Chechen -- Russian conflict - wikipedia Chechen -- Russian conflict Chechen -- Russian conflict The Chechen Republic ( red ) within the Russian Federation Date c. 1785 -- present Location North Caucasus Result Incorporation of Chechnya into Russia Chechen independence from 1991 to 1999 Ongoing low - level insurgency Belligerents Chechen nationalist and Islamist rebels : Caucasus Emirate ( 2007 -- 16 ) Wilayah al - Qawqaz ( ISIL ) Russian Federation formerly : Republic of Ichkeria ( 1991 -- 99 ) Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus ( 1990 - present ) Mountain Republic ( 1917 -- 20 ) Caucasian Imamate ( 1828 -- 59 ) Various other groups formerly : Soviet Union ( 1922 -- 91 ) Soviet Russia ( 1917 -- 22 ) White Movement ( 1917 -- 20 ) Russian Empire ( 1785 -- 1917 ) Chechen -- Russian conflict Russian Empire era Sheikh Mansur uprising Caucasian War 1817 - 64 Soviet Union era Insurgency 1920s -- 1930s 1940 -- 44 insurgency in Chechnya Operation Lentil 1951 pogrom 1958 Grozny riots Chechen - Slav clashes ( 1958 -- 65 ) Russian Federation era First Chechen War Second Chechen War Insurgency ( 2009 -- 2017 ) The Chechen -- Russian conflict ( Russian : Чеченский конфликт, Chechenskiy konflikt ) is the centuries - long conflict, often armed, between the Russian ( formerly Soviet ) government and various Chechen nationalist and Islamist forces. Formal hostilities date back to 1785, though elements of the conflict can be traced back considerably further. Even at this official date, the conflict is the longest active war in the world. The Russian Empire initially had little interest in the North Caucasus itself other than as a communication route to its ally Georgia and its enemies, the Persian and Ottoman Empires, but growing tensions triggered by Russian activities in the region resulted in an uprising of Chechens against the Russian presence in 1785, followed by further clashes and the outbreak of the Caucasian War in 1817. Russia only succeeded in suppressing the Chechen rebels in 1864. During the Russian Civil War, Chechens and other Caucasian nations lived in independence for a few years before being Sovietized in 1921. During the Second World War, the Chechens saw the German invasion as an opportunity to revolt against the Soviet regime. In response, they were deported en masse to Central Asia where they were forced to stay until 1957. The most recent conflict between Chechen and the Russian government took place in the 1990s. As the Soviet Union disintegrated, the Chechen separatists declared independence in 1991. By late 1994 the First Chechen War broke out and after two years of fighting the Russian forces withdrew from the region. In 1999, the fighting restarted and concluded the next year with the Russian security forces establishing control over Chechnya. Contents 1 Origins 2 Chechen conflict with the Russian Empire 2.1 Sheikh Mansur uprising and aftermath, 1785 -- 1894 2.2 Caucasian and Crimean Wars, 1817 -- 64 3 Russian Civil War and Soviet period 3.1 World War II 3.2 Ethnic clashes ( 1958 - 65 ) 4 Post-Soviet era 4.1 Chechen Wars 4.2 Ongoing Chechen insurgency 5 Casualties 6 References 6.1 Bibliography Origins Further information : Russian irredentism and Russian colonialism The North Caucasus, a mountainous region that includes Chechnya, spans or lies close to important trade and communication routes between Russia and the Middle East, control of which have been fought over by various powers for millennia. Russia 's entry into the region followed Tsar Ivan the Terrible 's conquest of the Golden Horde 's Khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan in 1556, initiating a long struggle for control of the North Caucasus routes with other contemporary powers including Persia, the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate. Internal divisions prevented Russia from effectively projecting its power into the region until the 18th century ; however, Russian - allied Cossacks began settling the North Caucasus lowlands following Ivan 's conquests, sparking tensions and occasional clashes with Chechens, who at this time were themselves increasingly settling the lowlands due to adverse climatic changes in their traditional mountain strongholds. In 1774, Russia gained control of Ossetia, and with it the strategically important Darial Pass, from the Ottomans. A few years later, in 1783, Russia signed the Treaty of Georgievsk with Georgia, making Georgia -- a Christian enclave surrounded by hostile Muslim states -- a Russian protectorate. To fulfill her obligations under the treaty, Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, began construction of the Georgian Military Road through the Darial Pass, along with a series of military forts to protect the route. These activities, however, antagonized the Chechens, who saw the forts both as an encroachment on the traditional territories of the mountaineers and as a potential threat. Chechen conflict with the Russian Empire Sheikh Mansur uprising and aftermath, 1785 -- 1894 Sheikh Mansur Around this time, Sheikh Mansur, a Chechen imam, began preaching a purified version of Islam and encouraging the various mountain peoples of the North Caucasus to unite under the banner of Islam in order to protect themselves from further foreign encroachments. His activities were seen by the Russians as a threat to their own interests in the region, and in 1785, a force was sent to capture him. Failing to do so, it burned his unoccupied home village instead, but the force was ambushed by Mansur 's followers on its return journey and annihilated, beginning the first Chechen -- Russian war. The war lasted several years, with Mansur employing mostly guerilla tactics and the Russians conducting further punitive raids on Chechen villages, until Mansur 's capture in 1791. Mansur died in captivity in 1794. In 1801, Russia formally annexed Georgia, deepening Russia 's commitment to the region. In subsequent years, a growing number of small - scale raids and ambushes by Chechen fighters on Russian forces moving through the Caucasus prompted the Russians to mount two substantial military expeditions into Chechen territory, both of which were defeated, and Russian leaders began considering more drastic measures. These were postponed however by Napoleon 's 1812 invasion of Russia. Caucasian and Crimean wars, 1817 -- 64 General Yermolov ( left ) and Imam Shamil ( right ) Main article : Caucasian War After Russia 's defeat of French Napoleonic forces in the 1812 war, Tsar Alexander I turned his attentions once more to the North Caucasus, assigning one of his most celebrated generals, Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov, to the pacification of the region. In 1817, Russian forces under Yermolov 's command embarked upon the conquest of the Caucasus. Yermolov 's brutal tactics, which included economic warfare, collective punishment and forcible deportations, were initially successful, but have been described as counterproductive since they effectively ended Russian influence on Chechen society and culture and ensured the Chechens ' enduring enmity. Yermolov was not relieved of command until 1827. A turning point in the conflict was marked in 1828 when the Muridism movement emerged. It was led by Imam Shamil. In 1834 he united the North Caucasus nations under Islam and declared `` holy war '' on Russia. In 1845 Shamil 's forces surrounded and killed thousands of Russian soldiers and several generals in Dargo, forcing them to retreat. During the Crimean War of 1853 -- 6, the Chechens supported the Ottoman Empire against Russia. However, internal tribal conflicts weakened Shamil and he was captured in 1859. The war formally ended in 1862 when Russia promised autonomy for Chechnya and other Caucasian ethnic groups. However, Chechnya and the surrounding region, including northern Dagestan, were incorporated