Editing First Chechen War (section)

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{{Short description|1994–96 Russian invasion of Chechnya}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
<onlyinclude>{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = First Chechen War
| partof            = the [[Chechen–Russian conflict|Chechen–Russian<br />conflict]], the [[Russo-Caucasian conflict]], the [[Wars in the Caucasus]] and [[post-Soviet conflicts]]
| image             = [[File:Evstafiev-helicopter-shot-down.jpg|300px|border]]
| caption           = A Russian [[Mil Mi-8]] helicopter brought down by Chechen fighters near the Chechen capital of [[Grozny]] in 1994.
| date              = 11 December 1994 – 31 August 1996 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=12|day1=11|year1=1994|month2=08|day2=31|year2=1996}})
| place             = [[Chechnya]] and parts of [[Ingushetia]], [[Stavropol Krai]] and [[Republic of Dagestan|Dagestan]], [[Russia]]
| territory         = Chechen Republic of Ichkeria becomes an independent state
| combatant1        = {{flag|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}}
----
''Foreign volunteers'':
*{{Flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Chechen Mujahideen|Foreign Mujahideen]]<ref name="jamestown.org">{{cite news |url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=30233&no_cache=1#.VN-g-C7SWUk |title=Turkish Volunteers in Chechnya |newspaper=Jamestown |access-date=2015-02-14 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210947/http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews&#91;tt_news&#93;=30233&no_cache=1#.VN-g-C7SWUk |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Chechens_p237>{{cite book |first=Amjad M. |last=Jaimoukha |title=The Chechens: A Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnjAlei9fe0C&pg=PA237 |year=2005 |publisher=[[Psychology Press]] |isbn=978-0-415-32328-4 |page=237 |access-date=2017-12-04 |archive-date=2024-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240906142625/https://books.google.com/books?id=PnjAlei9fe0C&pg=PA237#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Google books |id=ZomsAgAAQBAJ |page=68 |title=Politics of Conflict: A Survey}}</ref><ref>{{Google books |id=FTaMAQAAQBAJ |page=66 |title=Energy and Security in the Caucasus}}</ref>
*{{Flagicon image|Flag of UNA-UNSO.svg}} [[UNA-UNSO]]<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://jamestown.org/program/radical-ukrainian-nationalism-and-the-war-in-chechnya-2/ |title=Radical Ukrainian Nationalism and the War in Chechnya |website=Jamestown |access-date=2019-04-12 |archive-date=2019-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412133436/https://jamestown.org/program/radical-ukrainian-nationalism-and-the-war-in-chechnya-2 /|url-status=live}}</ref>
**UNSO's "Argo" squad
** Viking Brigade
* {{Flagicon image|Grey Wolves Gokturk Flag.svg}} [[Grey Wolves (organization)|Grey Wolves]]<ref name="Cooley">{{cite book|last1=Cooley|first1=John K.|author-link1=John K. Cooley|title=Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism|date=2002|publisher=[[Pluto Press]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-7453-1917-9|page=[http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1pdon/PoliticsUnholyWarsAf/resources/195.htm 195]|edition=3rd|quote=A Turkish Fascist youth group, the "Grey Wolves," was recruited to fight with the Chechens.}}</ref><ref name="Goltz">{{cite book|last=Goltz|first=Thomas|author-link=Thomas Goltz|title=Chechnya Diary: A War Correspondent's Story of Surviving the War in Chechnya|date=2003|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|location=New York|isbn=978-0-312-26874-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/chechnyadiarywar00thom/page/22 22]|quote=I called a well-informed diplomat pal and arranged to meet him at a bar favored by the pan-Turkic crowd known as the Gray Wolves, who were said to be actively supporting the Chechens with men and arms. <br />...the Azerbaijani Gray Wolf leader, Iskander, Hamidov...|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/chechnyadiarywar00thom/page/22}}</ref><ref name="Isingor">{{cite news |last=Isingor |first=Ali |title=Istanbul: Gateway to a holy war |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/09/06/chechnya.istanbul/ |work=[[CNN]] |date=6 September 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017193747/http://edition.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/09/06/chechnya.istanbul/ |archive-date=17 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="Egypt Today">{{cite magazine |title=Grey Wolves in Syria |url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/4984/Grey-Wolves-Turkey%E2%80%99s-armed-proxy-in-Syria/ |magazine=[[Egypt Today]] |date=11 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721053838/https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/4984/Grey-Wolves-Turkey%E2%80%99s-armed-proxy-in-Syria/ |archive-date=21 July 2023 |access-date=21 July 2023 |url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref>
