December 11, 1994

Tactics 'Protection of the Russian-speaking populatio'

In 1994, Russia starts to “protect” the Russian-speaking population in foreign territories. The state claims the genocide of the Russian population in Chechnya and calls the conflict as “measures to maintain constitutional order.”

On December 11, 1994, the first Russian-Chechen war begins. The cause of the conflict is Russia’s desire to annex the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.The newly formed Russian Federation doesn’t recognize the independence of the Chechen Republic. However, according to a law passed in the USSR in 1990 on equal rights between the union and autonomous republics, the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria has the right to secede from the USSR in compliance with all legal norms and the USSR Constitution. This way, the Chechen Republic becomes a legitimate independent state, which is partially recognized (by Afghanistan and Georgia). Therefore, Russia’s aggressive attack on the Chechen Republic can be considered an act of aggression against an independent state and a violation of international law.

The Russian side accuses the Chechen leadership, led by Dzhokhar Dudayev, of escalating the conflict, despite the latter’s constant proposals to hold a negotiation process. The First Chechen War is one of the largest armed conflicts in recent history, and the Battle of Grozny is the largest in Europe since the end of World War II. Knowing that Dudayev’s troops have no air defenses, Russia is actively using its own aircraft and is destroying the city of Grozny, the capital of Ichkeria, and the city of Argun. This is the same tactic that the federation’s troops will use in all their future military interventions.

As a result of hostilities, a large number of Chechen settlements are destroyed, and about 120,000 Chechens die during the war, many of them children. About 200,000 are injured and almost half of Chechnya’s population becomes refugees. This war ends with the “peace treaty” in Khasavyurt in the summer of 1996. But in fact, it is the surrender of Moscow. The Russian army loses about 15,000 soldiers in this war (according to unofficial data – 50,000), 2-3 thousand people remain disabled. The exact losses of the Chechen people have never been counted.