The roots of the Chechen tragedy lie in the events that took place several years before the start of the First Chechen War - the change of power in the USSR, the collapse of the Union and the struggle for republican independence.
Change of power
The events that led to the First Chechen War can be divided into two stages: 1990-1991. and 1992 - before the outbreak of hostilities on December 11, 1994. The preconditions for the tragic events lie in the promises of M. S. Gorbachev to grant autonomy to all republics. Later B. N. Yeltsin "handed out" sovereignty, repeatedly proposing: "Take as much independence as you can carry." Of course, Gorbachev and Yeltsin could not imagine what the desire for independence would result in - they sought support from the republican authorities.
In 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Chechnya, headed by Doku Zavgaev, adopted a declaration on the sovereignty of the Chechen-Ingush Republic. At the same time, Dzhokhar Dudayev, a military commander, appears on the political arena. A market is emerging in Chechnya, supplying arms to Russian crime. The weapon remained from the Soviet Army after the collapse of the USSR. Some historians still believe that serious people from Moscow were behind Dudayev. This is where his dramatically increased popularity lies.
In 1991, Dudayev overthrew the Supreme Soviet, headed by Zavgev, and then won the presidential elections. Chechen criminals were freed. Dudayev pursued a very nationalistic policy, in connection with this, the exodus of the Russian population from the Chechen Republic is connected.
The Kremlin was worried about these events and began to look for a person who could replace Dudayev. The choice fell on Umar Avturkhanov, the former chairman of the collective farm. Yeltsin planned to overthrow Dudayev by opposition forces and authorized the entry of troops into Chechnya.
The beginning of the war
On October 15, 1994, the first assault on Grozny by opposition forces began. When there were several hundred meters to the Dudayev palace, an order was received from Moscow to retreat.
The next assault attempt took place on October 26 of the same year, but was suppressed by Dudaev's forces. Defense Minister P. Grachev submitted for consideration a proposal to block Chechnya by troops with the subsequent seizure of Grozny. This, according to the Russian government, should have led either to the overthrow of Dudayev, or to his substantial concessions to Moscow.
However, everything turned into a tragedy, the echoes of which shook Russian society for many years to come. By the way, in the government of the Russian Federation, many spoke out against the hostilities. But the army was given two weeks to prepare, and the operation was scheduled to begin at 5 a.m. on December 11, 1994. It was planned that by eight in the morning the capital of Chechnya would have fallen. But things didn't go according to plan.
The start of the operation was postponed to nine in the morning, because the army was not ready by the appointed date. Time was lost, because Russian tankers fell into the hands of Chechen fighters. By the night of December 11, 1994, the First Chechen War began. In the very first days of the war, the civilian population of Grozny perished, taken by surprise. Among the Russian soldiers, the losses were also enormous.
Some political analysts believe that such a rush, in which the war began, was caused by Yeltsin's desire to solve the Chechen problem before the new year. This should have boosted his fast-moving rating.
By August 1996, the First Chechen War was over. And then a wave of terrorist acts swept across Moscow and major cities of Russia.
