The ruble's collapse after the August 1998 economic crisis in Russia has made the price of imported goods in Russia very high. The leader of rebel Chechnya made a plea for peace talks amid the ongoing conflict with the Russian military. Meanwhile, a European security mission arrived to assess the humanitarian impact of Russia's military attacks on Chechnya. The group, called the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, was the only negotiator between Russia and Chechnya during their 1994-96 war. The group visited nearby Ingushetia, where 200,000 refugees who fled the Russian attacks in Chechnya, are now living.
Refugees continue to line up at Russian border checkpoints, trying to leave the country.
Russian forces began moving into Chechnya in October in pursuit of terrorists that Russia accuses of several bombings in Moscow over the summer. Russian troops now occupy the area surrounding the Chechnyan capital of Grozny, but they have not made clear whether they intend to seize the city or not. Russia says its forces have seized one third of the breakaway region of Chechnya. In response, Chechnya's president introduced martial law and called for a holy war against the Russians. The declaration of martial law is said to be mainly symbolic.