First Chechen War

First Chechen War
Part of the Chechen–Russian conflict and post-Soviet conflicts
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 (1 year, 8 months, 2 weeks and 6 days) Location Chechnya and parts of Ingushetia, Stavropol Krai and Dagestan, Russia Result Chechen victory Khasavyurt Accord Treaty of Moscow Withdrawal of the Russian army Continuation of Chechnya's de facto independence until the second Chechen war
Belligerents
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Foreign volunteers: Foreign Mujahideen[1][2][3][4] UNA-UNSO[5] Grey Wolves[6][7][8][9]	Russia Loyalist opposition
Commanders and leaders
Dzhokhar Dudayev X Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev Aslan Maskhadov Ruslan Gelayev Shamil Basayev Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev Ruslan Alikhadzhiyev Vakha Arsanov Salman Raduyev Lecha Khultygov Turpal-Ali Atgeriyev Akhmed Zakayev Dokka Umarov Khunkar-Pasha Israpilov Ramzan Akhmadov Akhmad Kadyrov Ibn Al-Khattab Oleksandr Muzychko	Boris Yeltsin Pavel Grachev Anatoly Kulikov Vladimir Shamanov[10] Anatoly Shkirko [ru] Anatoly Kvashnin Anatoly Romanov Konstantin Pulikovsky Nikolay-Skrypnik [ru] † Viktor Vorobyov [ru] † Doku Zavgayev Ruslan Labazanov
Strength
1,000 (1994)[11] Approx. 6,000 (late 1994)[12] 200[13]	23,800 (1994)[14] estimated 250,000 (1995)[15]
Casualties and losses
Official estimates: 3,000 (Chechen estimate) 2,500–2,700 (Russian official data)[16] Independent estimates: Approx. 3,000 killed[a] (Nezavimisaya)[17] 2,700 killed (Memorial)[18] 4 [b] [citation needed]	Russian estimate: 5,732 soldiers killed or missing 17,892 wounded[19] Independent estimates: 14,000 killed (CSMR) Over 8,500 killed or missing. Up to 52,000 wounded (Moscow Times)[20]
100,000–130,000 civilians killed (Bonner)[21] 80,000–100,000 civilians killed (Human rights groups estimate)[22][23] 30,000–40,000 civilians killed (RFSSS data)[24] At least 161 civilians killed outside Chechnya[c] 500,000+ civilians displaced[citation needed]

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 Russian Federation from December 11th, 1994 to August 31st, 1996. This conflict was preceded by the battle of Grozny in November 1994, during which Russia covertly sought to overthrow the new Chechen government. Following the intense Battle of Grozny in 1994–1995, which concluded as a pyrrhic victory for the Russian federal forces, their subsequent efforts to establish control over the remaining lowlands and mountainous regions of Chechnya were met with fierce resistance from Chechen guerrillas who often conducted surprise raids.

Despite Russia's considerable military advantages, the recapture of Grozny in 1996 significantly demoralised Russian troops. This development led Boris Yeltsin's government to announce a ceasefire with the Chechens in 1996 and ultimately culminated in the signing of a peace treaty in 1997.

The official Russian estimate of Russian military deaths was 5,732, but according to other estimates, the number of Russian military deaths was as high as 14,000.^[25] According to various estimates, the number of Chechen military deaths was approximately 3,000–10,000,^[17] 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, and cities and villages were reduced to rubble across the republic.^[26]

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