| combatant2        = {{flag|Russia|name=Russian Government}} 
* {{flagicon image|Flag of the Chechen Republic (before 2004).svg}} Loyalist opposition
| commander1        = {{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Dzhokhar Dudayev]]{{Assassinated}}<br />{{nowrap|{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev]]}}<br />{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Aslan Maskhadov]]<br />{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Ruslan Gelayev]]<br /> {{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Shamil Basayev]]<br />{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev]]<br />{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Ruslan Alikhadzhiyev]]<br />{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Vakha Arsanov]]<br />{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Salman Raduyev]]<br />{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Lecha Khultygov]]<br /> {{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Turpal-Ali Atgeriyev]]<br />{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Akhmed Zakayev]]<br />{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Dokka Umarov]]<br />{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Khunkar-Pasha Israpilov]]<br /> {{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Ramzan Akhmadov]] <br /> {{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} [[Akhmad Kadyrov]] <br /> {{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Ibn Al-Khattab]]<br /> {{flagicon image|UNSO-flag.svg}} [[Oleksandr Muzychko]]
| commander2        = {{flagicon|RUS}} [[Boris Yeltsin]]<br />{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Pavel Grachev]]<br />{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Anatoly Kulikov]] <br />{{nowrap|{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Vladimir Shamanov]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Russia's War in Chechnya 1994–2009|first=Mark|last=Galeotti|publisher=Osprey Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-78200-279-6}}</ref>}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Russia.svg|22px}} {{ill|Anatoly Shkirko|ru|Шкирко, Анатолий Афанасьевич}}<br />{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Anatoly Kvashnin]] <br />{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Anatoly Romanov]]<br />{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Konstantin Pulikovsky]] <br />{{flagicon|RUS}} {{interlanguage link|Nikolay-Skrypnik|ru|Скрыпник, Николай Васильевич}}{{KIA}}<br />{{flagicon|RUS}} {{interlanguage link|Viktor Vorobyov|ru|Воробьёв, Виктор Васильевич (генерал)}}{{KIA}}<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Chechen Republic (before 2004).svg}} [[Doku Zavgayev]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of the Chechen Republic (before 2004).svg}} [[Ruslan Labazanov]]
| strength1         = {{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} 1,000 (1994)<ref>{{cite web |title=Breaking the Conflict Trap: Civil War and Development Policy |url=https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/13938/567930PUB0brea10Box353739B01PUBLIC1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |website=World Bank Document |access-date=29 September 2022 |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423225126/https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/13938/567930PUB0brea10Box353739B01PUBLIC1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=live }}</ref> <br /> {{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} Approx. 6,000 (late 1994)<ref name="lutz97">{{cite web|author-last1=Lutz |author-first1=Raymond R. |title=Russian Strategy In Chechnya: a Case Study in Failure |url=http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA399031 |access-date=9 December 2017 |date=April 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027183615/http://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA399031 |archive-date=27 October 2016}}</ref><br/>{{flagicon|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria}} {{Flagicon image|UNSO-flag.svg}} 200<ref>{{cite news |url= https://jamestown.org/program/radical-ukrainian-nationalism-and-the-war-in-chechnya-2/ |title= Radical Ukrainian Nationalism and the War in Chechnya |newspaper= Jamestown |publisher= The Jamestown Foundation |access-date= 2019-04-12 |archive-date= 2019-04-12 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190412133436/https://jamestown.org/program/radical-ukrainian-nationalism-and-the-war-in-chechnya-2/ |url-status= live }}</ref>
