Editing Chechnya (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Chechnya}}

===Origin of Chechnya's population===
{{Main|Vainakh origin hypotheses}}

According to [[Leonti Mroveli]], the 11th-century [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] chronicler, the word "[[Caucasus]]" is derived from the [[Nakh peoples|Nakh]] ancestor [[Caucas|Kavkas]].<ref>The work of Leonti Mroveli: "The history of the Georgian Kings" dealing with the history of Georgia and the Caucasus since ancient times to the 5th century AD, is included in medieval code of Georgian annals "Kartlis Tskhovreba".</ref>
According to George Anchabadze of [[Ilia State University]]:

{{blockquote|The Vainakhs are the ancient natives of the [[Caucasus]]. It is noteworthy, that according to the genealogical table drawn up by Leonti Mroveli, the legendary forefather of the Vainakhs was "Kavkas", hence the name Kavkasians, one of the ethnicons met in the ancient Georgian written sources, signifying the ancestors of the [[Chechens]] and [[Ingush people|Ingush]]. As appears from the above, the Vainakhs, at least by name, are presented as the most "Caucasian" people of all the Caucasians (Caucasus – Kavkas – Kavkasians) in the Georgian historical tradition.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/1887/ |work=Caucasian Knot |title=An Essay on the History of the Vainakh People. On the origin of the Vainakhs |date=14 January 2004 |access-date=25 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410072747/https://eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/1887/ |archive-date=2023-04-10 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.circassianworld.com/pdf/The_Vainakhs_George_Anchabadze.pdf |first=George |last=Anchabadze |title=The Vainakhs (the Chechen and Ingush) |publisher=Caucasian House |location=Tbilisi |orig-year=first edition 2001 |year=2009 |access-date=3 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225132940/https://www.circassianworld.com/pdf/The_Vainakhs_George_Anchabadze.pdf |archive-date=25 February 2012 }}</ref>}}

American linguist [[Johanna Nichols]] "has used language to connect the modern people of the Caucasus region to the ancient farmers of the [[Fertile Crescent]]" and her research suggests that "farmers of the region were proto-Nakh-Daghestanians". Nichols stated: "The [[Northeast Caucasian languages|Nakh–Dagestanian languages]] are the closest thing we have to a direct continuation of the cultural and linguistic community that gave rise to [[Western culture|Western civilisation]]."<ref name="science">{{cite journal |url=https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.288.5469.1158?sid=b73d602d-8965-4c4a-90ba-26a04c20dab7 |title=Peering into the Past, With Words|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|date=19 May 2000|volume=288|issue=5469|pages=1158|last1=Wuethrich|first1=Bernice|doi=10.1126/science.288.5469.1158|s2cid=82205296|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Prehistory===
[[File:Хой б1ов тера.jpg|thumb|Khoi (Chechnya).]]
Traces of human settlement dating back to 40,000 BC were found near [[Lake Kezanoi]]. Cave paintings, artifacts, and other archaeological evidence indicate continuous habitation for some 8,000 years.<ref name="chechhand" /> People living in these settlements used tools, fire, and clothing made of animal skins.<ref name="chechhand">{{Cite book |last=Jaimoukha |first=Amjad M. |title=The Chechens: a handbook |publisher=Routledge |date=1 March 2005 |edition=1st |page=110 |isbn=978-0-415-32328-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PnjAlei9fe0C&q=Deela-Malkh&pg=PA110 |access-date=14 August 2009}}</ref>

The [[Caucasian Epipaleolithic]] and early [[Caucasian Neolithic]] era saw the introduction of [[agriculture]], [[irrigation]], and the domestication of animals in the region.<ref name="science"/> Settlements near Ali-Yurt and [[Magas, Ingushetia|Magas]], discovered in modern times, revealed tools made out of stone: stone axes, polished stones, stone knives, stones with holes drilled in them, clay dishes etc. Settlements made out of clay bricks were discovered in the plains. In the mountains there were settlements made from stone and surrounded by walls; some of them dated back to 8000 BC.<ref name="Kodzoev">{{cite book |author=N. D. Kodzoev |title=History of Ingush nation}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=May 2023}} This period also saw the appearance of the wheel (3000 BC), horseback riding, metal works (copper, gold, silver, iron), dishes, armor, daggers, knives and arrow tips in the region. The artifacts were found near [[Nasare-Cort]], [[Muzhichi]], Ja-E-Bortz (alternatively known as [[Surkha-khi]]), Abbey-Gove (also known as [[Nazran]] or Nasare).<ref name="Kodzoev" />

