Russian troops fought in Chechnya even under the tsars, when the Caucasus region was only part of the Russian Empire. But in the nineties of the last century, a real massacre began there, the echoes of which have not subsided so far. The Chechen war in 1994-1996 and in 1999-2000 are two disasters for the Russian army.
Background of the Chechen Wars
The Caucasus has always been a very difficult region for Russia. Questions of nationality, religion, culture have always been raised very sharply and were solved by far from peaceful means.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the influence of the separatists increased in the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on the basis of national and religious hostility, as a result of which the Republic of Ichkeria was self-proclaimed. She entered into a confrontation with Russia.
In November 1991, Boris Yeltsin, then President of Russia, issued a decree "On the introduction of a state of emergency on the territory of the Chechen-Ingush Republic." But this decree was not supported in the Supreme Council of Russia, due to the fact that most of the seats there were occupied by opponents of Yeltsin.
In 1992, on March 3, Dzhokhar Dudayev announced that he would only negotiate when Chechnya gained full independence. A few days later, on the twelfth, the Chechen parliament adopted a new constitution, self-proclaiming the country a secular independent state.
Almost immediately, all government buildings, all military bases, all strategically important objects were captured. The territory of Chechnya completely came under the control of the separatists. From that moment on, legitimate centralized power ceased to exist. The situation got out of control: the trade in weapons and people flourished, drug trafficking passed through the territory, bandits robbed the population (especially Slavic).
In June 1993, soldiers from Dudayev's bodyguard seized the parliament building in Grozny, and Dudayev himself proclaimed the emergence of "sovereign Ichkeria" - a state that he completely controlled.
A year later, the First Chechen War (1994-1996) will begin, which will mark the beginning of a whole series of wars and conflicts that have become, perhaps, the most bloody and cruel in the entire territory of the former Soviet Union.
First Chechen: the beginning
On December 11, 1994, Russian troops entered Chechnya in three groups. One entered from the west, through North Ossetia, another - through Mozdok, and the third group - from the territory of Dagestan. Initially, the command was entrusted to Eduard Vorobyov, but he refused and resigned, citing the complete unpreparedness of this operation. Later, the operation in Chechnya will be headed by Anatoly Kvashnin.
Of the three groups, only the "Mozdok" was able to successfully reach Grozny on December 12 - the other two were blocked in different parts of Chechnya by local residents and partisan detachments of militants. A few days later, the remaining two groups of Russian troops approached Grozny and blocked it from all sides, with the exception of the southern direction. Up to the start of the assault from this side, access to the city will be free for the militants, this later influenced the siege of Grozny by federal waxes.
Assault on Grozny
On December 31, 1994, the assault began, which claimed many lives of Russian soldiers and remained one of the most tragic episodes in Russian history. About two hundred units of armored vehicles entered Grozny from three sides, which were almost powerless in the conditions of street fighting. Communication between the companies was poorly established, which made it difficult to coordinate joint actions.
Russian troops are stuck on the streets of the city, constantly falling under the crossfire of militants. The battalion of the Maykop brigade, which advanced the farthest towards the center of the city, was surrounded and was almost completely destroyed along with its commander, Colonel Savin. The battalion of the Petrakuvsky Motorized Rifle Regiment, which went to the rescue of the "Maikopians", according to the results of two days of fighting, consisted of about thirty percent of the original composition.
By the beginning of February, the number of stormers was increased to seventy thousand people, but the assault on the city continued. Only on February 3, Grozny was blocked from the south side and taken into the ring.
On March 6, part of the last detachments of Chechen separatists were killed, the other left the city. Grozny remained under the control of Russian troops. In fact, little was left of the city - both sides actively used both artillery and armored vehicles, so Grozny practically lay in ruins.
On the rest, there were continuous local battles between Russian troops and militant groups. In addition, the militants prepared and conducted a series (June 1995), in Kizlyar (January 1996). In March 1996, the militants made an attempt to recapture Grozny, but the assault was repelled by Russian soldiers. And Dudayev was liquidated.
In August, the militants repeated their attempt to take Grozny, this time it was a success. Many important objects in the city were blocked by the separatists, Russian troops suffered very heavy losses. Together with Grozny, the militants took Gudermes and Argun. On August 31, 1996, the Khasavyurt Agreement was signed - the First Chechen War ended with huge losses for Russia.
Human losses in the First Chechen War
The data varies depending on which side is counting. Actually, this is not surprising and it has always been so. Therefore, all options are provided below.
Losses in the Chechen war (table No. 1 according to the headquarters of the Russian troops):
The two figures in each column, where the losses of Russian troops are indicated, are two headquarters investigations that were carried out with a difference of a year.
According to the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, the consequences of the Chechen war are completely different. Some of those killed there are called about fourteen thousand people.
