1998
	Early 1998	The Dagestani village of Karamakhi renounces Russian rule and proclaims Islamic law.  Karamakhi was considered the heart of Islamic fundamentalism in Dagestan.  Russian and Dagestani authorities ignore the imposition of Muslim Sharia law there. Shamil Basayev emerges as the main political opponent of the Chechen president, who in his opinion was "pushing the republic back to the Russian Federation."
	31 March	Shamil Basayev calls for the termination of talks with Russia.
	May	Government buildings in Makhachkala are stormed by a rival gang.
	19 July	The Chechen President appoints Basayev as the deputy commander of the republic's armed forces.
	July	Shamil Basayev sends a letter of resignation to Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov.
	October	Russia makes another proposal to build a new pipeline from Baku to Novorosissk via Dagestan.  The proposal is rejected by Azerbaijan.  Dagestan also has security concerns.
1999
	March	Russian envoy to Chechnya, MVD General Gennady Shipgun is kidnapped at airport by Chechens.  The MVD deploys many more troops to region in response.
	Late March	An explosion occurs in a public marketplace in Vladikavkaz, 30 miles from the Chechen border, kills 60 people.
	Spring	Moscow plans to take control of Chechnya north of the Terek river and to create a security zone.
	April	Oil pipeline opens from Grozny to Supsa, Georgia.  It closed later that year due to the deteriorating situation.
	7 August	A group of 200-500 men cross into Dagestan and take up positions around three villages. These Muslim insurgents quickly capture several villages in the remote mountains of southern Dagestan.
	10 August	A council of Islamic leaders in the region meet and declare Dagestan's independence. They called for Muslims from Dagestan and Chechnya to fight until all infidels were ousted from Muslim territory.
	25 August	Russian troops regain control of all mountain villages seized by Islamic separatists in the southern Dagestan region.  After two-and-one-half weeks of steady air and artillery strikes, Russian military officials said all Muslim rebels had been cleared from the mountains of Dagestan, along the border with breakaway Chechnya.
	26 August	Russian air strikes target two Chechen villages where Muslim insurgents retreating from Dagestan were being sheltered.
	31 August	Bombing at a military housing complex in Dagestan left 65 people dead, most of them dependents of Russian soldiers battling Muslim insurgents there. Terrorist's bomb explodes in Moscow.
	4 September	The Russian Defense Ministry assumes full control from the Interior Ministry over military operations against Islamic militants in Dagestan. Lieutenant-General Gennady Troshev is appointed as commander of the unified forces.
	5 September	Hundreds of gunmen cross into Dagestan from Chechnya and began fighting for control over four villages in the Novolaksky district.  Fighting continues in the Karamakhi area of Dagestan. Russian troops step up air strikes against Islamic fundamentalists in existing positions in an attempt to retain control over several villages.
	8 September	Russia's Interior Ministry reportes ground combat in and around 11 villages in the Novolak region, about 50 kilometers northwest of the Dagestani capital, Makhachkala. A small well-equipped band of Islamic rebels remained entrenched despite air strikes, artillery shelling and ground attacks by a much larger Russian MVD force.
	10 September	Terrorists bomb a Moscow apartment complex killing 94 people..
	13 September	A third terrorist bombing strikes Moscow apartment complex killing 118.
	16 September	Explosion hits apartment block in southern Russian city of Volgodonsk, near the volatile Caucasus region, killing at 18 people, and injuring 150.  In total, the three Moscow bombings kill 260 civilians.
	Mid-September	Chechen militants were routed from several villages they had seized. Russian forces establish control over villages of Chabanmakhi and Karamakhi.   Basaev claimed that his militants had withdrawn from positions in the western Novolakskoye area.
	1 October	Russian forces enter Chechnya in force.
	5 October	Russian MVD and Army forces seize northern third of Chechnya and advance to Terek river. Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov proclaims martial law..
	15 October	Commander of Russian forces in the Caucasus General Viktor Kazantsev, states that 'Phase One' of operation is complete.
