Renewed Fighting - 2002
Over the summer of 2002 Maskhadov reunited the Chechen rebel factions, and gave government posts to radical commanders who had previously broken with him.
Russia has long accused Georgia of allowing Chechen rebels to use Pankisi Gorge near Chechnya as a staging ground for attacks, and Russian officials have threatened to launch military operations on Georgian territory, if the Georgian government was not able to stop the rebels. Georgia rejects the Russian claims and criticism, and says it is successfully rooting out rebels from the gorge. Officials in Georgia also have sought help from the United States in resolving the issue, suggesting that Georgia, Russia and the United States could hold talks aimed at reducing tensions over the Pankisi Gorge. In August 2002 Georgian President Shevardnadze sent about one-thousand Georgian soldiers into the gorge, but the military operation was announced ahead of time, giving the rebels time to flee. Russia denounced the Georgian action as a public relations move.
In a letter to world leaders (released in mid-September 2002), Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message to world leaders accusing neighboring Georgia of harboring terrorists who have attacked Russia. The Russian leader said Tbilisi is harboring Chechen terrorists in the Pankisi gorge region of Georgia who have launched attacks on Russian soil. President Putin said Georgia must take concrete actions to destroy the terrorists. If not, he said Russia would take adequate measures to counteract the terrorist threat, in strict accordance with international law. The letter was sent to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, members of the UN Security Council and members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. In Tbilisi, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze described Mr. Putin's announcement as hasty.
Gunmen demanding an end to the war in Chechnya took hundreds of people hostage on 23 October 2002 after storming a Moscow theatre. The gunmen rigged explosives throughout the building and threatened to shoot hostages or detonate the explosives if Russian forces raided the building. Basaev was named by the hostage-takers as their "supreme military emir". More than 100 of the hostages died from the effects of the incapacitating fentanyl gas used by Russian troops in the rescue operation. Nearly 48-hours after being freed, most of the hostages remained hospitalized from the effects of the gas, about a quarter of them were placed in intensive care. Russian officials initially did not specify what type of gas they used during the raid on 26 October 2002.
The day after troops stormed the theater, President Vladimir Putin said Russia would not make any deals with terrorists and will not give in to blackmail. If somebody tries to use such means, he said, Russia would answer with measures adequate to the threat. One-day later, Russian forces reportedly launched a vast security crackdown in Chechnya. And Russia's interior minister said "unprecedented measures" were being taken to uncover what he called a terrorist network in the Moscow region. Russian leaders made clear they were in no mood to make concessions to Chechen demands.
The Chechen leadership, under Aslan Maskhadov, has denied any connection to the theater siege, and the hostage-takers themselves disavowed any connection to his organization. But Russian officials say that is not true. Chechen fighters have become even more popular among ordinary Chechens. The large-scale operation in the heart of Moscow demonstrated for many Chechens that their struggle for independence is not only real, but might even succeed.
Chechen rebels view people who work for the pro-Moscow Chechen administration as traitors and often target them. In October 2002, Chechen rebels blew up a police building in Grozny, killing 25 people.
on 27 Decmber 2002 rebels killed at least 55 people and injured more than a hundred others. The suicide bombers drove two vehicles loaded with explosives into the Chechen capital of Grozny and exploded them in front of the Chechen administration. The explosions virtually destroyed the four story building where an estimated 200 people were believed to be working. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. But it appeared to be the work of Chechen rebels who have been fighting Russian troops for control of the region for the past three years.
Chechen separatists stepped up attacks since the Kremlin held a constitutional referendum in March 2003 that confirmed Chechnya as a part of Russia.
On 05 June 2003 a female suicide bomber ambushed a bus carrying Russian Air Force officers and civilians in a region neighboring Chechnya, killing 20 people. It was the third such bombing in less than a month in the region and dealt yet another blow to President Putin's claims that life in the break-away republic is returning to normal.