Losses in the Chechen war (table No. 2) of militants according to Ichkeria and a human rights organization:
Among the civilian population, "Memorial" put forward a figure of 30-40 thousand people, and the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation A.I. Lebed - 80,000.
Second Chechen: main events
Even after the signing of the peace agreements, things did not become calmer in Chechnya. The militants ran everything, there was a brisk trade in drugs and weapons, people were kidnapped and killed. On the border between Dagestan and Chechnya, it was alarming.
After a series of kidnappings of major businessmen, officers, journalists, it became clear that the continuation of the conflict in a more acute phase is simply inevitable. Moreover, since April, small groups of militants began to probe the weak points in the defense of Russian troops, preparing an invasion of Dagestan. The invasion operation was led by Basayev and Khattab. The place where the militants planned to strike was in the mountainous zone of Dagestan. There, the small number of Russian troops was combined with the inconvenient location of the roads, along which you could not transfer reinforcements very quickly. On August 7, 1999, the militants crossed the border.
The main striking force of the bandits were mercenaries and Islamists from Al-Qaeda. For almost a month there were battles with varying success, but, finally, the militants were driven back to Chechnya. Along with this, the bandits carried out a series of terrorist attacks in various cities of Russia, including Moscow.
As a response, on September 23, a heavy shelling of Grozny began, and a week later, Russian troops entered Chechnya.
Casualties in the Second Chechen War among Russian servicemen
The situation had changed, and Russian troops now played a dominant role. But many mothers never waited for their sons.
Losses in the Chechen war (table No. 3):
In June 2010, the commander-in-chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs gave the following figures: 2,984 killed and about 9,000 wounded.
Losses of militants
Losses in the Chechen war (table No. 4):
Civilian casualties
According to official data, as of February 2001, more than a thousand civilians had died. In the book by S. V. Ryazantsev “Demographic and migration portrait of the North Caucasus”, the losses of the parties in the Chechen war are five thousand people, although we are talking about 2003.
Judging by the assessment of the organization Amnesty International, which calls itself non-governmental and objective, there were about twenty-five thousand dead among the civilian population. They can count for a long time and diligently, only to the question: "How many actually died in the Chechen war?" - hardly anyone will give an intelligible answer.
Outcomes of the war: peace conditions, restoration of Chechnya
While the Chechen war was going on, the loss of equipment, enterprises, land, any resources and everything else was not even considered, because people always remain the main ones. But then the war ended, Chechnya remained part of Russia, and the need arose to restore the republic from practically ruins.
Enormous money was allocated to Grozny. After several assaults, there were almost no entire buildings left there, and at the moment it is a large and beautiful city.
The economy of the republic was also raised artificially - it was necessary to give time for the population to get used to the new realities, so that new factories and farms were rebuilt. Roads, communication lines, electricity were needed. Today we can say that the republic is almost completely out of the crisis.
Chechen wars: reflection in films, books
Dozens of films have been made based on the events that took place in Chechnya. Many books have been released. Now it is no longer possible to understand where the fiction is, and where the real horrors of war are. The Chechen war (as well as the war in Afghanistan) claimed too many lives and went through a "skating rink" for a whole generation, so it simply could not remain unnoticed. Russia's losses in the Chechen wars are colossal, and, according to some researchers, the losses are even greater than in ten years of war in Afghanistan. Below is a list of films that most deeply show us the tragic events of the Chechen campaigns.
- documentary film from five episodes "Chechen trap";
- "Purgatory";
- "Cursed and forgotten";
- "Prisoner of the Caucasus".
Many fiction and journalistic books describe the events in Chechnya. For example, the now famous writer Zakhar Prilepin, who wrote the novel "Pathology" about this war, fought as part of the Russian troops. Writer and publicist Konstantin Semyonov published a series of stories "Grozny Tales" (about the storming of the city) and the novel "The Motherland Betrayed Us". The storming of Grozny is dedicated to the novel by Vyacheslav Mironov "I was in this war."
Video recordings made in Chechnya by rock musician Yuri Shevchuk are widely known. He and his DDT group performed more than once in Chechnya in front of Russian soldiers in Grozny and at military bases.
Conclusion
The State Council of Chechnya published data showing that between 1991 and 2005 almost one hundred and sixty thousand people died - this figure includes militants, civilians, and Russian soldiers. One hundred sixty thousand.
Even if the figures are overestimated (which is quite likely), the amount of losses is still simply colossal. Russia's losses in the Chechen wars are a terrible memory of the nineties. The old wound will hurt and itch in every family that lost a man there, in the Chechen war.
December 11, 1994 began the 1st Chechen war. The background of the conflict and the chronicle of hostilities in Chechnya in the review of the Military Pro, dedicated to the anniversary of the start of the war. This conflict can be called a sad symbol of that Russia, which has not yet found itself, which was at a crossroads, in the timelessness between the collapse of one great power and the birth of a new Russia.
