Before the disintegration of the Chechen war

As early as the middle of16th century to17th century, Russia's colonial influence on Chechnya/North Caucasus began, but it was mainly non-military. By the time of Peter I and yekaterina in the18th century, the Russians replaced it with military expeditions.

From 65438 to 1980s, under the leadership of Islamic Imam Mansour, Chechens waged a struggle against Russian aggressors, which opened the first chapter of Chechens' 200-year war against Russian aggression. Mansour was the first person to strive for the establishment of an Islamic country in the North Caucasus, including Chechnya, and his name has become a household name in Chechnya. The struggle of highland people spread to the whole North Caucasus. Mansour commanded the insurgents to fight for six years, 179 1 was arrested and died in the invaders' prison three years later. But the people in the North Caucasus did not stop fighting. 19th century, the mule driver of Hjelmar served as the military chief of Russia's invasion of Caucasus from 18 16 to 1827. During his tenure, Russian troops invaded Chechnya more deeply. Russian aggression in this region aroused the resistance of Chechens and North Caucasians. 18 18, the mule driver of Hjelmar said in his memorial to the tsar: "If there is still a Chechen alive, there can be no stability here, because the Chechen people's rebellious spirit and strong desire for freedom exceed any obedient nation in the whole Russian empire." Generally speaking, 18 17 is the beginning of the "Great Caucasus War"; By 1828, the Great Caucasus War had spread to the whole Caucasus, and people took part in jihad against Russian forces ... 1834, Muslim leader Khamzat was martyred, and Chamir joined hands with highland people in some parts of the North Caucasus to establish an Islamic country. With the escalation of Russia's invasion of the Caucasus in 1839, the people of the North Caucasus waged a heroic and unyielding war with their powerful opponents. ...

1859, Videno, the last village in Chechnya, fell, Chamir was captured, and later admitted that the war was over, but Chechens fought until 1864. So Chechnya entered the period of Russian military colonial rule.

Russian rulers drove Chechens from the flat to the hilly areas and then to Ottoman Turkey. However, Chechens still resist from time to time. The ethnic repression, genocide and ethnic expulsion of the Russian Empire did everything possible, resulting in a sharp decline in the population of Chechnya. 1877, Chechens and neighboring Ingushetia launched an anti-Russian uprising. Two years later, Russia expelled a large number of Chechens (and Ingushetia) from their homes. After that, Chechnya and Ingushetia turned to guerrilla warfare until1917 ~1918 Bolsheviks came to power.

In the process of colonizing Chechnya, Russian rulers still "assimilated" in culture, opened Russian schools in Chechnya to promote Russian, and attracted and absorbed some Chechen "elites" who were willing to attach themselves to colonial rulers to participate in local political life. The purpose is nothing more than to destroy the old religious culture of Chechnya, strengthen the control of Chechnya and make it tame and accept Russian rule.

After the Bolsheviks overthrew Russia, Chechnya fell into anarchy in the early days because the Soviet Union was busy with civil strife. During this period, Chechnya and Ingushetia also experienced the double genocide of red and white bandits (namely, the Soviet Red Army and the anti-government white army). Although Imam uzun Haji led the struggle for independence, the Soviet Union occupied the North Caucasus in 19 19 ~ 1920, and soon expanded to the whole Caucasus.

1922, the Soviet Union designated Chechnya as "Chechen Autonomous Prefecture", after which Chechnya ushered in the Iron Curtain era. 1929, the Soviet Union increased property taxes in the North Caucasus, and Chechens revolted under the leadership of Islam Blauf. In the following year, the Soviet government made some concessions and promised to respect the rights of Chechens/Ingushetia. However, in 193 1, the Soviet KGB killed Islam Broff and others ... 1934, the Soviet Union merged Chechnya and Ingushetia into "Chechen-Ingushetia Autonomous Prefecture", and 1936 changed its name to "Chechen-Ingushetia Soviet Socialist Autonomy * * Republic" By 1937, all Chechens who openly opposed the title of "Soviet socialism" were mercilessly attacked. In just one year, thousands of people went to Stalin's prison, and almost no one came out alive.