into Russia as the Terek Oblast. Russian Civil War and Soviet period After the Russian Revolution, the mountain people of the North Caucasus came to establish the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus. It existed until 1921, when they were forced to accept Soviet rule. Joseph Stalin personally held negotiations with the Caucasian leaders in 1921 and promised a wide autonomy inside the Soviet state. The Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created that year, but only lasted until 1924 when it was abolished and six republics were created. The Chechen -- Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was established in 1934. Confrontations between the Chechens and the Soviet government arose in the late 1920s during collectivization. It declined by the mid-1930s after local leaders were arrested or killed. World War ii Main articles : 1940 -- 44 insurgency in Chechnya and Operation Lentil ( Caucasus ) Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. According to Soviet sources, Chechens joined the Wehrmacht, although this claim is disputed as little evidence exists. By January 1943, the German retreat started, while the Soviet government began discussing the deportation of Chechen and Ingush people far from the North Caucasus. In February 1944, under the direct command of Lavrentiy Beria, almost half million Chechens and Ingush were removed from their homes and forcibly settled in Central Asia. They were put in forced labor camps in Kazakhstan and Kirgiziya. After Stalin 's death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev came to power and soon denounced his predecessor. In 1957, Chechens were allowed to return to their homes. The Chechen -- Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was reestablished. Ethnic clashes ( 1958 - 65 ) Main articles : Chechen - Slav ethnic clashes ( 1958 -- 65 ) and 1958 Grozny riots In 1957, Chechens were allowed to return to their homes. The Chechen -- Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was reestablished. The violence began in 1958, upon a conflict between a Russian sailor and an Ingush youngster over a girl, in which the Russian was fatally injured. The incident quickly deteriorated into mass ethnic riots, as Slavic mobs attacked Chechens and Ingushes and looted property throughout the region for 4 days. Ethnic clashes continued through 1960s, and in 1965 some 16 clashes were reported, taking tall of 185 severe injuries, 19 of them fatal. By late 1960, the region calmed down and the Chechen - Russian conflict came to its lowest point until the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the eruption of Chechen Wars in 1990. Post-soviet era Chechen wars Main articles : First Chechen War and Second Chechen War A Chechen fighter with a Borz submachine gun, 1995 In 1991, Chechnya declared independence and was named the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. According to some sources, from 1991 to 1994, tens of thousands of people of non-Chechen ethnicity ( mostly Russians, Ukrainians and Armenians ) left the republic amidst reports of violence and discrimination against the non-Chechen population. Other sources do not identify displacement as a significant factor in the events of the period, instead focussing on the deteriorating domestic situation within Chechnya, the aggressive politics of the Chechyen President, Dzhokhar Dudayev, and the domestic political ambitions of Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Russian army forces invaded Grozny in 1994 but, after two years of intense fighting, the Russian troops eventually withdrew from Chechnya under the Khasavyurt Accord. Chechnya preserved its de facto independence until the second war broke out in 1999. In 1999, the Russian government forces again invaded Chechnya, in response to the invasion of Dagestan by Chechen - based Islamic forces. By early 2000 Russia almost completely destroyed the city