Reasons for the start of the Chechen war
The collapse of the Soviet Union into separate states occurred in different ways. There were even local territorial conflicts, but only the North Caucasus came to an open war.
In the last months of the existence of the USSR in Checheno-Ingushetia, the organization of the National Congress of the Chechen People was created by the former Air Force General Dzhokhar Dudayev. It set as its main task the withdrawal of the republic from the Union and the proclamation of its complete independence in all respects.
After the failure of the putschists in Moscow, the Dudaevites announced the dissolution of all allied authorities and on September 6, 1991, seized all government buildings in Grozny, as well as the Radio House and the television center.
After the final legal liquidation of the USSR, Dzhokhar Dudayev declared the independence of Chechnya and was elected the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. The Russian government did not recognize the elections, and Boris Yeltsin issued a decree declaring a state of emergency in the territories controlled by the separatists.
But numerous crowds of residents poured into the streets, blocking military units, police stations, KGB buildings and all major transport hubs, so that the introduction of the state of emergency was thwarted.
As a result of a three-day debate in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, a decision was made to withdraw all paramilitary units from Chechnya. At the same time, the separatists got a large number of weapons and equipment, which could not be withdrawn due to the lack of transport.
It is noteworthy that the Republic of Ingushetia separated from Chechnya and preferred to become part of the Russian Federation, so that in fact only Chechnya became an "independent" state, which was not recognized by any country in the world.
Because of this, the state could not establish any international relations, people suffered from rampant banditry and unemployment. The crime situation was at an extremely high level, and the authorities could not establish a normal life.
The Russian-speaking population of Chechnya found itself in a distressed situation, virtually abandoned by the federal authorities. The period from 1992 to 1994 is a dark page in the history of Russians in Chechnya.
According to numerous testimonies of that time, the position of the Slavic national minority in Chechnya was unenviable.
Because of this, opposition to the power of Dzhokhar Dudayev arose in the country, which organized itself into the Provisional Council of the Chechen Republic. No one managed to win in the political field, so a civil war broke out in the summer of 1994. The Russian government unofficially supported the VSChR, since with their help it was possible to overthrow the power of Dudayev and return Chechnya to the Federation.
Officially, the date of the beginning of the 1st Chechen war in all sources is December 11, 1994. But in fact, since November, federal troops have been taking part in the civil war on the side of the opposition. In particular, as a result of the assault on Grozny on November 26, 1994, 68 Russian servicemen were captured by the Dudaevites. The militants promised to shoot everyone if the Russian Federation did not officially recognize itself as a party to the conflict.
As a result, some of the soldiers were released, but their number did not exceed 30 people. At the same time, only 21 people were identified by name, so the authorities do not recognize such a large number of prisoners.
Footage of Russian soldiers was shown on television around the clock, which caused a great public outcry. Therefore, Boris Yeltsin on December 11 issued a decree "On measures to ensure the rule of law, law and order and public safety on the territory of the Chechen Republic."
It is from this event that the date of the beginning of the Chechen war comes. Moreover, it was originally planned a short-term campaign and the defeat of the army of Ichkeria in a few days. The Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation even stated that the Russian army could solve the problem within a few hours.
But the beginning of the Chechen war quickly cooled the ardor of politicians and military officials. In just two days of fighting, the federal troops lost about two hundred people, although no one officially recognized such losses.
Moreover, more than half of the fighters died on the march, when columns of troops from ambushes attacked the "flying squads" of militants. From the first day of the war, Dzhokhar Dudayev decided to wage a guerrilla war, which, with such a balance of power, was the only right decision.
The beginning of the First Chechen War confirmed the unwillingness of the command to develop the right tactics and effectively use intelligence. Columns of troops fell into ambush over and over again, suffering huge losses in manpower and equipment. Failures on the battlefield undermined the morale of the army, which felt abandoned to its fate. Anti-war sentiments in society also grew.
The beginning of the Chechen war in 1994 was accompanied not only by hostilities in the North Caucasus, but also by terrorist acts in Russian cities. In this way, the militants tried to intimidate the civilian population and force people to influence the government in order to achieve the withdrawal of troops. They failed to sow panic, but many still hardly remember those times.
Another remarkable fact after the start of the war in Chechnya in 1994 was the ability of some field commanders to perfectly prepare traps and get out of the battles with virtually no losses. The thing is that the backbone of the army of Ichkeria was made up of soldiers and officers of the Soviet troops, who went through baptism of fire in Afghanistan and were well versed in the tactical intricacies of warfare.
And the warehouses with weapons and ammunition left during the withdrawal of Russian forces made it possible to effectively defend on all sectors of the fronts.
The disastrous start of the First Chechen War in 1994 forced the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation to urgently introduce additional forces and establish cooperation between all branches of the military. After that, the first victories went, and the federal forces began to quickly move deep into the separatist possessions.