194 1 year, the Soviet union was attacked by the Germans, and the Soviet-German war broke out, and the Soviet union once had no time to take care of Chechnya. As the Soviet-German war turned into a counterattack, Chechnya was once again controlled by the Soviet Union. Stalin, who pursued the policy of cleansing Chechens, in 1944 ordered all Chechens to be deported and exiled to Kazakhstan, a harsh environment in Central Asia, on the pretext of collaborating with the enemy in Chechnya (Germany). The so-called autonomous Republic has also disappeared from the administrative divisions of Russia. There were nearly half a million Chechens before the exile. During the exile, countless Chechens died of hunger, disease and Russian bullets, and Chechens lost 40% of their population. The entire Chechen nation has become the victim of terrorism, racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing in the Soviet Union.

During Khrushchev's reign 1956- 1957, the persecution of Chechens by the Soviet government was loosened, and the state administrative divisions were restored (at the same time, many Russians north of the Terek River were classified into Chechnya to reduce the proportion of Chechens). /kloc-Chechen survivors who were exiled in 0/3 years returned to Chechnya one after another to continue socialist transformation and ". The traditional culture and religious beliefs of Chechen (and Ingushetia) people are also banned. Russian can only be used in school teaching, and Chechen is only used within the family. In this way, after the Stalin Massacre, the culture of Chechens was extinct by the Soviet government until the disintegration of the Soviet Union. More than 30 years of cultural extinction gave birth to Chechens' strong anti-Russian complex, and Chechen nationalism woke up on the ruins of the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

In this context, although the Russian Federation at that time still adhered to the principle of safeguarding Chechen sovereignty, its specific implementation was very weak, even in carrying firewood to put out the fire. In the negotiations with separatist forces, the federal government blindly compromised: recognizing dudayev's presidency; Unfreeze Chechen bank accounts in order to distribute pensions; Chechnya has also obtained the right to issue passports to its citizens; 1in may 1992, Grachev even ordered half (95% in fact) of the weapons of the north Caucasus military region to be handed over to Chechen armed forces, including even the most advanced T-80 tanks.

1On May 25th, 1992, the representative of dudayev and the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Strogov, signed the Treaty between Chechnya and the Russian Federation on Withdrawal and Property Distribution. On this basis, all federal administrative agencies withdrew from Chechnya. In fact, Russia has fully recognized Chechnya's independence except in name. On the other hand, Chechnya gained the nature of an independent country in fact.

However, due to the primitive social system of Chechens, a modern state system has not really been established here, let alone a "modern democratic state". The rule of religious and national extremism makes it look more like Afghanistan under Taliban rule, and ethnic cleansing forces most non-Chechens to flee. On a piece of land smaller than Beijing, it turned out to be a warlord regime with many factions. However, because Chechens do not care about production and advocate force, their criminal activities in the surrounding areas have never stopped: forging bills of exchange, semi-officially making counterfeit money, stealing petroleum products, robbing passing trains, taking hostages and extorting ransom, which are actually the main sources of Chechen funds. In other words, the de facto independence of Chechnya has not made Russia's interests no longer suffer losses. On the other hand, the domestic political situation in Russia gradually stabilized after 1992. At the same time, in order to restore the national economy, the issue of oil export has become extremely important, and Chechnya is both an oil producing area and a channel. At the same time, Chechen separatist forces also threaten the energy strategic layout of the entire Caucasus region. In this context,1February 1994, Russian soldiers marched into Chechnya in three ways.

Grachev, then Minister of National Defense, once confidently said: "Only one airborne battalion is needed to win Grozny in a few days." This confidence proved to be absurd in the end. Years of political turmoil have greatly damaged the combat effectiveness of the Russian army. A series of tactical mistakes from the top to the grassroots level have caused heavy losses to the Russian army. Within 12 months, thousands of officers and men and more than 20,000 civilians were killed in the war.

On the other hand, the Chechen issue has always been shrouded in the shadow of western countries-the United States has always been afraid of Russia in order to consolidate global hegemony, while Western Europe has always been afraid of Russia in history and tradition. Specifically, besides secretly subsidizing Chechen illegal armed forces and putting pressure on the Russian government in diplomatic occasions, the US-led low oil price policy, which began during the Cold War, continues. It was the long-term low oil price that destroyed the balance of international payments of the Soviet Union, aggravated the inflation in its domestic market, and finally led to the disintegration of the alliance. Similarly, the Russian economy, which was tortured to death by "shock therapy", began to collapse under the pressure of low oil prices, and the war in Chechnya was inevitably affected-the hematopoietic function was drying up, and it was obviously unacceptable to let a wound continue to bleed. In the end, although the illegal Chechen armed forces suffered heavy losses and dudayev himself was killed, the Russian army came back after a year of hard struggle.

