To make an entire clusterfuck simple: After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Chechnya wanted to become an independent nation, and did so without the new Russian Federation’s approval, which they refused to do as the region is both filled with oil (it’s the Caucasus after all), and through it goes a pipeline that allows Russia to export it through the black sea ports.
But Russia was unable to do anything about it until ‘94, as it took them that long to somewhat recover from the chaos that followed the end of communism, so they hastily invaded the country, everything went south, and two years later the Chechen were able to win the war and remain independent , albeit as a broken country as the russians, like the good russians they are, destroyed everything in their path.
Long story short that led to anarchy and chaos, the establishment of an Islamic government, and eventually raids against neighboring russian-held republics, which prompted the russians to intervine and eventually invade a second time in ‘99, this time much better prepared, recovered, and with the lessons from the last war fresh on their minds
That war was much more brutal, seeing the complete destruction of Grozny, and in return the Cehchen launched attacks against Russia proper, the most infamous being the Moscow apartment buildings bombing, the Moscow Theater Siege, and the Beslan school massacre, among many terrible ambushes inside chechenya.
But after years of war, the Russians managed so bend the Chechens into submission, re-annex the republic, and once again establish control over it, with the violence slowing going down over the years, until the insurgency phase of the war, and therefore, the war itself, was declared over around 2011.
Thanks for the summary, I’ve always kinda wondered about it.
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