	21 October	A Russian missile strike on Grozny kills 140.  The market was targeted due to Chechen rebels using it as an arms bazaar.
	23 October	Russian forces close last road out of Chechnya.  Tanks also block roads leading to Ingushetia from Grozny.
	8 November	Russia sends reinforcements to the estimated 100,000 troops in the region.
	12 November	Gudermes is taken by Russian reinforcements.
	17 November	Chechen stronghold of Bamut falls to Russian forces.
	19 November	Chechen town of Achkhoi-Martan is taken by Russians without opposition.
	26 November	Deputy Chief of the Army, Valery Manilov states that 'Phase Two' of the Chechen operation was almost complete.  The final phase involved getting the bandits in the mountains.
	29 November	Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev says that Russian forces would need up to three months to complete the campaign.  Others say it could take up to three years.
	December	Turkey and Russia signed an agreement to combat terrorism after Turkey reportedly promised to stop all support of the Chechens.
	1 December	Chechen militants carry out series of attacks in Chechen countryside and try to lure Russian army into the mountains.
	4 December	General Viktor Kazantsev claims that Grozny is fully blockaded by Russian troops.
	5 December	Russian bombers drop leaflets of Grozny.  The leaflets give residents until December 11 to leave the city or be considered to be terrorists. This provokes international outrage in Europe and the Muslim world.
	6 December	First reported use of fuel-air munitions against Chechen rebels by Russian air force.
	9 December	City of Urus-Martan 20 kilometers to the south-west of Grozny is taken by Russian forces.
	10 December	Both Russian and Chechen forces accuse the other of using chemical weapons during the battle for Grozny.
	11 December	Russian forces surround town of Shali.
	13 December	General Gennady Troshev orders town of Shali to surrender of face destruction. Russian troops regain control of a major airport in a Grozny suburb.
	14 December	Heavy fighting inn eastern outskirts of Grozny.  Russians advance through neighborhoods to seize a strategic hill overlooking the city.
		Russian air force attacks targets in Argun Valley gorge and in foothills of mountains..
	14 December	Approximately 2,000 Chechen 'fighters' ambush Russian armored column in Minutka Square district and kill 100 soldiers.
2000
	19 January	Russian troops occupy the Chechen Presidential Palace.
	3 February	Heavy snows hamper Russian offensive, but half of Grozny is under Russian control.
	6 February	Russian flag is raised over Grozny after a massive bombing campaign and four month siege.  Thousands of Chechen fighters pull out.
	February	Deputy Chief of Staff Valeri Manilov declares that number of Russian troops in Chechnya will be reduced now the Grozny is in Russian hands..
	Mid-Feb	Russian aircraft bomb suspected Chechen position in southern mountains.  Ground forces prepare for offensive in southern region.
	29 March	A Russian patrol is ambushed during a routine patrol.  In the fighting that follows the patrol is scattered, and many of the survivors are tortured and killed after surrendering to the Chechens.
	September	Russian forces repel Chechen rebels in Dagestan.
	`6 October	Chechen bombing campaign against civilians continues.  Two bombs explode in train station of Pyatigorsk killing one woman.  In Nevinnomyssk bombs explode in bus stop and market killing one and wounding twenty others.
	9 December	A car bomb explodes outside a mosque in village of Alkhan-Yurt. Earlier in the day 11 Russian soldiers and two civilians were killed in separate attacks.
2001
	10 January	An American humanitarian worker, Kenney Gluck, is kidnapped by Chechen bandits.  He had been working for the French humanitarian agency Doctor's Without Borders.
	11 January	The United Nations and the aid group, Doctors without Borders suspended humanitarian operations in Chechnya.
	21 January	Chechen rebels attack hospital in Grozny killing four soldiers.  A car bomb blast in Gudermes also wounds many soldiers..
	22 January	President Vladimir Putin proposes to withdraw some of the 90,000 MVD and Army troops from Chechnya.  Operations in the region would be turned over to FSB.  A 22,000 soldier garrison would also be left behind.
