Russia's Wars in Chechnya, 1994-2009

The Chechens of the North Caucasus region endured many decades of first Russian, then Soviet domination before open war broke out in 1994. In response to Chechnya's unilateral declaration of independence and its rapid descent into disorder, Moscow sent in ground troops, but its forces struggled to counter the Chechens' guerrilla tactics amid the mountainous terrain. The 1996 Khasav-Yurt Accord, which ended the first war, failed to address many of the tensions that led to the conflict. In 1999, with Vladimir Putin now at the helm, the Russians launched a second war, surrounding and storming th