of Grozny and succeeded in putting Chechnya under direct control of Moscow. According to Norman Naimark, `` serious evidence indicates that Russian government developed plans to deport the Chechens once again in the mid-1990s if they had lost the war. '' Ongoing Chechen insurgency Main article : Insurgency in the North Caucasus Since the end of the Second Chechen War in May 2000, low - level insurgency has continued, particularly in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Dagestan. Russian security forces have succeeded in eliminating some of their leaders, such as Shamil Basayev, who was killed on July 10, 2006. After Basayev 's death, Dokka Umarov took the leadership of the rebel forces in North Caucasus until his death owing to poisoning in 2013. Radical Islamists from Chechnya and other North Caucasian republics have been held responsible for a number of terrorist attacks throughout Russia, most notably the Russian apartment bombings in 1999, the Moscow theater hostage crisis in 2002, the Beslan school hostage crisis in 2004, the 2010 Moscow Metro bombings and the Domodedovo International Airport bombing in 2011. Casualties Further information : Casualties of the Second Chechen War The exact casualties of this conflict are difficult to ascertain due to lack of records and the long time period of the clashes. One source indicates that at least 60,000 Chechens were killed in the First and Second Chechen War in the 1990s and 2000s alone. High estimates of these two wars range of up to 150,000 or 160,000 killed, as put by Taus Djabrailov, the head of Chechnya 's interim parliament. References Notes Jump up ^ Namely, the Little Ice Age. Citations Jump up ^ `` Chronology for Chechens in Russia ''. University of Maryland. Retrieved 12 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Chechnya -- Narrative '' ( PDF ). University of Southern California. Retrieved 12 July 2013. Russian military involvement into the Caucasus started early in the 18th century and in 1785 -- 1791 the first major rebellion in Chechnya against the imperial rule took place. Jump up ^ Schaefer 2010, pp. 49 -- 50. Jump up ^ Schaefer 2010, pp. 51 -- 54. ^ Jump up to : Schaefer 2010, pp. 52 -- 53. Jump up ^ Dunlop 1998, pp. 4 -- 6. Jump up ^ Schaefer 2010, pp. 54 -- 55. Jump up ^ Schaefer 2010, pp. 55 -- 57. Jump up ^ Schaefer 2010, pp. 55 -- 58. Jump up ^ Dunlop 1998, pp. 10 -- 13. Jump up ^ Dunlop 1998, p. 13. Jump up ^ Schaefer 2010, p. 58. Jump up ^ Shultz 2006, p. 115. Jump up ^ Daniel, pp. 13 -- 18. Jump up ^ Schaefer 2010, pp. 58 -- 61. ^ Jump up to : Shultz 2006, p. 116. ^ Jump up to : Shultz 2006, p. 117. Jump up ^ Shultz 2006, p. 118. ^ Jump up to : Shultz 2006, p. 119. Jump up ^ Shultz 2006, pp. 120 -- 121. ^ Jump up to : Shultz 2006, p. 121. ^ Jump up to : Seely, R. Russo - Chechen conflict, 1800 - 2000 : a deadly embrace. Frank Cass Publishers. 2001. Jump up ^ O.P. Orlov ; V.P. Cherkassov. Россия -- Чечня : Цепь ошибок и преступлений ( in Russian ). Memorial. Jump up ^ Kempton 2001, p. 122. Jump up ^ Smith 2005, p. 134. Jump up ^ King 2008, pp. 234 -- 237. Jump up ^ Ware 2005, pp. 79 -- 87. Jump up ^ Kumar 2006, p. 61. Jump up ^ Kumar 2006, p. 65. ^ Jump up to : James 2001, p. 169. Jump up ^ Naimark, Norman M. ( 2002 ). Fires of Hatred : Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth - century Europe. Cambridge, Mass : Harvard Univ. Press. p. 106. ISBN 9780674009943. Jump up ^ Parsons, Robert ( 8 July 2006 ). `` Basayev 's Death Confirmed ''. Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. Retrieved 8 July 2013. Jump up ^ Rogio, Bill ( 25 June 2010 ). `` US designates Caucasus Emirate leader Doku Umarov a global terrorist ''. Long War Journal. Retrieved 10 July 2013. After Basayev 's death in 2006, the Chechen and Caucasus jihadists united under the command of Doku Umarov, one of the last remaining original leaders of the Chechen rebellion and a close associate of al Qaeda. Jump up ^ Williams, Carol J. ( 19 April 2013 ). `` A history of terrorism out of Chechnya ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 July 2013. Jump up ^ Feifer, Gregory ( 9 September 2009 ). `` Ten Years On, Troubling Questions Linger Over Russian Apartment Bombings ''. RFE / RL. Retrieved 13 July 2013. Jump up ^ Krechetnikov, Artem ( 24 October 2012 ). `` Moscow theatre siege : Questions remain unanswered ''. BBC News. Retrieved 13 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Chechen rebel claims Moscow attacks ''. Al Jazeera. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Chechen terrorist claims responsibility for Domodedovo Airport bombing ''. Russia Today. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` Chechen warlord Doku Umarov admits Moscow airport bomb ''. BBC News. 8 February 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2013. Jump up ^ Crawford & Rossiter 2006, p. 99. Jump up ^ `` Russia : Chechen Official Puts War Death Toll At 160,000 ''. Radio Free Europe. August 16, 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2017. Bibliography Dunlop, John B. ( 1998 ). Russia Confronts Chechnya : Roots of a Separatist Conflict. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521636193. Crawford, Marisa ; Rossiter, Graham ( 2006 ). Reasons for Living : Education and Young People 's Search for Meaning, Identity and Spirituality. Aust Council for Ed Research. p. 99. ISBN 9780864316134. James, Patrick ; Goetze, David ( 2001 ). Evolutionary Theory and Ethnic Conflict. Westport, Connecticut : Praeger. ISBN 9780275971434. Kempton, Daniel R. ; Clark, Terry D. ( 2001 ). Unity or Separation : Center - Periphery Relations in the Former Soviet Union. Praeger. ISBN 978 - 0275973063. King, Charles ( 2008 ). The Ghost of Freedon : A History of the Caucasus. Oxford : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 19 - 517775 - 6. Kumar, Rajan ( 2006 ). Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict Resolution : A Case Study of Chechnya. Gurgaon : Hope India. ISBN 9788178711195. Schaefer, Robert W. ( 2010 ). The Insurgency in Chechnya and the North Caucasus : From Gazavat to Jihad. ABC - CLIO. pp. 49 -- 61. ISBN 9780313386343. Shultz, Richard H. ( 2006 ). Insurgents, Terrorists, And Militias : The Warriors of Contemporary Combat. New York : Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231129824. Smith, Sebastian ( 2005 ). Allah 's Mountains : The Battle for Chechnya. Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 978 - 1850439790. Ware, Robert Bruce ( 2005 ). `` A Multitude of Evils : Mythology and Political Failure in Chechnya ''. In Richard Sakwa. Chechnya : From Past to Future. London : Anthem Press. pp. 79 -- 115. ISBN 1 - 84331 - 165 - 8. Daniel, Elton L. `` Golestān Treaty ''. Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 10 October 2013. Chechen -- Russian conflict Key events Conflict Federalists Separatists Mujahideen Wars First Chechen War War of Dagestan Second Chechen War War in Ingushetia First Chechen War ( 1994 -- 96 ) 1994 Grozny battle 1994 Khankala battle 1994 -- 95 Grozny battle 1996 Shatoy ambush 1996 Grozny battle 1996 Khasavyurt accord Second Chechen War ( 1999 -- 2009 ) 1999 Chechnya bombing 1999 -- 2000 Grozny battle 2000 Height 776 battle 2000 Komsomolskoye battle 2000 Zhani ambush 2002 Khankala Mi - 26 crash 2004 Nazran raid 2004 Grozny raid 2005 Nalchik raid Counter-insurgency operations Guerrilla phase Insurgency ( 2009 -- 2017 ) Insurgency in the North Caucasus Major attacks 1995 Budyonnovsk hostage crisis 1996 Black Sea hostage crisis 1996 Kizlyar hostage crisis 1999 Apartment bombings 2002 Moscow hostage crisis 2002 Grozny truck bombing 2004 Aircraft bombings 2004 Beslan school siege Related topics Censorship of Chechnya coverage Crimes and terrorism Mass graves Suicide attacks Assassinations Casualties ( Second Chechen War ) Aircraft losses International response Politics of Chechnya Chechenpress