	4 February	The American aid worker kidnapped by bandits in January is freed by Russian forces after more than three weeks in captivity.
	12 March	Russia captures two leading Chechen rebels - Ruslan Akhamadov and Badrudi Murtazayev. Ruslan Akhamadov was one of those responsible for kidnapping and murdering three British and one New Zealander in 1998.
	13 March	Russia begins their pullout from Chechnya with the departure of the 3,500 men of the 74th Motor Rifle Guards Brigade which had fought in Dagestan the previous September.
	15 March	A Russian passenger plane is hijacked by two Chechen terrorists.  The plane later lands in Medina, Saudi Arabia where the hijackers demand end of war in Chechnya.  Saudi forces later storm jet to rescue passengers. Three civilians perish during the rescue.
	16 March	Fighting continues across Chechnya.  Twenty-one Russian soldiers are killed in various attacks as Russian forces begin to pull out of the region. Rescued Russian hostages are returned home from Saudi Arabia.
	21 March	United States announces plans to speak with both Russian and rebel Chechen officials to resolve Chechen problem.
	27 March	Russian government sharply criticized the United States for holding talks with a Chechen rebel envoy, despite a series of recent car bombings that killed at least 23 people in that republic.
	13 April	The deputy head of the pro-Russian administration in Chechnya, Khasmagomed Deniyev, was killed in a bomb blast at a television studio in the village of Avtury during an interview.
	14 April	Vladimir Putin makes a surprise visit to Chechnya to inspect troops and talk with local officials.
	20 April	The United Nations condemns Russia over its campaign in Chechnya.  They claim that the Russian forces are guilty of mass human rights violations.
	3 May	Chechen bandits attack and kill 3 Russian soldiers in attack.
	4 May	Citing an increase in rebel attacks, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov ends withdrawal of Russian military forces from Chechnya.  By this date 5,000 troops had already been withdrawn, but no more would follow.
	19 June	A series of car bombs explode in Gudermes killing three people and wounding 35.
	28 June	Russia steps up attacks against a major rebel stronghold in the Sharo-Argun gorge.  Helicopter attacks followed by ground force action in the region.
	11 July	Russia admits some human rights abuses in Chechnya General Vladimir Moletnsky, the commander of Russian forces in Chechnya, admits that some troops may have committed criminal acts during cleansing operations in Sernovodsk and Assinovskaya.
	1 August	Two Chechen bandits hijack a bus carrying 41 people.  Within 12 hours the troops of the Moscow based anti-terrorist group 'Alpha' storm the bus killing one gunman and capturing the other.
	29 August	Rebels ambush a Russian military convoy in south-eastern Chechnya killing at least 12 people.  It started with a car bomb followed by intensive gunfire
	3 September	Explosion at the headquarters of the Russian-backed government in Grozny kills one person.
	7 September	Russian president Vladimir Putin states that before talks can begin with Chechen rebels they would have to give up their claims to independence, disarm the rebels, and surrender the most notorious bandits to Russian law enforcement agencies.
	17 September	Chechen rebels launch major attack in Gudermes, Nozhai-Yurt, and Argun.  The rebels also claim to have shot down a helicopter killing several Russian officials.
	26 September	Two days after Vladimir Putin gives strong support to United States' war on terrorism, the United States demands that Chechen rebels cut all ties to Osama bin Laden and other international terrorist groups.
	18 November	Russia drops all its preconditions for talks with Chechen rebels, and opens negotiations for the first time during the two-year-old war.
	15 November	Chechen warlord, Salman Raduyev, is put on trial in the southern Russian town of Makhachkala. Raduyev led an armed raid on the town of Kizlyar nearly six years ago which left more than 70 people dead.
	14 December	Russian forces target the Winter training camps of Chechen rebels with rocket attacks.  They also seal off the towns of Grozny and Argun.
2002
	8 January	Russian soldiers begin to relax blockade of Argun after a five-day operation to hunt suspected rebel leaders.  Twelve Chechen gunmen were killed after they ambushed a convoy of MVD troops.  Two Interior Ministry troops were killed.