The second Chechen war, from a macro perspective, still depends on energy factors: first, Russia's security demands around oil production and export have not changed; Second, at the end of last century, in order to crack down on the euro, the United States began to intervene frequently in the Middle East and Central Asia, which led to the turmoil in these areas and the rapid rise of oil prices in various countries. In this context, Russia, with energy as its main export commodity, can regain its vitality. Since the Kosovo war, cracks have gradually emerged between the United States and Europe, and the turmoil in the Middle East has caused Western Europe to raise energy issues with Russia, so the space for Russian diplomatic activities has begun to increase.

1In August, 1999, with Chechen rebels invading neighboring Dagestan, Russia launched the second Chechen war. At the beginning of February 2000, at the cost of 1 173 dead soldiers, the Russian army finally killed about 1 10,000 rebels, regained control of Chechnya, and won an all-round victory in the war.

However, after the end of the war, the remaining Chechen rebels were dismembered and fled to the Caucasus mountainous area with high mountains and dense forests, and still received assistance from foreign forces including Al Qaeda. However, the wounds caused by years of war in Chechnya are difficult to heal in the short term. Because the "infinite cycle" still exists, a series of terrorist attacks in 2004 are rooted in this.

Chechnya is one of the autonomous republics of the Russian Federation, located on the north side of the Caucasus Mountains, with an area of about10.5 million square kilometers and a population of about10 million. Most of them are Muslims who believe in Islam. Although Chechnya is only a tiny place between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, its geographical position is very important and it is the throat of entering and leaving the Caucasus. Its underground is rich in oil resources, and the pipeline that transports oil from Central Asia to Europe must also pass through here. Once blocked, Russia's economic losses will be quite serious. Therefore, for a long time, Russia has always regarded firmly controlling Chechnya as its important national policy. 19th century, after more than 50 years of Caucasus war, Russia conquered Chechnya and incorporated it into Russian territory on 1859. After the October Revolution, the Soviet regime established Chechen Autonomous Prefecture in 1922. 1934, Chechnya merged with its western neighbor Ingushetia Autonomous Prefecture and joined the Soviet Union. 1936 12 changed to Chechen-Ingushetia Autonomous Republic. 1944, Stalin forcibly drove Chechens out of their homes and moved to Siberia on the grounds that Chechens cooperated with German aggressors, which caused great psychological trauma to Chechens. It was not until 1957 that the establishment of the Chechen-Ingushetia Autonomous Republic was resumed.

199 1 After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Chechen separatist forces began to seek independence in the face of political turmoil and the central government's disregard for remote areas. In June this year, dudayev, a retired general who was awarded the title of Soviet hero in the Afghan war, became the president of Chechnya. As soon as he took office, he publicly declared Chechnya's independence and established Chechnya's first regular army, the National Guard, with a maximum of 60,000 people. Seeing that Chechnya has become an independent kingdom that openly opposes the federal government, it has become a threat to the unification of the Russian Federation. 1994,1In February 1994, Russian soldiers marched into Chechnya in three ways to fight against the unruly separatist forces. At first, the Russian army regarded the Chechen rebels as a rabble and simply ignored them. Grachev, the defense minister, boasted: "Only one airborne battalion can capture Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, in a few days." However, the Russian army paid a painful price for this by thousands of officers and men, and more than 20,000 civilians were killed. Finally, we had to call a truce and withdraw our troops.

199 1 year, then Chechen President Jiaohar dudayev declared independence. 1992, Chechnya was divided into two parts, and the Ingushetia region in the west announced its participation in the Russian Federation. 1993, Chechnya outside Ingushetia declared its independence again. Since then, Chechnya has oppressed Russians on a large scale, resulting in a large number of Russians moving out of Chechnya. 1994 65438+February 1 1, Boris Yeltsin launched an attack on Chechnya. However, because there were still a large number of Russians living in Chechnya at that time, the domestic anti-war wave continued; Coupled with the lack of preparation for this attack, the morale of the Russian army is extremely low. However, under the cover of rockets and air force, Russian troops arrived in Grozny on February 29th, 65438 and carried out siege operations.

