The First Chechen War (The War in Chechnya) was an ethnic conflict between Russia and the North Caucasian region of Chechnya. The war went on from late 1994 to mid-1996. Russia wanted to stop Chechnya from seceding from the country, and that started the fighting. Chechnya is a federal subject located in the North Caucasus region. The North Caucasus region is in the southwest corner of Russia. The First Chechen war is sometimes considered a civil war.

In 1991, Chechen President Dzokhar Dudaev tried to break away from the Soviet Union (USSR).^[1][2] When the USSR fell apart later that year, newly formed Russia signed treaties with almost all of its federal subjects. Chechnya was the only region that did not sign a treaty with Russia because Dudaev did not agree with many of its terms. Chechnya wanted to leave Russia, but Russia did not want Chechnya to leave. The disagreement started the war.

Chechnya wanted to be its own country partly because of cultural differences between itself and the rest of the country.  The Chechen land is closed in by mountains, and its people feel like they are members of a separate country instead of Russia.^[3] Ethnic Chechens are mostly of Islamic faith, while ethnic Russians follow the Russian Orthodox Church. Many people who were not ethnically Chechen left the region during late 1991 due to claims of ethnic discrimination and violence.

Russia's decision to take over Chechnya caused unhappiness among many Russian people and military members. They thought it was a bad idea to attack a country’s own people, and it would end badly. Russian troops entered Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, at the beginning of December 1994. The fighting began with many Russian ground attacks. The Russian army got closer to Grozny with each attack. It did not take long for the Chechen Air Force to get destroyed by the fighting. However, the Russian troops did not work well together and that allowed the Chechen troops to get stronger. Often, the Russians were confused by the Chechen war tactics.

On New Year’s Eve in 1994, Russian troops took over Grozny. The Russians came into the city in a lot of army units. Russian fighters used heavy gunfire in their attacks. The Chechen people were prepared for an attack and caused great damage to the Russian army. Russians kept moving toward the city from different directions in the beginning of January 1995. The Chechen people kept control of most of the city throughout the attack, but they had to call in extra people who offered to fight.^[4] 

On January 7, 1995, Russian fighters started their strike on the Presidential Palace, in the middle of the city.  Chechen soldiers fought back with artillery like mortar shells and rockets. The rockets caused many Russian soldiers to die. Russian fighters kept up the attack on the city center until January 18. On January 18, 1995, the Russians gave up because they were too tired to keep fighting. Chechen fighters and volunteers caused a major problem for Russian morale by maintaining the city center. The Chechens did not allow the Russians to take over the city center. The Russian army continued only small-scale fighting in Grozny until the end of February. At the end of February 1995, Russians left Grozny because they lost the battle.^[4]

The First Chechen war was not a typical war. Along with normal artillery, Chechen fighters used guerrilla warfare a lot. Guerrilla warfare is a different form of fighting where soldiers do things such as set traps, sabotage, and use surprise attacks on enemies. Bombing was another common plan for soldiers. Air raids and the bombs that went with them destroyed entire towns. Chechen fighters knew the land better than the Russian fighters.^[5]

The fighting in Chechnya during this war caused many human rights problems.^[6] People have blamed soldiers on both sides of the conflict for using too much force when it was not needed. The poor planning of many attacks caused too many innocent people to suffer from the violence. Also, poorly aimed air raids by Russian troops destroyed entire towns and the people that lived in the towns. Fighters on both sides often stole people for money. Torture was common. Chechen soldiers killed anyone they thought were on the same side as the Russian government.

Grozny and Moscow signed a peace treaty in 1997. This was after then-President of Russia Boris Yeltsin ordered a ceasefire in 1996. Almost all of the Russian people did not agree with the war happening. Both sides of the conflict signed a document to end the war, called the Khasav-Yurt Accord. The Accord included many details on how to officially stop the violence. Some examples are plans for moving Russian forces out of Chechnya and the stopping of small crimes such as stealing. Overall, the Chechen cause was the winner because the Russian soldiers quit the war first. Chechnya stayed a part of Russia.

Overall, at least 3,500 Russian troops were killed during the war. Some people guess that as many as 7,500 were killed. Researchers guess that between 3,000 and 15,000 Chechen fighters died. Also, ordinary people were affected by the war. Experts think that 50,000 regular people were killed. An extra 200,000 normal people were injured.^[7]

Almost a half-million Chechen people were forced to leave their homes because of the First Chechen War. Many towns and villages were ruined by the bombs and fires.^[3] Even today, many Chechen people never returned to their places of birth because of the destruction caused by the fighting. Chechnya still does not feel like it belongs in the country of Russia because of ethnic differences. The First Chechen War did not help either side achieve a real agreement.