War In Chechnya Essay

Both Yeltsin’s and Dudayev’s sides contributed to the occurrence of war in Chechnya in 1994. Yeltsin felt increasing threatened by the security problem that Chechnya became for its neighbors. Banditry in Chechnya became a virtually legal form of income and a matter of civic pride. Although Dudayev was the leader of Chechnya, he could not prevent the cross-border raids, which left ethnic Russians and Chechens vulnerable to intimidation. Ruslan Khasbulatov’s increasing popularity as a powerful leader of anti-Dudayev opposition also played a role in destroying the opportunity for Yeltsin and Dudayev to reach a peaceful resolution. From Dudayev’s side, Dudayev failed to negotiate a peaceful resolution with Moscow or effectively run a government due to the fact that he did not know how. In addition, Dudayev’s national defense strategy, which allowed all Chechens to buy guns legally, transformed the state to a “free zone” of violent economic crime and terrorism, and inevitably undermined the state capacity. Dudayev lost his control over the armed population and Chechnya eventually became a security threat to Russia. As shortly mentioned above, the conflicts generated from both Yeltsin’s and Dudayev’s leadership, made the war inevitable. There are four competing explanations for the occurrence of the war in Chechnya: Chechens’ …show more content…
To say that Chechnya’s historical grievances and cultural differences triggered the Chechnya war is inappropriate. In 19th century, Chechens fought the Russians not as Chechen but as Muslims and inhabitants of particular mountain villages. Their national identity started to emerge until the first Chechen war exploded. Even in 1995, many Chechens still favored integration with Russia, as a mechanism to improve their life standard and continue development. Chechnya’s national identity started to emerge during the first Chechen