At the beginning of the battle, Russian troops bombed the facilities in the city with rockets and fighter planes. However, because Chechen armed forces are good at hiding houses, air strikes eventually brought a large number of civilian deaths. 1994 65438+February 3 1, Russian ground troops attacked the city and were stubbornly resisted by the armed forces. Overnight, more than 1000 Russian troops were killed. 1995 65438+ 10/9 After more than a week of fierce street fighting, Russian troops finally captured Grozny. The armed forces retreated to the southern mountains. After the Grozny War, Russian troops continued to invade other towns and villages in southern Chechnya through air strikes. While retreating, Chechen armed forces shifted their strategy to kidnapping and terrorist attacks (during which many extremely inhuman incidents of killing prisoners of war occurred), seeking to arouse public pressure and force Russian troops to retreat. 1August 3, 9961day, Yeltsin and Chechnya signed a ceasefire agreement in the face of domestic pressure and the approaching general election. The first Chechen war officially ended. The first Chechen war brought serious casualties to the Russian army. According to official figures, the death toll of Russian troops was 3,826,17,892 people were injured and 1906 people were missing. In addition, the war also caused more than 654.38 million civilian deaths and a large number of facilities were seriously damaged. For the next three years, although Chechnya was still a member of Russia, it actually enjoyed informal independence. The signing of the ceasefire agreement has won the Chechen people a breathing space. In recent years, Chechnya has not nominally left the Russian Federation, but in fact it has become independent. Maskhadov became president of Chechnya on 1997127 October, but the actual military power was in the hands of basaev, commander-in-chief of Chechen armed forces. Chechen militants pose a greater threat to the territorial integrity of Russia. 1At the beginning of August, 1999, after careful preparation, basaev led thousands of militants to infiltrate the villages in the south of Dagestan, and in August, 10, the so-called "Dagestan State" was established.

1On August 7, 1999, Chechen militants invaded the southern part of Dagestan, and Russian troops set up a joint military group based in the North Caucasus Military Region to suppress the uprising. Russian troops used aviation and artillery to violently attack the rebels, and ground troops used special tactics to attack. During this period, the Russian army won the victory of destroying more than 1000 enemies. By the 25th, all the illegally occupied villages in Chechnya were recovered, and all Chechen militants in Dagestan were basically eliminated. On September 30th, Russian troops marched into Chechnya from east, north and west. 654381October 2, Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs troops occupied Kinov Skaya in Poloz, the first village in Chechnya. General Maniloff, the first deputy chief of staff of the Russian army, announced that the Russian army had entered Chechnya from several directions and advanced in depth; 14, the representative of the joint military group announced that the Russian vanguard troops were 20-25 kilometers away from Grozny; 10 On June 55438+05, General kazantsev, Commander-in-Chief of the Joint Army Group, announced that 16 entered the second stage of the war.

1999 65438+1October 16 to 65438+February 3: The war entered the second stage: advancing on Grozny.

199910 June 16, the Joint Command announced that the 58th Army would control the Nazrani-Grozny highway; On June 5438+07, aviation and artillery attacked militants in several towns and villages; Representatives of the joint military team announced that Russian troops had taken control of 45 settlements; On the 29th, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that the main combat operations in Chechnya will end at the end of June 165438+. 165438+1on October 9, the first deputy commander of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Banikov, announced that the number of internal affairs troops carrying out combat operations in Chechnya reached 25,000; On June 5438+02, Russian troops occupied Gutierrez, the second largest city in Chechnya; 199965438+On February 3rd, Russia announced that its military action against bandits had entered the third stage. In the second stage of the battle, the Russian army liberated 98 settlements in Chechnya 1 19 and two thirds of Chechnya.

