The Russian Federation and the Chechnya Wars (1992-2002)

On December 25, 1991 the Soviet Union passed into history and the Russian Federation was born. The new Russian Federation found that the transition from the Soviet era was not without its problems.  The Ruble plunged in value and inflation went out of control.  The loss of central authority was too much for some to bear.  Organized crime began to run rampant.  Some hard line members of the government did not want to give up the Soviet system.  Radical extremists like Vladimir Zhirinovsky attracted large followings.

The chaos of Russian politics erupted in the early years as Parliament members attempted to take power from Boris Yeltsin.  This led to a short armed conflict in Moscow that resulted in the deaths of foreign journalists and coup supporters.  There were difficulties along the borders as well.  Many Soviet republics began to break away from Russia. Ukraine and Belarus were the first of many to go.  In Central Asia and the Caucasus, virtually every republic attempted to go its own way.

The new Russian military and MVD attempted to put a stop to the anarchy in the Republic of Chechnya and prevent its breaking away in 1993, but the operation was poorly coordinated and led to the loss of many tanks and armored fighting vehicles during the battle of Grozny.  The army then withdrew and allowed the Chechens to control the land for a few years.  It was only when the Chechens began to cross the border into other republics and commit acts of Islamic terrorism in Moscow did the army intervene again.  This second operation undertaken in the year 2000 drove the rebels from Grozny and most of the country. The MVD continued to fight alongside the army in patrolling the countryside and eliminate bands of the Islamic fundamentalist rebels.

In other military matters, the Soviet collapse and loss of the Warsaw Pact caused a massive rethinking of Russian strategy and equipment purchasing.  Many new infantry weapons were developed during this period, but most were experimental or never deployed due to lack of funding.