The result was an exit to the suburbs of Grozny and the beginning of the assault on the capital on December 31, 1994. In the bloody and fierce battles that lasted until March 6, 1995, Russia lost about one and a half thousand soldiers killed and up to 15 thousand wounded.
But the fall of the capital did not break the resistance of the separatists, so the main tasks were not completed. Before the start of the war in Chechnya, the main goal was to eliminate Dzhokhar Dudayev, since the resistance of the militants largely rested on his authority and charisma.
Destruction of Dzhokhar Dudayev
After several unsuccessful attempts to destroy the president, he was assassinated on April 21, 1996. To do this, a homing missile was used, which tracked the signal of the general's cell phone when he turned it on to make several calls.
According to unofficial data, several million dollars were spent on the operation, the creation of weapons and the search for informants, which at that time was a fairly significant amount.
The death of the actual "father of Ichkeria" brought confusion to the ranks of the separatists, but they did not stop the armed resistance. The militants were able to recover from the loss by August, when, having gathered their strength, they carried out Operation Jihad. From August 6 to August 22, 1996, federal forces completely or partially lost control over Argun, Gudermes and Grozny.
During the fighting, the losses amounted to about 500 people dead and one and a half thousand wounded of varying severity. Nevertheless, even in these difficult days, heroes were born who are still remembered.
The events of August 1996 are a sad page in Russian history. A number of events and facts suggest a betrayal of Russia's interests in the high echelons of power of that period.
Timeline of the first Chechen war
- December 11, 1994 - troops of the United Group of Forces of Russia enter Chechnya from three directions;
- December 12 - The Mozdok grouping of the OGV takes up positions 10 km from Grozny;
- December 15 - The Kizlyar group occupies Tolstoy-Yurt;
- December 19 - The Western group bypasses the Sunzhensky Range and encircles Grozny from the west;
- December 20 - The Mozdok group blocks the capital of Chechnya from the northwest;
- December 20 - The Kizlyar group blocks the city from the east, the 104th Guards. PDP blocks the Argun Gorge. Lieutenant General Kvashnin becomes commander of the OGV;
- December 24 - 28 - the battle for Khankala;
- December 31, 1994 - the beginning of the assault on Grozny;
- January 7, 1995 - change of tactics of the federal forces. Supported by aviation and artillery, air assault mobile groups came to replace armored groups that were not effective in urban combat;
- January 9 - the airport is busy;
- January 19 - the Presidential Palace is taken;
- February 1 - Colonel-General Kulikov becomes commander of the OGV;
- February 3 - the creation of the southern grouping of the OGV, the beginning of attempts to block Grozny from the south;
- February 9 - exit to the federal highway Rostov-Baku;
- March 6, 1995 - Grozny came under the full control of the Federal Forces;
- March 10 - the beginning of the battles for Bamut;
- March 23 - Argun taken;
- March 30 - Shali is taken;
- March 31 - Gudermes is taken;
- April 7 - 8 - operation in the village of Samashki;
- April 28 - May 11 - suspension of hostilities;
- May 12 - the beginning of the fighting for Chiri-Yurt and Serzhen-Yurt;
- June 3 - the capture of Vedeno;
- June 12 - Nozhai-Yurt and Shatoi were taken;
- June 14 - 19, 1995 - a terrorist attack in Budyonnovsk;
- June 19 - 30 - 2 stages of negotiations between the Russian and Chechen sides, a moratorium on combat operations, the beginning of a partisan and sabotage war throughout Chechnya, local battles;
- July 19 - Lieutenant-General Romanov becomes commander of the OGV;
- October 6 - attempt on the life of Lieutenant General Romanov;
- December 10 - 20 - active battles for Gudermes;
- January 9 - 18, 1996 - terrorist attack in Kizlyar;
- March 6 - 8 - fighting in the Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny;
- April 16 - an ambush on a column of the Russian army in the Argun Gorge (the village of Yaryshmardy);
- April 21, 1996 - the liquidation of Dzhokhar Dudayev;
- May 24 - the final capture of Bamut;
- May - July 1996 - negotiation process;
- July 9 - the resumption of hostilities;
- August 6 - 22 - operation "Jihad";
- August 6 - 13 - militants invade Grozny, blocking federal forces in the city;
- from August 13 - the unblocking of checkpoints of the United Forces, the encirclement of Maskhadov's forces;
- August 17 - General Pulikovsky's ultimatum;
- August 20 - Lieutenant-General Tikhomirov, Commander of the United Forces, returns from vacation. Condemnation in Moscow of Pulikovsky's ultimatum;
- August 31 - signing of the Khasavyurt agreements. End of the First Chechen War.
Khasavyurt agreements of 1996
After the events of August and their ambiguous coverage in the media, society once again spoke in favor of ending the war. On August 31, 1996, the Khasavyurt peace agreement was signed, according to which the issue of the status of Chechnya was postponed for 5 years, and all federal forces had to immediately leave the territory of the republic.
