Ethnic Conflict: Chechnya
By: Gabriel and Madison
CONCEPTION:
In 1858, after lots of violent resistance, Chechnya is conquered and annexed by Russia following the defeat of Imam Shamil and his fighters, who were aiming to establish an Islamic state.
When the Soviet Union fell, many regions broke away and became independent. General Dzhokhar Dudayev led Chechnya's fight for independence. Boris Yeltsin, the president of the Russian Federation, refused Chechnya's declaration of independence, sending troops into Chechnya but retreated when met with armed Chechans.
The first Chechen war began in 1994, when Russia invaded to get rid of Chechnya's separatist All National Congress. Russia declared a cease-fire in 1996, up to 100,000 people - many of them civilians - are estimated to have been killed in the first Chechen war. The aftermath of this war further weakened the Chechen government’s control over local militias, and warlords started to gain strength. Many civilians were left jobless, but armed, and because of the recent Russian attacks, the civilians were easy to radicalize.
CONFLICT
Open violence, one of the deadliest attacks was in 2004, 32 Islamic Separatists took over a school holding around 1,100 people and 330 people died, most of which were students. Several other attacks and hostage situations have taken place, such as the 2002 Chechen seizure of a Moscow theater, which resulted in 129 deaths.