===Pre-imperial era===
In the 14th and 15th centuries, there was frequent warfare between the Chechens, [[Tamerlane]] and [[Tokhtamysh]], culminating in the [[Battle of the Terek River]] (see [[Tokhtamysh–Timur war]]). The Chechen tribes built fortresses, castles, and defensive walls, protecting the mountains from the invaders (see [[Vainakh tower architecture]]). Part of the lowland tribes were occupied by Mongols. However, during the mid-14th century a strong Chechen Princedom called [[Princedom of Simsim|Simsim]] emerged under [[Khour II]], a Chechen king that led the Chechen politics and wars. He was in charge of an army of Chechens against the rogue warlord [[Mamai]] and defeated him in the Battle of Tatar-tup in 1362. The kingdom of Simsim was almost destroyed during the Timurid invasion of the Caucasus, when Khour II allied himself with the [[Golden Horde]] Khan Tokhtamysh in the Battle of the Terek River. Timur sought to punish the highlanders for their allegiance to Tokhtamysh and as a consequence invaded Simsim in 1395.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tesaev|first=Amin|date=2018|title=Симсим|journal=Рефлексия|volume=2|pages=61–67}}</ref>

The 16th century saw the first Russian involvement in the Caucasus. In 1558, Temryuk of Kabarda sent his emissaries to Moscow requesting help from [[Ivan the Terrible]] against the Vainakh tribes. Ivan the Terrible married Temryuk's daughter [[Maria Temryukovna]]. An alliance was formed to gain the ground in the central Caucasus for the expanding [[Tsardom of Russia]] against Vainakh defenders.

In 1667 Mehk-Da [[Aldaman Gheza]] defended the borders of Chechnya from invasions of [[Kabardinians]] and [[Caucasian Avars|Avars]] during the [[Battle of Khachara]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://proza.ru/2019/12/30/99|title=Предводитель Гази Алдамов, или Алдаман ГIеза (Амин Тесаев) / Проза.ру|website=proza.ru}}</ref> The Chechens converted over the next few centuries to [[Sunni Islam]], as Islam was associated with resistance to Russian encroachment.<ref name="tsaroieva">{{cite book |last=Tsaroïeva |first=Mariel |title=Anciennes croyances des Ingouches et des Tchétchènes: peuples du Caucase du Nord |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1qtAWyeYOEC |year=2005 |publisher=Maisonneuve et Larose |location=Paris |language=fr |isbn=978-2-7068-1792-2}}</ref><ref name="ilyasov">{{cite book |last=Ilyasov |first=Lecha |title=The Diversity of the Chechen Culture: From Historical Roots to the Present |year=2009 |publisher=UNESCO Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |author2=Ziya Bazhayev Charity Foundation |isbn=978-5-904549-02-2 |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001860/186004E.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705125530/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001860/186004e.pdf |archive-date=2010-07-05 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Imperial rule===
{{Main|Russian conquest of Chechnya and Dagestan}}
[[File:Captured Imam Shamil before the commander-in-chief Prince Bariatinsky on 25 August 1859.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Captured [[Imam Shamil]] before the commander-in-chief [[Aleksandr Baryatinsky|Prince Bariatinsky]] on 25 August 1859; painting by [[Theodor Horschelt]].]]

[[Emperor of Russia|Russian Emperor]] [[Peter the Great]] first sought to increase Russia's political influence in the [[Caucasus]] and the [[Caspian Sea]] at the expense of [[Safavid Persia]] when he launched the [[Russo-Persian War (1722–1723)|Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723]]. Russian forces succeeded in taking much of the Caucasian territories from Persia for several years.<ref name="books.google.nl">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IGj4B1rdcu0C&q=russo+persian+war+1722+vainakh&pg=PA53 |title=The Insurgency in Chechnya and the North Caucasus: From Gazavat to Jihad |access-date=25 December 2014|isbn=9780313386343 |last1=Schaefer |first1=Robert W. |year=2010 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref>

As the [[Imperial Russian Army]] took control of the Caspian corridor and moved into Persian-ruled [[Dagestan]], Peter's forces ran into mountain tribes. Peter sent a cavalry force to subdue them, but the Chechens routed them.<ref name="books.google.nl" /> In 1732, after Russia had already ceded back most of the Caucasus to Persia, now led by [[Nader Shah]], following the [[Treaty of Resht]], Russian troops clashed again with Chechens in a village called Chechen-aul along the [[Argun River (Caucasus)|Argun River]].<ref name="books.google.nl" /> The Russians were defeated again and withdrew, but this battle is responsible for the apocryphal story about how the Nokchi came to be known as "Chechens" – the people ostensibly named for the place the battle had taken place. However, the name "Chechen" had already been used as early as 1692.<ref name="books.google.nl" />