The outbreak of the First War in Chechnya was supposed to bring a quick victory, but instead the Russian army lost more than 5,000 people killed, about 16,000 wounded and 510 missing. There are other figures in which irretrievable losses vary from 4 to 14 thousand military personnel.
Killed militants number from 3 to 8 thousand, and the loss of civilians is estimated at 19-25 thousand people. The maximum losses, therefore, can be estimated at 47 thousand people, and of the tasks set, only the liquidation of Dudayev was successful.
The 1st Chechen war still serves as a symbol of "Yeltsin's Russia" - a troubled period in our recent history. We do not undertake to unequivocally judge whether the signing of the Khasavyurt agreement (and the events that preceded it in August 1996) was a betrayal, but it is obvious that it did not solve the problems in Chechnya.
Ever since the beginning of the "perestroika" carried out by Gorbachev, nationalist groups began to "raise their heads" in many republics. For example, the National Congress of the Chechen people, which appeared in 1990. He set himself the task of achieving Chechnya's withdrawal from the Soviet Union. The primary goal was to create a completely independent state entity. The organization was headed by Dzhokhar Dudayev.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, it was Dudayev who announced the secession of Chechnya from Russia. At the end of October 1991, elections were held for the executive and legislative bodies. Dzhokhar Dudayev was elected President of Chechnya.
Internal divisions in Chechnya
In the summer of 1994, military clashes began in the state education. On one side were troops who swore allegiance to Dudayev. On the other - the forces of the Provisional Council, which is in opposition to Dudayev. The latter received unofficial support from Russia. The parties were in a difficult position, the losses were huge.
The entry of troops
At a meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation at the end of November 1994, Russia decides to send troops to Chechnya. Then Minister Yegorov declared that 70% of the Chechen people would be for Russia in this matter.
On December 11, units of the Ministry of Defense and Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs entered Chechnya. Troops came from 3 sides at once. The key blow was from the western and eastern directions. The northwestern group advanced best of all. Already on December 12, she came close to settlements located just 10 kilometers from the city of Grozny. Other units of the Russian Federation advanced successfully at the initial stage. They occupied the north of the republic almost without hindrance.
Assault on Grozny
The assault on the capital of Chechnya began a few hours before the chiming clock, which marked the beginning of the New Year 1995. About 250 pieces of equipment were involved. The problem was that:
- The troops were initially poorly trained.
- There was no coordination between departments.
- The soldiers did not have any combat experience.
- Maps and aerial photographs of the city are long outdated.
At first, armored vehicles were massively used, but then the tactics changed. The paratroopers went to work. Exhausting street battles began in Grozny. Only on March 6, the last detachment of separatists, led by Shamil Basayev, retreated from the city. A new pro-Russian administration was immediately formed in the capital. These were "elections on the bones", because the capital was completely destroyed.
Control over the plains and mountains
By April, federal troops occupied almost the entire flat territory of Chechnya. Because of this, the separatists switched to conducting sabotage and partisan attacks. In the mountainous regions, a number of the most important settlements were taken under control. It is noted that many separatists managed to escape. The militants often transferred part of their forces to other areas.
After the terrorist attack in Budyonnovsk, where a large number of people from both sides were injured and killed, it was possible to achieve the introduction of a moratorium on further hostilities for an indefinite period.
At the end of June 1995, we agreed:
- on the exchange of prisoners according to the formula "all for all";
- about the withdrawal of troops;
- about the holding of elections.
However, the truce was violated (more than once!). Throughout Chechnya, there were small local clashes, the so-called self-defense units were formed. In the second half of 1995, towns and villages passed from hand to hand. In mid-December, Russian-backed elections were held in Chechnya. Nevertheless, they were recognized as valid. The separatists boycotted everything.
In 1996, the militants not only attacked various cities and villages, but also made attempts to attack Grozny. In March of that year, they even managed to subjugate one of the districts of the capital. But the federal troops managed to beat off all attacks. True, this was done at the cost of the lives of many soldiers.
Liquidation of Dudayev
Naturally, from the very beginning of the conflict in Chechnya, the task of the special services of the Russian Federation was to find and neutralize the leader of the separatists. All attempts to kill Dudayev were in vain. But the secret services received important information that he likes to talk on a satellite phone. On April 21, 1996, two Su-25 attack aircraft, having received coordinates thanks to the bearing of the telephone signal, fired 2 missiles at Dudayev's motorcade. As a result, he was eliminated. The militants were left without a leader.
Negotiating with separatists
As you know, in 1996 presidential elections were to be held in Russia itself. Yeltsin needed victories in Chechnya. Thus the war dragged on, it aroused distrust among the Russians. Our young soldiers were dying on "foreign" land. After the May negotiations, from June 1, a truce and an exchange of prisoners were announced.
