interviews and tries to prove something about the huge number of soldiers who died in the Donbass. Vasilyeva’s imagination has run out, so she lists all sorts of football teams where everyone died, or simply takes numbers from a lantern. Such individuals must be deftly neutralized by directing them to the marginal sphere.
If we compare the information field of 1994 and the current one, it’s heaven and earth. Of course, the victory is not final, but Putin’s rating is known, which is recognized with gnashing of teeth by Western figures speaking from the position of Chechen terrorists, “white ribbon activists,” liberals and other anti-Putin opposition. Who are these pussies, writers who have declared their desire to emigrate?! For example, Akunin wants to be expelled from the country in disgrace, like Solzhenitsyn was in his time. They told Akunin - go! Who needs him over the hill?! It is very awkward to merge the opposition, showing what it is, without banning it.
IN Soviet times everything was prohibited, many people spoke in enthusiastic tones about Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov. But then they read what Sakharov wrote. Some brave souls who are trying to overcome the burden of Solzhenitsyn’s novels are perplexed, what did these authors want to say, did they really have such an influence on minds?! Solzhenitsyn and Sakharov would not have had the influence they had if they had not been silenced, but had been allowed to speak, as they say, to the side.
The Kremlin has learned the lessons of the First Chechen War. It was by relying on the security forces that a change of regime took place with the arrival of Putin. The Kremlin has realized the role of the media, and the fight against them should not be so primitive, in the spirit of “take it and shut it down.” In pathetic language, the guys who died in Chechnya did not die in vain! In Russia, it was possible to overcome the real collapse of the country and preserve the armed forces, which received a certain training and experience. As often happens, they wanted to destroy Russia, but everything turned out the other way around, the country grew stronger in spite of its enemies.
To the question Why did we fight in Chechnya if it wanted to separate from Russia, because Chechens have lived there since ancient times, it’s their land? given by the author Belyash the best answer is Friend! I don’t know why they fought with Chechnya. This country was supposed to remain separate from Russia. It was extremely difficult to conquer. Even now, Chechnya has not completely stopped resisting. I think money laundering by Russian and Chechen officials is involved here.
And all this data from Wikipedia and the Ministry of Defense... Should we trust these sources? I don't think so.
Answer from ScaM[guru]
I don't think you should get involved in politics
Answer from Ivan the Terrible[master]
The Chechens lived in the mountains, almost the entire flat part belonged to the Cossacks, so they gained more land from Soviet power!
Answer from Pavel Parfenov is inadequate[guru]
Zurik, who did you fight for?
Answer from Yupina[guru]
I don’t think they wanted to secede; these mountaineers don’t care where to graze their sheep.
Answer from Yergey Smirnov[active]
according to the idea, Chechnya is located on the territory of Russia, which means the land is ours and we will not give it to anyone for free
Answer from Chairman[guru]
And we are you too? I really doubt it...
It was not the Russians who started the war in Chechnya:
In 2002, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that “as a result of ethnic cleansing in Chechnya, up to 30 thousand people died, and possibly more.”
In 2003, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, citing the Russian Ministry of Nationalities Affairs, reported that in Chechnya from 1991 to 1999, more than 21 thousand Russians were killed (not counting those killed during hostilities), more than 100 thousand apartments and houses were seized, belonging to representatives of non-Chechen ethnic groups, more than 46 thousand people were actually turned into slaves. Their property and passports were taken away with the connivance of the republican and federal authorities.
According to data published by the State Council of Chechnya, from 1991 to 2005, 160 thousand people died in Chechnya, of which 80-90 thousand were Chechens. A significant part of the victims of the conflict are Russians; Dagestanis, Ingush and other peoples living in Chechnya also suffered. Subsequently, the head of the State Council of Chechnya, Taus Dzhabrailov, noted that he included in the number of dead all those missing in Chechnya, and that the figures he named cannot be considered official, since they cannot be confirmed by documents. [
And if this question really interests you, then at least read this material
Answer from E.S.[guru]
They were already separating after the first Chechen war. What came of it, just look on the Internet. These include “unplanned” connections using an AK and a canister into a pipeline passing through the territory of Ichkeria. Constant train robberies, trafficking in weapons and hostages, drug trafficking and false advice notes in Russian banks. If we take more early time, then constant raids on the empire. Why such a restless neighbor? It’s easier to “horn and stall.”
Answer from Wishmaster[guru]
HY... they have oil... who will let her go with the oil?
Answer from KostyukovaCanes.[guru]
We are pawns, who will be responsible for our sons??? Nobody.
Answer from Lost Partisan[guru]
Grozny - “Chechens have lived there since centuries”? At least study a little history. It's even funny.
Answer from Eich[active]
If we talk like this, Chechnya-Chechens, Siberia-Siberians, Moscow-Muscovites, then we’ll squander all of Russia
Answer from Moses Belferman[newbie]
Despite all its economic and political weakness, Russia continues
remain a colonial power. Not only Chechnya - the Volga republics, but also Yakutia - conquered and occupied all this: they consider it “their acquisition.” Like Alaska, the Arctic... Who will let go of the Arctic with its as-yet unknown reserves of strategic raw materials?
Answer from NuRlAn[guru]
why in Afghanistan, why do Americans need Iraq, Vietnam. politics mud
Answer from ******
[guru]
OIL!!! And the most best quality what was mined on the territory of the USSR!
(It seems that during the USSR, 16% of the total volume was extracted from there)
Answer from Yergey Taranov[guru]
If only they could then be expelled en masse from their Chechnya from Russia. We went through all this with Azerbaijan and Armenia...
And then it began, keepnapping is when adults with machine guns kidnap children, and then peacefully offer to ransom the child to his parents, aggressive raids on neighboring Dagestan - but here the wrong ones were attacked. Dagestanis are a proud people - they know how to fight and did not intend to separate from Russia. At this point any angelic patience will be overflowing. Fortunately, if Chechnya had been recognized as an independent state under these conditions, all these actions should have been regarded as international aggression with a corresponding adequate response (to roll over mountains, Chechens and their land with tanks and planes mixed together). It stinks, it really would be for the whole world (genocide... tra la la). Therefore, in those conditions, the actions were quite adequate - to turn Chechnya into an internal problem of Russia, it also stinks and there is a complete ass of problems - but there’s nothing you can do about it, you have to choose between bad and very bad...
And I feel sorry for the guys who died. May their memory be blessed.
Answer from Ivan Ivanov[guru]
who the hell knows. I myself don’t understand why we need this headache... but in the 90s we didn’t fight... there money was laundered with Russian and Chechen blood... this is clear when you read about the war in detail... all this incomprehensible running back and forth... the negotiations are somehow muddy. .that’s not how they fight
....oil is there. . So I don’t think that we will see anything from this oil. .
just so as not to create a price-price, probably...otherwise the others might join in
Answer from ASKER ARYAN[guru]
Grozny was founded by the Russians... .
and this is not Chechen land.... Chechens lived further south - in the mountains
Answer from Nasraitis[guru]
In fact, Chechnya is independent, it is not subordinate federal center, doesn’t pay taxes, receives huge subsidies from the state, and they slaughtered all the Russians, leaving only slaves, what’s the point of separating?