On 06 June 2003 Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma, approved a partial amnesty for Chechen separatists who disarm and for Russian servicemen accused of committing crimes in Chechnya. President Putin has said the amnesty will help restore peace in the break-away region, but critics are not so sure. the Duma voted 352 to 25 to offer amnesty to Chechen separatists and Russian federal forces, who have faced off in two Russian campaigns in Chechnya since the mid 1990s. The amnesty, which takes effect within days, orders authorities not to punish separatist Chechen rebels who lay down their arms or renounce separatism by September first. It also provides protection to Russian federal forces. According to Chechen civilians and human rights groups many Russian soldiers engaged in abuses.
Two Duma factions, the liberal opposition Yabloko and ultra-nationalists aligned with Vladimir Zhirinovsky, were opposed to the amnesty. Russian news agencies quoted Yabloko's Sergei Mitrokhin as saying the amnesty is nothing more than a presidential public relations stunt, which can not be translated into reality as long as the near daily violence continues in Chechnya. Mr. Zhirinovsky called the amnesty shameful. Western human rights groups have also expressed outrage that the amnesty protects Russian soldiers accused of committing atrocities against civilians. And they expressed concern that it denies pardons to Chechen rebels who tried to kill Russian troops.
Chechnya remains wracked not only by a war between Russian forces and Chechen separatists, but by factional fighting among Chechen clans themselves. Akhmad Kadyrov, the Moscow-backed Chechen leader, represented one of those clans and until other clan leaders come to a personal understanding with him, any amnesty will remain somewhat theoretical. The main factors that could bring peace to Chechnya are the creation of an effective civilian government, the creation of effective law-enforcement organs and the withdrawal of surplus Russian federal forces from the republic. The civilian government of Chechnya is ineffective, federal forces do not answer to civilian authorities and there is a continuation of this state of no peace, no war. As the campaign heated up for planned elections in October 2003 for a new Chechen leader, the amnesty seemed to strengthen Kadyrov's hand and create additional tensions with his rivals.
Kadyrov -- who ran virtually unopposed and with tacit Kremlin backing -- took more than 80 percent of the votes in the 05 October 2003 election. Chechen President Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov was sworn in on 19 October 2003, amid tight security. But doubts remained about Kadyrov's legitimacy and his political record to date. It is unclear how capable the Kremlin-backed leader will be of effectively resolving the many critical problems facing Chechnya. Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov's inauguration as president marked the final step in his transition from rebel mufti to Kremlin-backed president.
Kadyrov was widely suspected of using his private militias to crack down on his opponents within Chechnya, often employing the barbaric methods typically ascribed to Russian troops. Many believed Kadyrov's fighters -- who numbered between 3,000 and 5,000 men -- are responsible for numerous disappearances, torture, and killings of civilians.
On 09 May 2004 -- Chechnya's pro-Russian president, Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov, was killed and Russia's top military commander in the North Caucasus was critically injured by an explosion that ripped through the seats of a crowded Grozny stadium. Kadyrov died from injuries he sustained when an explosive device detonated beneath his VIP seating during a military ceremony to mark the 59th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
On 22 June 2004 -- In the republic of Ingushetia, in Southern Russia's Chechen border, insurgents launched coordinated attcks on a number of security, government, and police buildings in at least three cities including Nazran, Ordzhonikidzevskaya, and Karabulak. These attacks reportedly killed at least 48 individuals and injured more. The fighting erupted just after the former elected president of Chechnya and current rebel field commander, Aslan Maskhadov, stated in a radio interview that his forces would turn from guerrilla tactics to offensive operations directly targeting Russia's federal forces and pro-Moscow Chechen allies in the area.
On 29 August 2004 Chechnya held a presidential election to determine who would succeed the assassinated Akhmed Kadirov. The winner was Alu Alkhanov, a Russian-backed candidate who won with 73.48% of the vote with 85% turnout, easily exceeding the requesite 30%. Rebel groups and election observers were both quick to criticize the results. The US State Department cited serious flaws in the electoral process in Chechnya, perhaps referring to the case of wealthy businessman Malik Saidullayev who was barred from from running. Memorial Human Rights Group also expressed their concerns, while the organizers insisted the process was fair. Chechen rebels refused to accept the result, and claimed that Russia was signing Mr Alkhanov's death warrant. It is worth nothing that 4 of the 5 Chechen leaders have died while in office.