As a result of consultations in Nazran:
- elections were to be held on the territory of Chechnya;
- detachments of militants were to be completely disarmed;
- federal troops will be withdrawn.
But this truce was broken again. Nobody wanted to give in. Attacks began again, blood flowed like a river.
New fights
After the successful re-election of Yeltsin, fighting in Chechnya resumed. In August 1996, the separatists not only fired at checkpoints, but also stormed Grozny, Argun and Gudermes. More than 2,000 Russian servicemen died in the battles for Grozny alone. How much more could be lost? Because of this, the authorities in the Russian Federation agreed to sign the famous agreements on the withdrawal of federal troops.
Khasavyurt agreements
August 31 was the last day of summer and the last day of hostilities. In the Dagestan city of Khasavyurt, sensational armistice agreements were signed. The final decision on the future of the republic was shelved. But the troops had to be withdrawn.
Results
Chechnya remained an independent republic, but no one legally recognized it as a state. The ruins were as they were. The economy was extremely criminalized. Due to the ongoing ethnic cleansing and active fighting, the country was "crucified". Almost the entire civilian population left the republic. There was not only a crisis in politics and the economy, but also an unprecedented growth of Wahhabism. It was he who served as the reason for the invasion of militants in Dagestan, and then to the beginning of a new war.
The first Chechen war lasted exactly one year and nine months. The war began on December 1, 1994 with the bombing of all three Chechen air bases - Kalinovskaya, Khankala and Grozny-Severny, which destroyed the entire Chechen aviation, which included several "corn" and a couple of antediluvian Czechoslovak fighters. The war ended on August 31, 1996 with the signing of the Khasavyurt agreements, after which the federals left Chechnya.
Military losses are depressing: 4,100 Russian servicemen were killed and 1,200 were missing. 15,000 militants were killed, although Aslan Maskhadov, who led the military operations, claimed that the militants lost 2,700 people. According to Memorial's human rights activists, 30,000 civilians in Chechnya were killed.
There were no winners in this war. The federals were unable to take control of the territory of the republic, and the separatists did not receive a real independent state. Both sides lost.
Unrecognized state and prerequisites for war
The only Chechen the whole country knew before the start of the war was Dzhokhar Dudayev. The commander of a bomber division, a combat pilot, at the age of 45 he became a major general of aviation, at 47 he left the army and went into politics. He moved to Grozny, quickly advanced to leadership positions, and already in 1991 became president. True, the president is only the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. But the President! He was known to have a tough temper and determination. During the riots in Grozny, Dudayev and his supporters threw Vitaly Kutsenko, Chairman of the Grozny City Council, out of the window. He crashed, he was taken to the hospital, where the Dudaevites finished him off. Kutsenko died, and Dudayev became a national leader.
Now it is somehow forgotten, but Dudayev's criminal reputation was known back in that period in 1993. Let me remind you how much noise the “Chechen advice notes” have made at the federal level. After all, it was a real disaster for the national payment system. Fraudsters stole 4 trillion rubles from the Central Bank of Russia through shell companies and Grozny banks. That's a trillion! I will say for comparison that the budget of Russia in that very 93rd year was 10 trillion rubles. That is, almost half of the national budget was stolen from Chechen advice. Half of the annual salary of doctors, teachers, military personnel, officials, miners, half of all government revenues. Huge damage! Subsequently, Dudayev recalled how money was brought to Grozny by trucks.
It was with such marketers, democrats and supporters of national self-determination that Russia had to fight in 1994.
The beginning of the conflict
When did the first Chechen war start? December 11, 1994. So out of habit, many historians and publicists believe. They think that the first Chechen war of 1994-1996 began on the day that Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree on the need to restore constitutional order in Chechnya. They forget that ten days earlier there had been an air strike on airfields in Chechnya. They forget about the burned-out cornfields, after which no one in Chechnya or in the Russian armed forces doubted that a war was going on.
But the ground operation really began on December 11. On this day, the so-called "Joint Group of Forces" (OGV), which then consisted of three parts, began to move:
- western;
- northwestern;
- eastern.
The Western group entered Chechnya from North Ossetia and Ingushetia. Northwestern - from the Mozdok region of North Ossetia. Eastern - from Dagestan.
All three groups moved straight to Grozny.
The OGV was supposed to clear the city from the separatists, and then destroy the bases of the militants: first, in the northern, flat part of the republic; then in the southern, mountainous part of it.
In a short time, the OGV was supposed to clear the entire territory of the republic from Dudayev's formations.
On the outskirts of Grozny, on December 12, the North-Western grouping reached the first and got involved in the battle near the village of Dolinsky. In this battle, the militants used the Grad multiple launch rocket system, and that day they did not allow Russian troops to pass to Grozny.
Gradually, two other groups moved in. By the end of December, the army approached the capital from three sides:
- from the west;
- from the north;
- from the east.