Under intermittent Persian rule since 1555, in 1783, the [[Eastern Georgia (country)|eastern Georgians]] of [[Kartl-Kakheti]], led by [[Erekle II]], and the Russians signed the [[Treaty of Georgievsk]]. According to this treaty, Kartl-Kakheti received protection from Russia, and Georgia abjured any dependence on [[Qajar dynasty|Iran]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dUHhTPdJ6yIC&q=agha+mohammad+khan+conquer+georgia&pg=PT273 |title=Iran at War: 1500–1988 |access-date=25 December 2014 |isbn=9781780962214 |last1=Farrokh |first1=Kaveh |date=20 December 2011 |publisher=Osprey Publishing Limited }}{{dead link|date=December 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> To increase its influence in the Caucasus and secure communication with Kartli and other Christian-inhabited regions of [[Transcaucasia]], which it considered useful in its wars against Persia and the [[Ottoman Empire]], the [[Russian Empire]] began conquering the Northern Caucasus mountains. The Russian Empire used [[Christianity]] to justify its conquests. This allowed Islam to spread widely among the Chechens, as it positioned itself as the religion of liberation from the [[Tsardom of Russia]], which viewed Nakh tribes as "bandits".<ref name="ling" /> The rebellion was led by [[Mansur Ushurma]], a Chechen [[sheikh]] belonging to the [[Naqshbandi]] [[Sufism|Sufi order]]—with wavering military support from other North Caucasian tribes. Mansur hoped to establish an [[Islamic state]] based in the [[Transcaucasus]] under [[Sharia|''Sharia'' law]]. He was unable to fully achieve this because, in the course of the war, he was betrayed by the [[Ottoman Turks]], handed over to the Russians, and executed in 1794.<ref>John Frederick Baddeley, ''The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus'', London, Curzon Press, 1999, p. 49.</ref>

After Persia was forced to cede the current territories of [[Dagestan]], most of [[Azerbaijan]], and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] to Russia following the [[Russo-Persian War (1804–1813)|Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813]] and its resultant [[Treaty of Gulistan]], Russia significantly widened its foothold in the Caucasus at Persia's expense.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ey63iJcVvbMC&q=treaty+of+gulistan+azerbaijan+dagestan&pg=PA56 |title=Russian Imperialism: Development and Crisis |access-date=25 December 2014|isbn=9780275964818 |last1=Cohen |first1=Ariel |year=1998 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref> [[Russo-Persian War (1826–1828)|Another successful Caucasus war]] against Persia several years later, starting in 1826 and ending in 1828 with the [[Treaty of Turkmenchay]], and a [[Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)|successful war against the Ottoman Empire in 1828–1829]], enabled Russia to use a much larger portion of its army in subduing the natives of the [[North Caucasus]].

[[File:Наибы.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Chechen artillerymen]]

The resistance of the Nakh tribes never ended and was a fertile ground for a new [[Muslims|Muslim]]-[[Caucasian Avars|Avar]] commander, [[Imam Shamil]], who fought against the Russians from 1834 to 1859 (see [[Murid War]]). In 1859, Shamil was captured by the Russians at aul Gunib. Shamil left [[Baysangur of Benoa]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO--iigYIes | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211124/tO--iigYIes| archive-date=24 November 2021 | url-status=live|title=Человек из камня Байсангур Беноевский |via=YouTube |date=10 December 2010 |access-date=14 March 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref> a Chechen with one arm, one eye, and one leg, in charge of command at Gunib. Baysangur broke through the siege and continued to fight Russia for another two years until he was captured and killed by Russians. The Russian Tsar hoped that by sparing the life of Shamil, the resistance in the North Caucasus would stop, but it did not. Russia began to use a colonization tactic by destroying Nakh settlements and building Cossack defense lines in the lowlands. The Cossacks suffered defeat after defeat and were constantly attacked by mountaineers, who robbed them of food and weaponry.