1999 65438+February 3-February 2000: The war went to the third stage, surrounded and attacked Grozny 65438+On February 6 and 8, Russian troops captured argon, the third largest city in Chechnya, and Martan in Uruz, respectively, and completely blocked Grozny; On the 9th, the Russian army opened up the direction of southern operations and pursued the enemy who retreated to the mountains. 10, the Russian army issued an ultimatum to Grozny on the defensive; On June 5438+05, the Russian vanguard troops occupied the eastern suburb of Grozny, and Maniloff announced that it planned to end the operation at the end of February 2000. On the 22nd, kazantsev, commander-in-chief of the joint military group, announced that Russian troops would control the mountainous areas in southern Chechnya within two to three weeks. On the night of 25th, Russian troops attacked Grozny in general, and the special rapid response unit, special police and internal affairs forces attacked Grozny from the east, northeast and northwest with the cooperation of Chechen troops under the command of Gantamilov. At the same time, Russian troops continued to fight the rebels in the southern mountainous areas; On June 65438+1 October1day, 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin personally piloted the Su -27 fighter plane to the front of the North Caucasus to reward officers and men. On June 65438+1October 10, Chechen illegal armed forces counterattacked argon and Shari; 18, Russian troops resumed their attack on Grozny. With the cooperation of Chechen local armed forces, the combat troops advanced to the city center, liberating parts of the first, third, fourth and sixth communities. During this period, Major General Malofeyev, the training director of the Russian 58th Army and the deputy commander of the "Northern" Army Group, was killed. On the 20th, Russian troops captured Minut Card Square near the center of Georgia. However, due to insufficient preparation, the Russian army wearing green combat uniforms became an excellent target in the snow, resulting in a large number of soldiers casualties. 2 1, Russian troops recruited special forces to fight in Grozny. On the 22nd, Russian troops took control of five communities and other areas in Grozny. The control area is gradually expanding. On the 26th, Russian troops surrounded the illegal armed forces in the south and west of Chechnya, basically cutting off the way for illegal armed forces to break through the border. 29th; Colonel Nikolai Meda, head of the Russian 325th helicopter regiment, was killed. On February 1-2, four rebel "field commanders", including dudayev's nephew, were killed. Basaev, the leader of illegal armed forces, was struck by lightning, his right foot was blown off and his hands and head were injured. On February 4th, Russian troops planted the national flag in the Chechen government building in the center of Grozny.

On February 6, 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russian troops would withdraw from Chechnya in a planned way after the military operation in Chechnya, but a division would be stationed in Chechnya for a long time. On the 8th, Chechen Vice President Arsanov was martyred; On the 9th, kazantsev announced that Russian troops had entered the final stage of annihilating illegal armed forces in the mountainous areas of Chechnya. 1 1, Russian Defense Minister sergeyev declared that the Russian army blocked the export of the Yagong Gorge to Georgia and controlled the strategic location of the Gorge; Russian troops occupied the southern Chechen city of Itumkale. During this period, the Russian government indicated that it would not negotiate with Chechen leaders. Russia's repression will continue.

However, due to a mistake by the Russian army, a considerable number of Chechen illegal armed forces broke through successfully and hid in the mountains. With the arrival of spring, the bare mountains will become lush, thus providing a good cover for Chechen militants to hide, and the Russian army's attack will become more difficult. Since then, the Russian army and the Russian side have carried out intermittent repression and ambush battles. By mid-June 2000, the war had basically subsided.

In the Second Chechen War, according to Maniloff, First Deputy Chief of Staff of Russian Army, by June 200015,2091Russian Army and internal security forces were killed and 5962 people were injured. At the cost equivalent to one-third of the previous one, we won an all-round war victory. In this war, the Russian army fully learned the lessons of the last war, was well prepared and had flexible tactical command. Instead of using a large number of troops to attack as in the past, it used a large number of capable internal security forces of special forces to deal with illegal Chechen armed forces by hunting. At the same time, drawing lessons from the operational experience of the US military in the Gulf and Kosovo, the Russian army used a large number of high-tech and high-precision weapons to destroy many military and civilian targets in Chechnya and kill a large number of its soldiers, and then let the infantry carry out the next combat operation, effectively reducing the casualties of the troops. At the same time, the Russian army also strengthened the collection of information and intelligence, forcing Chechen armed forces not to use radios, which greatly weakened their combat effectiveness.