The assault was scheduled for December 31st. On New Year's Eve. And the eve of the birthday of Pavel Grachev - the then Minister of Defense. I will not say that they wanted to guess the victory for the holiday, but such an opinion is widespread.
Assault on Grozny
The assault has begun. The assault groups immediately ran into difficulties. The fact is that the commanders made two serious mistakes:
- Firstly. They did not complete the encirclement of Grozny. The problem was that Dudayev's formations actively used the gap in the open ring of encirclement. In the south, in the mountains, militant bases were located. From the south, the militants brought ammunition and weapons. The wounded were evacuated to the south. Reinforcements were coming in from the south;
- Secondly. We decided to massively use tanks. 250 combat vehicles entered Grozny. Moreover, without proper intelligence support and without infantry support. Tanks were helpless in the narrow streets of urban development. The tanks were on fire. The 131st separate Maykop motorized rifle brigade was surrounded, and 85 people were killed.
Parts of the Western and Eastern groups were unable to penetrate deep into the city and retreated. Only part of the North-Eastern group under the command of General Lev Rokhlin entrenched themselves in the city and took up defense. Some units were surrounded and suffered losses. Street fighting broke out in various districts of Grozny.
The command quickly learned the lessons of what had happened. The commanders changed tactics. Abandoned the massive use of armored vehicles. The battles were fought by small, mobile units of assault groups. Soldiers and officers quickly gained experience and improved their combat skills. On January 9, the federals took the building of the oil institute, and the airport came under the control of the OGV. By January 19, the militants left the presidential palace and organized defense on Minutka Square. At the end of January, the federals controlled 30% of the territory of Grozny. At that moment, the federal grouping was increased to 70 thousand people, it was headed by Anatoly Kulikov.
The next important change occurred on February 3rd. To blockade the city from the south, the command formed the "South" grouping. Already on February 9, it blocked the Rostov-Baku highway. The blockade is closed.
Half the city was reduced to rubble, but the victory was won. On March 6, the last militant left Grozny under pressure from the OGV. It was Shamil Basayev.
Major fighting in 1995
By April 1995, federal forces had established control over almost the entire flat part of the republic. Argun, Shali and Gudermes were taken under control relatively easily. The settlement of Bamut remained outside the zone of control. Fighting there continued intermittently until the end of the year, and even into the next 1996.
Quite a public outcry was received by the operation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Samashki. The propaganda campaign against Russia, professionally conducted by Dudayev's Chechen-press agency, seriously influenced world public opinion about Russia and its actions in Chechnya. Many still believe that the casualties among the civilian population in Samashki were prohibitive. There are unverified rumors about thousands of deaths, while the human rights organization Memorial, for example, believes that the number of civilians killed during the cleansing of Samashki is measured in dozens.
What is true here, and what is exaggeration - now it is no longer possible to make out. One thing is certain: war is a cruel and unjust business. Especially when civilians are dying.
Advancement in the mountainous regions was more difficult for the federal forces than a campaign across the plains. The reason was that the troops often got bogged down in the defense of the militants, there were even such unpleasant incidents as, for example, the capture of 40 paratroopers of the Aksai special forces. In June, the federals took control of the district centers of Vedeno, Shatoi and Nozhai-Yurt.
The most socially significant and resonant episode of the first Chechen war of 1995 was the episode associated with the release of events outside of Chechnya. The main negative character of the episode was Shamil Basayev. At the head of a gang of 195 people, he made a raid on trucks in the Stavropol Territory. The militants entered the Russian city of Budyonnovsk, opened fire in the center of the city, broke into the building of the city department of internal affairs, shot several policemen and civilians.
The terrorists took about 2,000 hostages and herded them into the building complex of the city hospital. Basayev demanded to withdraw troops from Chechnya and start negotiations with Dudayev with the participation of the UN. The Russian authorities decided to storm the hospital. Unfortunately, there was a leak of information, and the bandits had time to prepare. The assault was not unexpected, and failed. The special forces captured a number of auxiliary buildings, but did not break into the main building. On the same day they made a second attempt to storm, and she also failed.
In short, the situation began to become critical, and the Russian authorities were forced to enter into negotiations. The then Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin was on the telephone line. The whole country was watching the television report intently, when Chernomyrdin spoke into the phone: "Shamil Basayev, Shamil Basayev, I am listening to your demands." As a result of the negotiations, Basayev received a vehicle and left for Chechnya. There he released the 120 remaining hostages. In total, 143 people died during the events, 46 of them were security officials.
Combat clashes of varying intensity took place in the republic until the end of the year. On October 6, militants made an attempt on the life of the commander of the United Forces, General Anatoly Romanov. In Grozny, on Minutka Square, in a tunnel under the railway, the Dudayevites detonated a bomb. The helmet and body armor saved the life of General Romanov, who was passing through the tunnel at that moment. From the wound he received, the general fell into a coma, and subsequently became a deep invalid. After this incident, "retaliation strikes" were delivered to the militants' bases, which, however, did not lead to a serious change in the balance of power in the confrontation.