The Russian Tsarist regime used a different approach at the end of the 1860s. They offered Chechens and Ingush to leave the Caucasus for the Ottoman Empire (see [[Muhajir (Caucasus)]]). It is estimated that about 80% of Chechens and Ingush left the Caucasus during the deportation. It weakened the resistance, which went from open warfare to insurgent warfare. One of the notable Chechen resistance fighters at the end of the 19th century was a Chechen [[abrek]] [[Zelimkhan|Zelimkhan Gushmazukaev]] and his comrade-in-arms Ingush abrek Sulom-Beck Sagopshinski. Together they built up small units which constantly harassed Russian military convoys, government mints, and the postal service, mainly in Ingushetia and Chechnya. Ingush aul Kek was completely burned when the Ingush refused to hand over Zelimkhan. Zelimkhan was killed at the beginning of the twentieth century. The war between Nakh tribes and Russia resurfaced during the times of the [[Russian Revolution]], which saw the Nakh struggle against [[Anton Denikin]] and later against the [[Soviet Union]].

On 21 December 1917, [[Ingushetia]], Chechnya, and [[Dagestan]] declared independence from Russia and formed a single state: the [[Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus|United Mountain Dwellers of the North Caucasus]], which was recognized by major world powers of the time. The capital of the new state was moved to [[Buynaksk|Temir-Khan-Shura]] (today in Dagestan).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://w.ethnia.org/polity.php?ASK_CODE=KC__&ASK_YY=1917&ASK_MM=12&ASK_DD=21&SL=en |title=Independent Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus |work=Countries & Territories since 1900 |access-date=25 May 2023 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230525114537/http://w.ethnia.org/polity.php?ASK_CODE=KC__&ASK_YY=1917&ASK_MM=12&ASK_DD=21&SL=en |archive-date=2023-05-25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://savechechnya.com/eng.news/press_1273.htm |title=Общественное движение чеченский комитет национального спасения |publisher=Savechechnya.com |date=24 June 2008 |access-date=14 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223044426/http://savechechnya.com/eng.news/press_1273.htm |archive-date=23 February 2014 }}</ref> [[Tapa Tchermoeff]], a prominent Chechen statesman, was elected the first prime minister of the state. The second prime minister elected was Vassan-Girey Dzhabagiev, an Ingush statesman, who also was the author of the constitution of the republic in 1917, and in 1920 he was re-elected for the third term. In 1921 the Russians attacked and occupied the country and forcibly absorbed it into the Soviet state. The Caucasian war for independence restarted, and [[Government-in-exile|the government went into exile]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vainah.info/biblioteka/izvestnye-vaynahi/item/730-vassan-girey-dzhabagiev?tmpl=component&print=1 |title=Вассан-Гирей Джабагиев |publisher=Vainah.info |access-date=14 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221174845/http://vainah.info/biblioteka/izvestnye-vaynahi/item/730-vassan-girey-dzhabagiev?tmpl=component&print=1 |archive-date=21 February 2014 }}</ref>

===Soviet rule===
{{Main|Chechnya and Ingushetia in the Soviet Union}}

Under the [[Soviet Union]], Chechnya and Ingushetia were combined to form the [[Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]]. In the 1930s, Chechnya was flooded with many Ukrainians fleeing a [[Holodomor|famine]]. As a result, many of the Ukrainians settled in Chechen-Ingush ASSR permanently and survived the famine.<ref>{{cite news |last=Umarova |first=Amina |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/chechnya-ukraine-holodomor-survivors/25177285.html |title=Chechnya's Forgotten Children of the Holodomor |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=23 November 2013 |access-date=14 March 2014}}</ref> Although over 50,000 Chechens and over 12,000 Ingush were fighting against [[Nazi Germany]] on the front line (including [[Hero of the Soviet Union|Heroes of the USSR]]: [[Abukhadzhi Idrisov]], [[Khanpasha Nuradilov]], [[Movlid Visaitov]]), and although Nazi German troops advanced as far as the Ossetian ASSR city of Ordzhonikidze and the Chechen-Ingush ASSR city of [[Malgobek]] after capturing half of the Caucasus in less than a month, Chechens and Ingush were falsely accused as Nazi supporters and entire nations were [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|deported]] during [[Operation Lentil (Caucasus)|Operation Lentil]] to the [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakh SSR]] (later [[Kazakhstan]]) in 1944 near the end of [[World War II]] where over 60% of Chechen and Ingush populations perished.<ref name="Encarta 2008">Lieven, Dominic. "Russia: Chechnya". ''Microsoft Encarta 2008''. Microsoft.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3509933.stm |title=Remembering Stalin's deportations |work=BBC News |date=23 February 2004 |access-date=19 April 2013}}</ref> American historian [[Norman Naimark]] writes:

{{blockquote|Troops assembled villagers and townspeople, loaded them onto trucks&nbsp;– many deportees remembered that they were Studebakers, fresh from Lend-Lease deliveries over the Iranian border&nbsp;– and delivered them at previously designated railheads.&nbsp;... Those who could not be moved were shot.&nbsp;... [A] few fighters aside, the entire Chechen and Ingush nations, 496,460 people, were deported from their homeland.<ref>''Fires of Hatred: Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe'', Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press, 2001, pp. 96–97.</ref>}}

The deportation was justified by the materials prepared by [[NKVD]] officer [[Bogdan Kobulov]] accusing Chechens and Ingush in a mass conspiracy preparing rebellion and providing assistance to the German forces. Many of the materials were later proven to be fabricated.<ref name="Yakovlev">[[Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev]]. ''Time of darkness''. Moscow, 2003, {{ISBN|5-85646-097-9}}, pp. 205–206.</ref> Even distinguished [[Red Army]] officers who fought bravely against Germans (e.g. the commander of 255th Separate Chechen-Ingush regiment [[Movlid Visaitov]], the first to contact [[United States|American]] forces at Elbe river) were deported.{{sfn|Bugay|1996|p=106}} There is a theory that the real reason why Chechens and Ingush were deported was the desire of Russia to attack Turkey, an anti-communist country, as Chechens and Ingush could impede such plans.<ref name="ling">{{cite web |url=http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~ingush/ingush_people.html |title=The Ingush People |publisher=Linguistics.berkeley.edu |date=28 November 1992 |access-date=14 March 2014}}</ref> In 2004, the [[European Parliament]] recognized the deportation of Chechens and Ingush as an act of [[genocide]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Chechnya: European Parliament recognizes the genocide of the Chechen People in 1944|url=http://www.unpo.org/article/438 |work=Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization|date=2 November 2009 }}</ref>

The territory of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was divided between [[Stavropol Krai]] (where [[Grozny Okrug]] was formed), the [[Dagestan ASSR]], the [[North Ossetian ASSR]], and the [[Georgian SSR]].

The Chechens and Ingush were allowed to return to their land after 1956 during [[de-Stalinisation]] under [[Nikita Khrushchev]]<ref name="Encarta 2008"/> when the Chechen-Ingush ASSR was restored but with both the boundaries and ethnic composition of the territory significantly changed. There were many (predominantly Russian) migrants from other parts of the [[Soviet Union]], who often settled in the abandoned family homes of Chechens and Ingushes. The republic lost its [[Prigorodny District, Republic of North Ossetia–Alania|Prigorodny District]] which transferred to North Ossetian ASSR but gained predominantly Russian [[Naursky District]] and [[Shelkovskoy District]] that is considered the homeland for [[Terek Cossacks]].

The [[Russification]] policies towards Chechens continued after 1956, with [[Russian language]] proficiency required in many aspects of life to provide Chechens better opportunities for advancement in the Soviet system.<ref name="ling"/> On 26 November 1990, the Supreme Council of Chechen-Ingush ASSR adopted the "Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Chechen-Ingush Republic". This declaration was part of the reorganisation of the Soviet Union. This new treaty was to be signed 22 August 1991, which would have transformed 15 republic states into more than 80. The 19–21 August [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt]] led to the abandonment of this reorganisation.<ref>James Hughes. "The Peace Process in Chechnya", in Richard Sakwa (ed.), ''Chechnya: From Past to Future'', p. 271.</ref>

With the impending dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, an independence movement, the [[All-National Congress of the Chechen People|Chechen National Congress]], was formed, led by ex-[[Soviet Air Force]] general and new Chechen President [[Dzhokhar Dudayev]]. It campaigned for the recognition of Chechnya as a separate nation. This movement was opposed by [[Boris Yeltsin]]'s [[Russian Federation]], which argued that Chechnya had not been an independent entity within the Soviet Union—as the Baltic, Central Asian, and other Caucasian states such as Georgia had—but was part of the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] and hence did not have a right under the Soviet constitution to secede. It also argued that other [[republics of Russia]], such as [[Tatarstan]], would consider seceding from the Russian Federation if Chechnya were granted that right. Finally, it argued that Chechnya was a major hub in the oil infrastructure of Russia and hence its secession would hurt the country's economy and energy access.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}}

During the [[Chechen Revolution]], the Soviet Chechen leader [[Doku Zavgayev]] was overthrown and Dzhokhar Dudayev seized power. On 1 November 1991, Dudaev's Chechnya issued a unilateral declaration of independence. In the ensuing decade, the territory was locked in an ongoing struggle between various factions, usually fighting unconventionally.