Kavkaz Center In culture Alexandra Angel of Grozny Ant in a Glass Jar Polina Zherebtsova 's Journal The 3 Rooms of Melancholia The Pathologies The Search War Combatants Russian Federation Armed Forces Ground Forces Ministry of Internal Affairs OMON ODON Internal Troops Federal Security Service Main Intelligence Directorate Special Forces ( Spetsnaz ) Republic of Chechnya Militia ( Kadyrovtsy ) Leaders Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin Dmitry Medvedev Vladimir Putin Chechnya † Akhmad Kadyrov Alu Alkhanov Ramzan Kadyrov † Dzhabrail Yamadayev † Ruslan Yamadayev † Sulim Yamadayev Combatants Ichkeria Caucasian Front Leaders † Dzhokhar Dudayev † Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev † Aslan Maskhadov † Abdul - Halim Sadulayev † Ruslan Gelayev † Shamil Basayev † Arbi Barayev † Salman Raduyev Akhmed Zakayev † Turpal - Ali Atgeriyev † Vakha Arsanov Ilyas Akhmadov † Movsar Barayev † Muslim Atayev † Rasul Makasharipov † Ilias Gorchkhanov † Rappani Khalilov Combatants Caucasus Emirate Arab Mujahideen Islamic International Brigade Riyad - us Saliheen ISIL -- Caucasus Province Leaders † Magomed Suleimanov † Aliaskhab Kebekov † Dokka Umarov ( POW ) Aslambek Vadalov ( POW ) Ali Taziev † Anzor Astemirov † Supyan Abdullayev Aslan Byutukayev Movladi Udugov † Khuseyn Gakayev ( POW ) Tarkhan Gaziyev † Said Buryatsky † Magomed Vagabov † Rustam Asildarov † Asker Dzhappuyev † Arthur Getagazhev † Ibn al - Khattab † Abu al - Walid † Abu Hafs al - Urduni † Muhannad † Abdulla Kurd Armed conflicts involving Russia ( incl. Imperial and Soviet times ) Internal Razin 's Rebellion Bulavin Rebellion Pugachev 's Rebellion Decembrist revolt Russian Civil War August Uprising Coup d'état attempt ( 1991 ) 1993 Russian constitutional crisis First Chechen War War of Dagestan Second Chechen War Insurgency in the North Caucasus Pre-17th century Muscovite -- Volga Bulgars war ( 1376 ) Battle on Pyana River ( 1377 ) Battle of the Vozha River ( 1378 ) First Muscovite -- Lithuanian War ( 1492 -- 94 ) Russo - Swedish War ( 1495 -- 97 ) Second Muscovite -- Lithuanian War ( 1500 -- 03 ) Battle of the Siritsa River ( 1501 ) Third Muscovite -- Lithuanian War ( 1507 -- 08 ) Fourth Muscovite -- Lithuanian War ( 1512 -- 22 ) Fifth Muscovite -- Lithuanian War ( 1534 -- 37 ) Russo - Crimean Wars Russo - Kazan Wars Russo - Swedish War ( 1554 -- 57 ) Livonian War Russian Conquest of Siberia ( 1580 - 1747 ) Russo - Swedish War ( 1590 -- 95 ) Polish -- Muscovite War ( 1605 -- 18 ) and the Time of Troubles Ingrian War Smolensk War Russo - Persian War ( 1651 -- 53 ) Sino - Russian border conflicts ( 1652 -- 89 ) Russo - Polish War ( 1654 -- 67 ) Second Northern War Russo - Turkish War ( 1676 -- 81 ) Russo - Turkish War ( 1686 -- 1700 ) 18th -- 19th century Great Northern War Russo - Turkish War ( 1710 -- 11 ) Russo - Persian War ( 1722 -- 23 ) War of the Polish Succession ( 1733 -- 38 ) Austro - Russian -- Turkish War ( 1735 -- 39 ) War of the Austrian Succession ( 1740 -- 48 ) Russo - Swedish War ( 1741 -- 43 ) Seven Years ' War Russo - Turkish War ( 1768 -- 74 ) Bar Confederation Russo - Turkish War ( 1787 -- 92 ) Russo - Swedish War ( 1788 -- 90 ) Russo - Polish War ( 1792 ) Kościuszko Uprising Russo - Persian War ( 1796 ) War of the Second Coalition War of the Third Coalition Russo - Persian War ( 1804 -- 13 ) War of the Fourth Coalition Russo - Turkish War ( 1806 -- 12 ) Anglo - Russian War Finnish War War of the Fifth Coalition French invasion of Russia War of the Sixth Coalition War of the Seventh Coalition Russian conquest of the Caucasus Caucasian War Russo - Circassian War Murid War Russo - Persian War ( 1826 -- 28 ) Russo - Turkish War ( 1828 -- 29 ) November Uprising Russian conquest of Bukhara Hungarian Revolution of 1848 Crimean War January Uprising Russo - Turkish War ( 1877 -- 78 ) Boxer Rebellion Russian invasion of Manchuria 20th century Russo - Japanese War Russian Invasion of Tabriz, 