Fighting in 1996
The new year began with another episode of hostage-taking. And again outside of Chechnya. The story is like this. On January 9, 250 militants made a bandit raid on the Dagestan city of Kizlyar. First, they attacked a Russian helicopter base, where they destroyed 2 incapacitated MI-8 helicopters. Then they seized the Kizlyar hospital and the maternity hospital. From the neighboring buildings, the militants drove up to three thousand citizens.
The bandits locked people on the second floor, mined it, and barricaded themselves on the first floor, and put forward demands: the withdrawal of troops from the Caucasus, the provision of buses and a corridor to Grozny. Negotiations with the militants were conducted by the authorities of Dagestan. Representatives of the command of the federal forces did not participate in these negotiations. On January 10, the Chechens were provided with buses, and the militants with a group of hostages began to move towards Chechnya. They were going to cross the border near the village of Pervomaiskoye, but did not reach it. The federal security forces, who were not going to put up with the fact that the hostages would be taken to Chechnya, opened warning fire, and the column had to stop. Unfortunately, as a result of insufficiently organized actions, there was confusion. This allowed the militants to disarm a checkpoint of 40 Novosibirsk policemen and capture the village of Pervomaiskoye.
The militants fortified themselves in Pervomaisky. The confrontation continued for several days. On the 15th, after the Chechens shot six captured policemen and two negotiators - Dagestan elders, the security forces launched an assault.
The assault failed. The confrontation continued. On the night of January 19, the Chechens broke through the encirclement and left for Chechnya. They took with them the captured policemen, who were later released.
During the raid, 78 people were killed.
Fighting in Chechnya continued throughout the winter. In March, the militants tried to retake Grozny, but the attempt ended in failure. In April, a bloody clash took place near the village of Yaryshmardy.
A new turn in the development of events was introduced by the liquidation of Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudayev by federal forces. Dudayev often used the satellite phone of the Inmarsat system. On April 21, from an aircraft equipped with a radar station, the Russian military located Dudayev. 2 SU-25 attack aircraft were raised into the sky. They fired two air-to-ground missiles along the bearing. One of them was right on target. Dudaev died.
Contrary to the expectations of the federals, the elimination of Dudayev did not lead to decisive changes in the course of hostilities. But the situation in Russia has changed. The election campaign for the presidential elections was approaching. Boris Yeltsin was keenly interested in freezing the conflict. Negotiations were underway until July, and the activity of both the Chechens and the federals has noticeably decreased.
After Yeltsin was elected president, hostilities intensified again.
The final battle chord of the first Chechen war sounded in August 1996. The separatists again attacked Grozny. The divisions of General Pulikovsky had a numerical superiority, but they could not hold Grozny. At the same time, the militants captured Gudermes and Argun.
Russia was forced to enter into negotiations.
First Chechen campaign 1994-1996- - an intra-Russian armed conflict between federal troops (forces) and armed formations of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, created in violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation. The events that led to the armed ... ... Encyclopedia of newsmakers
Chechen conflict ... Wikipedia
First Chechen campaign (1994 1996) Second Chechen campaign (1999 2001) ... Wikipedia
Second Chechen War Counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya Chechen conflict Russian artillery in position near the village of Duba Yurt, January 2000. Date ... Wikipedia
Chechen conflict 1994 1996 Fighting around the building of the former republican committee of the Communist Party ("Presidential Palace") in Grozny, January 1995 Date December 11, 1994 August 31, 1996 ... Wikipedia
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Chech. Nóxçiyn Respúblika Içkéri Nokhchiyn Republic of Ichkeri unrecognized republic ← ... Wikipedia
Chech. Nóxçiyn Respúblika Içkéri Nokhchiyn Republic of Ichkeri unrecognized republic ← ... Wikipedia
"Ichkeria" redirects here; see also other meanings. Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Chech. Nóxçiyn Respúblik Içkéri Nokhchiyn Republic of Ichkeri unrecognized republic ... Wikipedia
The term Chechen conflict refers to a series of clashes in the North Caucasus, starting from the time of the Caucasian War of the 19th century, when the Russian Empire, expanding its territories in the south, ran into fierce resistance from the mountain peoples of the Caucasus, ... ... Wikipedia
Books
- 245th ... Confession of the regiment. First Chechen campaign. Book 2 electronic book
- 245th ... Confession of the regiment. First Chechen campaign. Book 1, Valery Pavlovich Kiselyov. At the end of December 1994, the 245th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment received a directive from the General Staff on the transfer to Chechnya. There were only 170 people in the regiment ... In a matter of days, the regiment was deployed to full-time ...