TIME EUROPE
WEB EXCLUSIVE
CHECHNYA: A TIME TRAIL
Background/the Early Years | 1988 - 1996 | 1997 - present
Towards War With Russia 1988 - 1996
Russia's turbulent era of perestroika prompted a revival of popular political support for the idea of independence for Chechnya, chiefly through the establishment of the Chechen-Ingush Popular Front in 1988. During 1991 the Chechen National Congress under the leadership of Jokhar Dudayev organized demonstrations
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Jokhar Dudayev in February 1996, shortly before his deathAP
| that brought down the Communist leadership in August and wrested control of Chechnya using its own armed forces to seize control of the KGB headquarters, and radio and television stations. Moscow ordered the troops to step down in return for elections, which were held on October 27. Dudayev promptly won the election and claimed independence for Chechnya. (A division of Chechnya from neighbouring Ingushetia, which wanted to remain a Russian republic, was negotiated about this time along borders still to be agreed.) A TIME report in November describes the mounting crisis for Boris Yeltsin.
By the time of John Kohan's report of March 1993 from Grozny, Chechnya and Russia were in a dangerous standoff. Chechnya and Russia were in a dangerous standoff. Dudayev upped the stakes by ignoring the Russian State elections of December 1993 and issuing its own constitution. In November, a coalition of anti-Dudayev forces, backed by Moscow, tried to effect a coup and launched attacks on key targets (TIME, Dec. 12, 1994) but were defeated. In early December, Boris Yeltsin ordered his Ministry of Defense "to disarm illegal armed formations on the territory of the Chechen Republic" and on Dec. 11, Russian troops invaded Chechnya (TIME, Dec. 26, 1994).
After a botched and ferocious assault that devastated Grozny, the capital was finally seized on Jan. 19th. TIME's coverage of the fighting and the aftermath for Russia are graphic and illuminating (TIME, Jan. 16, 1995).
Grave doubts began to be aired about what Russia had got itself into. A letter from a Russian army officer (TIME, Jan. 23, 1995) spoke volumes about the morale of the troops sent to fight the war.
Although driven from Grozny, Chechen resistance continued throughout the republic and in June the rebels raised the stakes again by crossing the border onto Russian soil at Stavropol and taking 227 hostages in a hospital there (TIME, June 25, 1995).
In August, a fragile cease-fire was reached (TIME, Aug. 14, 1995) but Chechen rebels powerfully demonstrated their continued commitment and potency by exploding a large bomb in the center of Grozny (TIME, Dec. 12, 1995).
In March 1996, Chechen leader Jokhar Dudayev gave an interview to TIME (TIME, March 4, 1996) but within a few weeks he was dead, the victim of a strike by Russian missiles which locked onto the signal from his mobile phone (TIME, May 6, 1996).
Keeping Grozny: In March 1996, Russian troops were still on high alert following Chechen attacks
Anatoly Maltsev/AP
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In August, rebels mounted a stunning assault on Russian troops which forced Moscow to put Gen. Alexander Lebed in charge of negotiating a way out of what had become a political and military disaster for Russia (TIME, Aug. 26, 1996). A cease-fire signed on Aug. 31 evolved into a proposed peace settlement which was eventually signed in late November. The war in Chechnya had claimed an estimated 80,000 lives.
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Background/the Early Years | 1988 - 1996 | 1997 - present
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WEB EXCLUSIVES
Chechnya Diary
TIME's Moscow Bureau Chief Paul Quinn-Judge spends five days traveling in and around war-torn Chechnya
Fight or Flight?
TIME's Moscow correspondent Andrew Meier on the efforts of Russian sons and mothers to avoid the war in Chechnya
On the Edge
Ingushetia's President Ruslan Aushev talks to TIME Moscow Bureau Chief Paul Quinn-Judge about the war in Chechnya
No Place to Go
Paul Quinn-Judge travels to Nazran on the Chechnya border and describes the war's effect on a group of refugees
BACK IN TIME
OCTOBER 19, 1942
Men and Mountains
NOVEMBER 25, 1991
Misstep in Chechen-Ingush
MARCH 15, 1993
Breakaway Dancing
DECEMBER 12, 1994
Fire in the Caucasus
DECEMBER 26, 1994
Rebellion in Russia
JANUARY 16, 1995
Death Trap
JANUARY 23, 1995
Looking for the Next Step
Letter from Officer X
JUNE 25, 1995
Assault at High Noon
AUGUST 14, 1995
Halfway to Peace
DECEMBER 4, 1995
Rebels without a Pause
MAY 6, 1996
Cutting off the Head
AUGUST 26, 1996
Fury and Defeat
WEB RESOURCES
Chechnya
From the Encyclopaedia Britannica
Imam Shamil
From the Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Chechen Home Land
Resources about Chechnya and Caucasus wars
Chechen Info File
From ANU (Australia)
Chechen Republic (Russia)
Detailed maps
Chechen Republic Online
Information and images on Chechnya, monitored by the Government of the Chechen Republic
Informational, Cultural and Economic Representation of Chechen Republic Ichkeria in Finland
News from Finland-based pro-Caucasian groups and associations
North Caucasian Bibliography
Links to materials on the Caucasus
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