| strength2         = {{flagicon|Russia}} 23,800 (1994)<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Кривошеев |editor1-first=Г. Ф. |title=Россия и СССР в войнах XX века. Потери вооруженных сил |date=2001 |publisher=Олма-Пресс |isbn=5-224-01515-4 |page=581|language=ru}}</ref> <br /> {{flagicon|Russia}} 70,509 (1995)<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Кривошеев |editor1-first=Г. Ф. |title=Россия и СССР в войнах XX века. Потери вооруженных сил |date=2001 |publisher=Олма-Пресс |isbn=5-224-01515-4 |page=582|language=ru}}</ref>
| units1            = Various militia forces
| units2            = [[Russian Armed Forces]]
| casualties1       = '''Official estimates:''' 2,500–2,800 killed and missing<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Кривошеев |editor1-first=Г. Ф. |title=Россия и СССР в войнах XX века. Потери вооруженных сил |date=2001 |publisher=Олма-Пресс |isbn=5-224-01515-4 |page=584|language=ru}}</ref><br /> '''Independent estimates:''' Approx. 3,000+ killed{{efn|Author says the figure could reach as high as 10,000.}} (''[[Nezavisimaya Gazeta]]'')<ref name="nvo.ng.ru">{{cite web |url=https://nvo.ng.ru/realty/2019-12-13/1_1074_chechnya.html |title=Война, проигранная по собственному желанию |access-date=2023-11-15 |archive-date=2023-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213183936/https://nvo.ng.ru/realty/2019-12-13/1_1074_chechnya.html |url-status=live}}</ref> <br /> 3,000 killed ([[Memorial (society)|Memorial]])<ref>{{cite web |url=http://myshelepiha.ru/first-chechen-war-20-years-ago | title=Первая чеченская война – 20 лет назад |date=11 December 2014 |access-date=20 May 2022 |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606222649/http://myshelepiha.ru/first-chechen-war-20-years-ago |url-status=dead}}</ref> <br />{{Flagicon image|UNSO-flag.svg}} 4{{efn|According to [[Movladi Udugov]], the press secretary of [[Dzhokhar Dudayev]] in an interview in January 1995}} {{cn|date=January 2024}}
| casualties2       = '''Russian official estimate:'''<br /> 5,552 soldiers killed or missing <br /> 16,098–18,000 wounded<ref name="The War in Chechnya">{{cite web|title=The War in Chechnya |website=MN-Files |publisher=Mosnews.com |date=2007-02-07 |url=http://mosnews.com/mn-files/chechnya.shtml |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302042452/http://mosnews.com/mn-files/chechnya.shtml |archive-date=March 2, 2008 }}</ref><br />'''Independent estimates:'''<br />14,000 killed ([[Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia|CSMR]]) <br /> 9,000+ killed or missing<br>up to 52,000 wounded (''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'')<ref name="Saradzhyan">{{cite news |last=Saradzhyan |first=Simon |title=Army Learned Few Lessons From Chechnya |newspaper=[[Moscow Times]] |date=2005-03-09 |url=http://www.worldpress.org/Europe/2043.cfm |access-date=2006-09-07 |archive-date=2020-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427071343/https://www.worldpress.org/Europe/2043.cfm |url-status=live}}</ref><br/>4,379 killed<br>703 missing<br>705 deserted<br>(''[[Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre|Memorial]]'')<ref name=Memorial23>{{cite book |last1=Trusevich |first1=Olga |last2=Cherkasov |first2=Alexander |date=1997 |publisher=Zvenya |others=[[Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre]] |lang=ru |script-title=ru:Неизвестный солдат Кавказской войны 1994-1996: Потери российских войск |trans-title=The Unknown Soldier of the 1994-1996 Caucasian War: Losses of Russian troops |place=[[Moscow]] |isbn=5-7870-0003-X }} pp. 146, 166 </ref><br/>5,391 killed and missing<br>(Milyukov & Norin){{sfn|Norin|2025|p=309}}
