Yeah, you're right about arms race but it started long before Reagan and Gorby. It started right after WWII. USSR with it's planned economy couldn't stand a chance.
After the collapse of USSR there was chaos in most of it's ex-republics. In Checnya a former soviet general, Maskhadov came to power. He and especially people around him, islamic fundamentalists, wanted independence for Chechnya. The prisoners were released from prisons and given weapons. With them, Chechnya formed it's own armed forces later called "outlaw armed formations".
Untill summer 1994 federal government tried to urge Chechnya join the federal pact and disarm it's outlaw armed formations with the help of intermediaries.After the agreement was failed to be reached, the threats came into action. In answer to them on August 10th 1994 the meeting of chechen people in Gronzy supported the decision of the president of self-declared Cheched Republic of Ichkeria, ex-Soviet army general Djokhar Dudaev of declaring general mobilization and the beginning of "Holy War" (yes kids, he meant Jihad) with Russia for independence.
It should be said that not all cheched people supported Dudaev. About half of them wanted to remain a part of Russia. Those outlaw armed formations, as russian authorities named them were doing some kind of genocide against people, not supporting Dudaev, especially the remaining russian population of the republic.
So on December 1st 1994, when situation got really hot president Yeltsin placed a final demand urging him to disarm Chechen armed forces. In case of disagreement the use of power against separatists was promised. At the same time the concentration of federal forces had begun in Mozdok area.
Chechen side refused to go with demands given to it, after what on December 10th federal forces entered the republic. Military aviation bombed heavily Chechen capital, Grozny, leaving the town in ruins. In the end of December the assault of Grozny has started, bringing lots of casualties to both sides. Only by the end of January 1995 federal forces managed to occupy the major part of the town, turned into ruins. By summer of the same year separatist forces were blocked in mountain areas of Chechnya. Federal forces started to show preponderance in process of the actions.Only one final strike was needed to destroy the remains of the rebels.
July 11th, 1995. A group of chechen separatists, led by Shamil Basaev seized almost 3000 hostages in the local hospital in the town of Buddyonnovsk, Stavropol' area, Russia. Federal authorities were compelled
to obey the claims of terrorists and start the talks with Dudayev.
As the later events shown, chechen side needed the talks not to reach peace, but only to regroup it's armed forces and start a new stage of military encounter. In January 1996, in the moment of sharpening of military action, chechens captured hostages again, this time in Dagestan. Soon they were pushed back again into mountain areas and the rebel general was killed. Nevertheless, casualties among federal forces as well as among civillians forced Moscow to resume the talks. But these talks brought no progress either.
In August 1996, on the eve of Yeltsin's inauguration for his second term, armed formations of chechens attacked Grozny and cleared federal forces out of it, who took major casualties. President Yeltsin ordered secretary of defence, general Alexander Lebed' stop the war at any costs. In september the agreements were signed in Hasavyurt about withdrawal of federal forces out of Chechnya, holding free elections in it and a moratorium on solving the Chechen issue for five years.
But in summer 1999 the war resumed with new powers, when chechen armed forces invaded russian republic of Dagestan and tried to declare and independent islamic state there. After that, in numerous cities and towns of the country explosions of apartment blocks took place, in which lives of hundrends of civillians were lost. Russian forces entered Chechnya again and by spring 2000 took control of it's major settlements. but the war didnt's stop and turned into lengthy insurgent conflict.
In further years the situation in the republic started to stabilize. Free elections were held and rebuilding of chechnya has begun. However, the terrorists didn't stop their insurgency. On October 23rd 2002 a theatre/concert hall was captured in Moscow with over 700 hostages. On September 1st 2004 a school in a small town of Beslan was captured, with over 1000 hostages, most of them children. The terrorists held them for three days without food or water. Over 350 people were killed on december the 3rd, when a sudden assault has begun after a bomb going of in a sports hall of the school, were the majority of the hostages was held.
So, this is it. You may draw your own conclusions, or ask me for any other info which I might have missed.
Last edited by Wasder (2006-03-05 00:35:53)