20011/On October 22nd, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russian troops would withdraw from Chechnya in an all-round way, and their actions would change from mass annihilation of rebels to anti-Chechen independence movement. The 42nd Division, consisting of10.5 million people, and a brigade consisting of 6,000-7,000 people from the Ministry of Internal Security will be stationed in Chechnya for a long time.

In the Second Chechen War, Putin fully demonstrated his brave and determined image as a tough guy. After President Yeltsin resigned and appointed him as acting president, the first thing he did was to visit the front line on New Year's Day in 2000. On March 20th, he personally flew the Su -27 fighter over the Chechen war zone. He ordered that where there were rebels, they would be destroyed. "If a gangster is found in the toilet, he will be directly stuffed into the toilet and drowned." . Drawing lessons from the defeat of the first Chechen war, the Russian army changed its aggressive and deep-going tactics last time, and adopted the tactics of making progress slowly and step by step, and cooperated with the surprise attack, assault and encirclement of airborne troops and special forces to continuously annihilate and consume the enemy's effective strength. Teams of capable and experienced special operations teams, making full use of the cover of night and dense fog, descended from the sky, emerged from the ground, and infiltrated into the occupied areas of Chechen terrorists in a mysterious way, making great achievements repeatedly. 1999 10 year 10.8, a special unit of the Russian army sneaked into the enemy camp and captured the terrorist leader Hatch Rayev who was wanted for one year.

In terms of operational methods, the Russian army used the experience of the US military in the Kosovo war for reference, made full use of the air superiority and the absolute superiority of high-tech weapons, and dispatched Su -24M bombers, Su -25 attack planes, Mi -24 helicopter gunships and tactical missiles to carry out long-range precision strikes on Chechen rebel bases, radars, television stations, bandit leaders' residences, airports and weapons and ammunition depots. Due to full preparation and proper use of strategy and tactics, the Russian army won a winning streak in Lien Chan, and the rebels suffered heavy casualties, which was difficult to parry. 1On September 26th, 999, Chechen President maskhadov had to pretend that "Chechen people and Russian people don't want another war." Maskhadov called for diplomatic solutions to the problems between Russian cars. Russian leaders ignored it. Putin only said that Russia is willing to talk to Chechnya, but only if the Russian president thinks it is necessary to meet and the meeting is in Russia's interest. June 65438+10/October 65438+Early in August 2000, Russian troops launched a general attack on Grozny. With the cooperation of the police force and Chechen militia, Russian troops attacked the square in the city center from three directions. Chechen rebels rely on minefields, underground fortifications and underground passages between buildings to launch fierce street battles with Russian troops. When attacking the canned food factory, the rebels blocked the windows with bricks, arranged a large number of snipers, fired wildly at the Russian army behind the difficult-to-find shooting holes, jumped up and down the bombed stairs and fought to the death.

After a bloody battle, the Russian army finally laid a cannery and a road bridge, completely cutting off the contact between the rebels on both sides of the river. On February 4, 2000, Russian soldiers planted the Russian tricolor flag in the Presidential Palace in Chechnya. By February 28th, Russian troops had recovered 99% of the land in Chechnya, which basically stabilized the situation in Chechnya. The General Staff Department of the Russian Army announced that from the beginning of the Second Chechen War to the beginning of February, the Russian army killed about 1 173 dead soldiers and soldiers, and achieved an all-round victory in the war. However, the remaining Chechen rebels broke up into pieces and fled into the mountainous areas with high mountains and dense forests, and instead launched guerrilla warfare with the Russian army, constantly creating suicide terrorist attacks in various parts of Russia. Russia still needs to make arduous efforts to completely eradicate Chechen rebels and terrorist forces.

From 265438 to the beginning of the 20th century, this "dynamic stability" in Chechnya will be maintained for some time. The outcome of the first two wars is inextricably linked with the oil issue. Considering the continuous rise of international oil prices, it is possible to further stabilize the situation in Chechnya, but the oil price dividend is not endless. Whether a sustainable development system can be established for the Russian economy before this dividend is exhausted will ultimately determine the trend of the situation in Chechnya. If Chechens and Russia want to get out of the "infinite cycle", they must also rely on the improvement of Russian ethnic policy. In the future, it is necessary to adopt immigration, education, economy and other means to finally integrate Chechens into Russia.