| casualties3       = 100,000–130,000 civilians killed (Bonner)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Andrei |first1=Sakharov |title=The Second Chechen War |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/russian-federation/second-chechen-war |website=Reliefweb |date=4 November 1999 |access-date=31 July 2023 |archive-date=6 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240906142630/https://reliefweb.int/report/russian-federation/second-chechen-war |url-status=live}}</ref> <br/>80,000–100,000 civilians killed (human rights groups estimate)<ref name="civdeath">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/04/world/chechnya-toll-is-far-higher-80000-dead-lebed-asserts.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021228053504/http://www.hrvc.net/htmls/references.htm |archive-date=2002-12-28 |title=Human Rights Violations in Chechnya |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=4 September 1996 |access-date=2013-11-23 |last1=Gordon |first1=Michael R.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Felgenhauer |first1=Pavel |title=The Russian Army in Chechnya |url=http://www.crimesofwar.org/chechnya-mag/chech-felgenhauer.html |website=Crimes of War |access-date=7 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209094809/http://www.crimesofwar.org/ochechnya-mag/chech-felgenhauer.html |archive-date=9 February 2011}}</ref> <br/> 30,000–40,000+ civilians killed ([[Russian Federal State Statistics Service|RFSSS]] data)<ref name=chechenlosses>{{cite web |last1=Cherkasov |first1=Alexander |title=Book of Numbers, Book of Losses, Book of the Final Judgment |url=http://www.polit.ru/article/2004/02/19/kniga_chisel/ |website=Polit.ru |access-date=2 January 2016 |archive-date=2 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102230322/http://www.polit.ru/article/2004/02/19/kniga_chisel/ |url-status=live}}</ref> <br /> At least 161 civilians killed outside Chechnya{{efn|120 in [[Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis|Budyonnovsk]], and 41 in [[Kizlyar raid|Pervomayskoe hostage crisis]]}}<br />500,000+ civilians displaced{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox First Chechen War}}
{{Campaignbox Post-Soviet Conflicts}}
{{Campaignbox Russia terrorism}}
{{Campaignbox Chechen–Russian conflict}}
}}

The '''First Chechen War''', also referred to as the '''First Russo-Chechen War''', was a struggle for independence waged by the [[Chechen Republic of Ichkeria]] against the invading [[Russia|Russian Federation]] from 1994 to 1996. After a mutually agreed on treaty and terms, the Russians withdrew until they invaded again three years later, in the [[Second Chechen War]] of 1999–2000.

During the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in late 1991, Chechnya came under the control of a secessionist regime led by [[Dzhokhar Dudayev]]. Russian president [[Boris Yeltsin]] supported anti-Dudayev militias until 1994, when he launched a military operation to "establish constitutional order in Chechnya". Thousands of Chechen civilians were killed in aerial bombings and urban warfare before [[Battle of Grozny (1994–1995)|Grozny was captured]] in March 1995, but a Russian victory was denied as efforts to establish control over the remaining lowlands and mountainous regions of Chechnya were met with fierce resistance and frequent surprise raids by Chechen guerrillas. Despite the killing of Dudayev in a Russian airstrike in April 1996, [[Battle of Grozny (August 1996)|the recapture of Grozny by separatists in August]] brought about the [[Khasavyurt Accord]] ceasefire and [[Russia–Chechnya Peace Treaty]] in 1997.

The official Russian estimate of Russian military deaths was 6,000, but according to other estimates, the number of Russian military deaths was as high as 14,000.<ref name="jamestown" /> According to various estimates, the number of Chechen military deaths was approximately 3,000–10,000,<ref name="nvo.ng.ru"/> the number of Chechen [[civilian]] deaths was between 30,000 and 100,000. Over 200,000 Chechen civilians may have been injured, more than 500,000 people were [[Displaced person|displaced]], and cities and villages were reduced to rubble across the republic.<ref name="The New York Times 2019">{{cite news |title=The War That Continues to Shape Russia, 25 Years Later |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2019-12-10 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/world/europe/photos-chechen-war-russia.html |access-date=2020-09-08 |archive-date=2019-12-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210151011/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/world/europe/photos-chechen-war-russia.html |url-status=live}}</ref>