===Chechen Wars and brief independence===
{{Main|First Chechen War|Chechen Republic of Ichkeria|Second Chechen War}}

The [[First Chechen War]], during which Russian forces attempted to regain control over Chechnya, took place from 1994 to 1996. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority in troops, weaponry, and [[air support]], the Russian forces were unable to establish effective permanent control over the mountainous area due to numerous successful full-scale battles and [[insurgency]] raids. The [[Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis]] in 1995 shocked the Russian public. In April 1996, the first democratically elected president of Chechnya, [[Dzhokhar Dudayev]], was killed by Russian forces using a booby trap bomb and a missile fired from a warplane after he was located by triangulating the position of a [[satellite phone]] he was using.<ref>{{Cite news|title = 'Dual attack' killed president|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/325347.stm|publisher = BBC|date = 21 April 1999|access-date = 1 January 2016}}</ref>

The widespread [[Morale|demoralisation]] of the Russian Army in the area and a successful offensive to retake Grozny by Chechen rebel forces led by [[Aslan Maskhadov]] prompted [[Russian President]] [[Boris Yeltsin]] to declare a ceasefire in 1996, and sign a [[peace treaty]] a year later that saw a withdrawal of Russian troops.<ref>{{Cite web|publisher = Friends & Partners |title=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty archive |volume=1 |issue=28 |at=part I |date=12 May 1997|url = http://www.friends-partners.org/friends/news/omri/1997/05/970512I.html|website = friends-partners.org|access-date = 1 January 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151117033829/http://www.friends-partners.org/friends/news/omri/1997/05/970512I.html|archive-date = 17 November 2015|url-status = dead}}</ref>

After the war, parliamentary and presidential elections took place in January 1997 in Chechnya and brought to power new President Aslan Maskhadov, chief of staff and prime minister in the Chechen coalition government, for a five-year term. Maskhadov sought to maintain Chechen sovereignty while pressing the [[Russian government]] to help rebuild the republic, whose formal economy and infrastructure were virtually destroyed.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.freedomhouse.org/modules/mod_call_dsp_country-fiw.cfm?year=2003&country=2593| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111024203612/http://www.freedomhouse.org/modules/mod_call_dsp_country-fiw.cfm?year=2003&country=2593| url-status = dead| archive-date = 24 October 2011| title = Chechnya [Russia] (2003) |work=Freedom House}}</ref> Russia continued to send money for the rehabilitation of the republic; it also provided pensions and funds for schools and hospitals.<ref>Leon Aron. [http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.15848/pub_detail.asp Chechnya, New Dimensions of the Old Crisis] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312184427/http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.15848/pub_detail.asp |date=12 March 2008 }} . [[American Enterprise Institute|AEI]], 1 February 2003</ref> Nearly half a million people (40% of Chechnya's prewar population) had been internally displaced and lived in [[refugee camps]] or overcrowded villages.<ref name="dissident">[[Alexander Goldfarb (author)|Alex Goldfarb]] and Marina Litvinenko. ''Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB''. New York: Free Press, 2007, pp. 95. {{ISBN|978-1-4165-5165-2}}.</ref> There was an [[economic downturn]]. Two Russian brigades were permanently stationed in Chechnya.<ref name="dissident" />

In light of the devastated economic structure, [[kidnapping]] emerged as the principal source of income countrywide, procuring over US$200&nbsp;million during the three-year independence of the chaotic fledgling state,<ref>Tishkov, Valery. ''Chechnya: Life in a War-Torn Society''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004, p. 114.</ref> although victims were rarely killed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9812/08/chechnya.01/ |title=Four Western hostages beheaded in Chechnya |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021203141902/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9812/08/chechnya.01/ |archive-date=3 December 2002 |publisher=CNN}}</ref> In 1998, 176 people were kidnapped, 90 of whom were released, according to official accounts. President Maskhadov started a major campaign against hostage-takers, and on 25 October 1998, Shadid Bargishev, Chechnya's top anti-kidnapping official, was killed in a remote-controlled [[car bombing]]. Bargishev's colleagues then insisted they would not be intimidated by the attack and would go ahead with their offensive. [[Political violence]] and [[religious extremism]], blamed on [[Salafism]] and [[Wahhabism]], was rife. In 1998, Grozny authorities declared a [[state of emergency]]. Tensions led to open clashes between the Chechen National Guard and [[Islamism|Islamist militants]], such as the July 1998 confrontation in Gudermes.

