Chechnya
The ethnic-nationalist Chechen conflict was made more complicated and deadly with the introduction of Arab mujahideen. Emboldened by the Soviet-Afghan War, mujahideen flocked to Chechnya; bringing with them Wahhabism as well as criminal and terroristic behavior like drug smuggling, kidnapping and suicide bombing. The modern conflict has spanned from 1994 to the present, covering two official wars and numerous terror attacks against military, political and civilian targets. Driven by a desire for independence from Russia, the Chechen people were willing to accept the aid of foreign fighters despite all the problems it would incite down the road.
The conflict in Chechnya began long before the 1990s. During the rule of the Russian tsars, …show more content…
In 1940, many Chechens decided to revolt against Soviet rule, trying to take advantage of the government’s weakness from fighting the Axis powers (Burds, 2007). Lasting for four years, this revolt was ultimately unsuccessful, however, the Soviet reaction to the insurgency would shape the contemporary conflict. In February 1944, the USSR began “Operation Lentil,” the codename for a deportation and forced resettlement program of the Chechen and Ingush people. Over 500,000 people were rounded up with thousands dying during the transportation and the initial years in exile (“Execute everyone,” 2009). Eventually, they would be allowed to return to their native lands in 1957, however, the stage was already set for the First Russian-Chechen War. The First Russian-Chechen War started in 1994, but the events that put the conflict in motion started in 1991. Inspired by the start of the crumble of the Soviet Union in August, many of the Chechen nationalists felt that the newly reformed Russia was at its weakest and most vulnerable, allowing them to seek independence. Not long after the attempted coup d’etat in Moscow, did Chechen militant Shamil Basayev seek to draw international attention to Chechnya through the hijacking of an Aeroflot flight to Turkey (Murphy, …show more content…
41 of the terrorists died along with 130 hostages when Russian forces stormed the building (Burleigh, 2009). On May 12, 2003, a truck loaded with explosives killed 60, including seven children and wounded 200 at a government compound in the Chechen town of Znamenskoye (Murphy, 2004). The next day in Iliskhan-Yurt a female suicide bomber approached Akhmad Kadyrov, head of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration, at a local religious festival. The blast did not kill Kadyrov but it did kill the bomber and 18 others, wounding 43. Basayev publicly claimed to have planned these suicide bomb operations (Mirovalev, 2014). In 2004, Chechen separatists seized a public school in the town of Beslan taking more than 1,000 hostages, mostly children. Almost 200 kids died when Russian forces stormed the school (Mirovalev, 2014). Mostly focusing on political, military and police targets during the conflict, many of the insurgents plans involved collateral damage, the exact opposite of what they needed when fighting a war of
The ethnic-nationalist Chechen conflict was made more complicated and deadly with the introduction of Arab mujahideen. Emboldened by the Soviet-Afghan War, mujahideen flocked to Chechnya; bringing with them Wahhabism as well as criminal and terroristic behavior like drug smuggling, kidnapping and suicide bombing. The modern conflict has spanned from 1994 to the present, covering two official wars and numerous terror attacks against military, political and civilian targets. Driven by a desire for independence from Russia, the Chechen people were willing to accept the aid of foreign fighters despite all the problems it would incite down the road.
The conflict in Chechnya began long before the 1990s. During the rule of the Russian tsars, …show more content…
In 1940, many Chechens decided to revolt against Soviet rule, trying to take advantage of the government’s weakness from fighting the Axis powers (Burds, 2007). Lasting for four years, this revolt was ultimately unsuccessful, however, the Soviet reaction to the insurgency would shape the contemporary conflict. In February 1944, the USSR began “Operation Lentil,” the codename for a deportation and forced resettlement program of the Chechen and Ingush people. Over 500,000 people were rounded up with thousands dying during the transportation and the initial years in exile (“Execute everyone,” 2009). Eventually, they would be allowed to return to their native lands in 1957, however, the stage was already set for the First Russian-Chechen War. The First Russian-Chechen War started in 1994, but the events that put the conflict in motion started in 1991. Inspired by the start of the crumble of the Soviet Union in August, many of the Chechen nationalists felt that the newly reformed Russia was at its weakest and most vulnerable, allowing them to seek independence. Not long after the attempted coup d’etat in Moscow, did Chechen militant Shamil Basayev seek to draw international attention to Chechnya through the hijacking of an Aeroflot flight to Turkey (Murphy, …show more content…
41 of the terrorists died along with 130 hostages when Russian forces stormed the building (Burleigh, 2009). On May 12, 2003, a truck loaded with explosives killed 60, including seven children and wounded 200 at a government compound in the Chechen town of Znamenskoye (Murphy, 2004). The next day in Iliskhan-Yurt a female suicide bomber approached Akhmad Kadyrov, head of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration, at a local religious festival. The blast did not kill Kadyrov but it did kill the bomber and 18 others, wounding 43. Basayev publicly claimed to have planned these suicide bomb operations (Mirovalev, 2014). In 2004, Chechen separatists seized a public school in the town of Beslan taking more than 1,000 hostages, mostly children. Almost 200 kids died when Russian forces stormed the school (Mirovalev, 2014). Mostly focusing on political, military and police targets during the conflict, many of the insurgents plans involved collateral damage, the exact opposite of what they needed when fighting a war of