1911 World War I Russian Civil War Ukrainian -- Soviet War Finnish Civil War Heimosodat Soviet westward offensive of 1918 -- 19 Estonian War of Independence Latvian War of Independence Lithuanian -- Soviet War Polish -- Soviet War Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan Red Army invasion of Armenia Red Army invasion of Georgia Red Army intervention in Mongolia Sino - Soviet conflict ( 1929 ) Soviet -- Japanese border conflicts Soviet invasion of Xinjiang Xinjiang War ( 1937 ) World War II Soviet invasion of Poland Winter War Soviet occupation of the Baltic states ( 1940 ) Eastern Front ( World War II ) Anglo - Soviet invasion of Iran Soviet - Japanese War ( 1945 ) Guerrilla war in the Baltic states Ili Rebellion First Indochina War Korean War Hungarian Revolution of 1956 Eritrean War of Independence War of Attrition Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia Sino - Soviet border conflict Vietnam War Ethio - Somali ( Ogaden ) War Soviet -- Afghan War Post-Soviet Nagorno - Karabakh War Transnistria War Georgian Civil War Tajikistani Civil War Russo - Georgian War Intervention in Ukraine Annexation of Crimea War in Donbass Intervention in Syria Military history of Russia Russian Winter Russian Revolution Cold War Sphere of influence Post -- Cold War European conflicts Eastern Europe Transnistria War ( 1992 ) Russian constitutional crisis ( 1993 ) Moldova civil unrest ( 2009 ) Russian military intervention in Ukraine ( 2014 -- present ) Annexation of Crimea War in Donbass Western Europe Basque conflict ( 1959 -- 2011 ) The Troubles ( 1968 -- 1998 ) Dissident Irish Republican Campaign ( 1998 -- present ) France - ISIL conflict ( 2014 -- present ) Yugoslav Wars Ten - Day War ( 1991 ) Croatian War of Independence ( 1991 -- 95 ) Bosnian War ( 1992 -- 95 ) Croat -- Bosniak War ( 1992 -- 94 ) Southeastern Europe ( after Yugoslav Wars ) Albanian Rebellion ( 1997 ) Kosovo War ( 1998 -- 99 ) Albanian -- Yugoslav border incident ( 1999 ) Insurgency in the Preševo Valley ( 1999 -- 2001 ) Insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia ( 2001 ) 2004 unrest in Kosovo Macedonian inter-ethnic violence ( 2012 ) North Caucasus East Prigorodny Conflict ( 1992 ) Chechen -- Russian conflict ( 1785 -- 2017 ) First Chechen War ( 1994 -- 96 ) War of Dagestan ( 1999 ) Second Chechen War ( 1999 -- 2009 ) War in Ingushetia ( 2007 -- 2015 ) Insurgency in the North Caucasus ( 2009 -- 2017 ) South Caucasus South Ossetia War ( 1991 -- 92 ) Georgian Civil War ( 1991 -- 93 ) Abkhaz -- Georgian conflict ( 1989 -- present ) Wars in Abkhazia 1992 -- 93 1998 Pankisi Gorge crisis ( 2002 -- 04 ) Russia -- Georgia War ( 2008 ) Nagorno - Karabakh conflict ( 1988 -- present ) Nagorno - Karabakh War ( 1988 -- 94 ) 2016 clashes Abkhazian Revolution ( 2014 ) Related topics Colour revolutions War on Terror Asian conflicts African conflicts Middle East conflicts Conflicts in the Americas Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chechen -- Russian_conflict&oldid = 803748328 '' Categories : Chechen -- Russian conflict Dirty wars History of Chechnya History of the Caucasus Russian irredentism Terrorism in Russia Wars involving Russia Proxy wars Wars of independence Hidden categories : CS1 uses Russian - language script ( ru ) CS1 Russian - language sources ( ru ) Pages using deprecated image syntax Articles containing Russian - language text All pages needing factual verification Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from August 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Esperanto Português Русский Саха тыла Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 4 October 2017, at 11 : 11. 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Question: where is chechnya and why is it important to russia
Answer: The North Caucasus, a mountainous region that includes Chechnya, spans or lies close to important trade and communication routes between Russia and the Middle East,