The [[War of Dagestan]] began on 7 August 1999, during which the [[Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade]] (IIPB) began an unsuccessful incursion into the neighboring Russian republic of [[Dagestan]] in favor of the Shura of Dagestan, which sought independence from Russia.<ref>Harrigan, Steve. [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9908/19/russia.dagestan.02/ "Moscow again plans wider war in Dagestan"]. ''[[CNN]]''. 19 August 1999. Retrieved 23 April 2013.</ref> In September, [[Russian apartment bombings|a series of apartment bombings]] that killed around 300 people in several Russian cities, including [[Moscow]], were blamed on [[Chechen Republic of Ichkeria|Chechen separatists]].<ref name="Encarta 2008" /> Some journalists contested the official explanation, instead blaming the [[Russian secret services]] for blowing up the buildings to initiate a new military campaign against Chechnya.<ref>[http://www.historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a091399kashirskoyebomb "Context of 'September 13, 1999: Second Moscow Apartment Bombing Kills 118; Chechen Rebels Blamed{{'"}}]. ''History Commons''. ({{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215082756/http://historycommons.org/context.jsp?item=a091399kashirskoyebomb |date=15 February 2013 }}). Retrieved 23 April 2013.</ref> In response to the bombings, a prolonged air campaign of retaliatory strikes against the Ichkerian regime and a ground offensive that began in October 1999 marked the beginning of the [[Second Chechen War]]. Much better organized and planned than the First Chechen War, the Russian armed forces took control of most regions. The Russian forces used brutal force, killing 60 Chechen civilians during a [[Novye Aldi massacre|mop-up operation in Aldy, Chechnya]] on 5 February 2000. After the re-capture of [[Grozny]] in February 2000, the Ichkerian regime fell apart.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gay Chechens flee threats, beatings and exorcism |publisher=BBC News |date=5 April 2018 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43658689 |access-date=10 October 2018}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Cadets of the Ichkeria Chechen national guard 1999.jpg|Cadets of the Ichkeria Chechen national guard, 1999.
File:Evstafiev-chechnya-palace-gunman.jpg|A [[Chechens|Chechen]] fighter stands near the government palace building during a short lull in fighting in [[Grozny]], Chechnya.
</gallery>

===Post-war reconstruction and insurgency===
[[File:RU034 09.jpg|thumb|[[Postage stamps and postal history of Russia|Postage stamp]] issued in 2009 by the [[Russian Post]] dedicated to Chechnya]]
[[File:Minutka Square 37.jpg|thumb|Minutka Square, Grozny]]

Chechen separatists continued to fight Russian troops and conduct terror attacks after the occupation of Grozny.<ref>{{cite book|first=Andrew|last=Meier|year=2005|title=Chechnya: To the Heart of a Conflict|location=New York|publisher=W. W. Norton|isbn=0393327329|pages=123-125}}</ref> In October 2002, 40–50 Chechen rebels [[Moscow theater hostage crisis|seized a Moscow theater]] and took about 900 civilians hostage.<ref name="Encarta 2008" /> The crisis ended with 117 hostages and up to 50 rebels dead, mostly due to [[Moscow hostage crisis chemical agent|an unknown aerosol]] pumped into the building by Russian special forces to incapacitate the people inside.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2365383.stm |title=Gas 'killed Moscow hostages' |work=BBC News |date=27 October 2002 |access-date=19 April 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2602945.stm "Moscow court begins siege claims"]. ''[[BBC News]]''. 24 December 2002.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Moscow hostage relatives await news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2364873.stm |access-date=30 May 2011 |publisher=BBC News |date=27 October 2002}}</ref>

In response to these attacks, Russia tightened its grip on Chechnya and expanded its anti-terrorist operations throughout the region. Russia installed a pro-Russian Chechen regime. In 2003, a referendum was held on a constitution that reintegrated Chechnya within Russia but provided limited autonomy. According to the Chechen government, the referendum passed with 95.5% of the votes and almost 80% turnout.<ref>{{cite news |last=Aris |first=Ben |title=Boycott call in Chechen poll ignored |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/1425501/Boycott-call-in-Chechen-poll-ignored.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/1425501/Boycott-call-in-Chechen-poll-ignored.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=22 April 2013 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=24 March 2003 |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ''[[The Economist]]'' was skeptical of the results, arguing that "few outside [[Moscow Kremlin|the Kremlin]] regard the referendum as fair".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Putin's proposition |magazine=The Economist |date=25 March 2003 |url=http://www.economist.com/node/1651376 |access-date=22 April 2013 }}</ref>

In September 2004, separatist rebels [[Beslan school hostage crisis|occupied a school]] in the town of [[Beslan]], [[North Ossetia]], demanding recognition of the independence of Chechnya and a Russian withdrawal. 1,100 people (including 777 children) were taken hostage. The attack lasted three days, resulting in the deaths of over 331 people, including 186 children.<ref name="Encarta 2008" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unicef.org/russia/media_4875.html |title=August 31, 2006: Beslan – Two Years On |access-date=4 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404112922/http://www.unicef.org/russia/media_4875.html |archive-date=4 April 2009 }}</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4207112.stm "Putin meets angry Beslan mothers"]. ''[[BBC News]]''. Retrieved 23 April 2013.</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8227119.stm "The children of Beslan five years on"]. ''[[BBC News]]''. Retrieved 23 April 2013.</ref> After the 2004 school siege, Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] announced sweeping security and political reforms, sealing borders in the Caucasus region and revealing plans to give the central government more power. He also vowed to take tougher action against domestic terrorism, including preemptive strikes against Chechen separatists.<ref name="Encarta 2008" /> In 2005 and 2006, separatist leaders Aslan Maskhadov and [[Shamil Basayev]] were killed.

Since 2007, Chechnya has been governed by [[Ramzan Kadyrov]].<ref>{{cite web |date=21 May 2020 |title=Ramzan Kadyrov: Putin's key Chechen ally |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31794742 |access-date=7 March 2022 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> Kadyrov's rule has been characterized by [[Political corruption|high-level corruption]], a [[Human rights in Chechnya|poor human rights record]], widespread use of [[torture]], and a growing [[cult of personality]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Ramzan Kadyrov: The warrior king of Chechnya|url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/ramzan-kadyrov-the-warrior-king-of-chechnya-430738.html|website = The Independent|date = 4 January 2007|access-date = 1 January 2016|language = en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title = Kadyrov's Power and Cult of Personality Grows|url = http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5241&no_cache=1#.VoXQNVJUXzc|newspaper = Jamestown|access-date = 1 January 2016}}</ref> Allegations of [[anti-gay purges in Chechnya]] were initially reported on 1 April 2017.

In April 2009, Russia ended its [[counter-terrorism]] operations and pulled out the bulk of its army.<ref name="bbc-endwar">{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8001495.stm |title=Russia 'ends Chechnya operation' |date=16 April 2009 |access-date=14 April 2009 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> The [[insurgency in the North Caucasus]] continued even after this date. The [[Caucasus Emirate]] had fully adopted the tenets of a [[Salafi jihadism|Salafi-jihadist group]] through its strict adherence to the Sunni [[Hanbali]] obedience to the literal interpretation of the [[Quran]] and the [[Sunnah]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ict.org.il/Article/132/Salafist-Takfiri%20Jihadism%20the%20Ideology%20of%20the%20Caucasus%20Emirate|title=Salafist-Takfiri Jihadism: the Ideology of the Caucasus Emirate|publisher=International Institute for Counter-Terrorism|access-date=27 August 2019|archive-date=3 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903083632/http://www.ict.org.il/Article/132/Salafist-Takfiri%20Jihadism%20the%20Ideology%20of%20the%20Caucasus%20Emirate|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Chechen government has been outspoken in its support for the 2022 [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], where a Chechen military force, the [[Kadyrovtsy]], which is under Kadyrov's personal command, has played a leading role, notably in the [[Siege of Mariupol]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/chechens-putins-loyal-foot-soldiers |title=The Chechens: Putin's Loyal Foot Soldiers |last=Cranny-Evans |first=Sam |date=4 November 2022 |publisher=Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies |access-date=23 May 2023}}</ref> Meanwhile, a substantial number of Chechen separatists have allied themselves to the Ukrainian cause and are fighting a mutual Russian enemy in the [[Donbas]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Chechen volunteer fighters back up Ukraine's Russian resistance |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/chechen-volunteer-fighters-back-ukraines-russian-resistance/story?id=98528574 |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref>

In March 2025, Chechnya blocked Telegram app due to concerns that it could be used by "enemies".<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 March 2025 |title=Two Russian regions block Telegram app over security fears |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/two-russian-regions-block-telegram-app-over-security-fears-2025-03-08/ |work=Reuters}}</ref>