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Second Chechen War, 1999-2009
A much larger and longer war reasserted Russian federal control over Chechnya, at a human cost estimated in the tens to hundreds of thousands by different sources, before Russia formally ended counter-terrorism operations in 2009.
What happened
Estimates of deaths in the Second Chechen War vary enormously by source and methodology, ranging from around 25,000 to 200,000 civilian deaths and 8,000 to 40,000 Russian military deaths.[1]
On 25 January 2006, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution 1479, calling on Russian authorities to take effective action to end ongoing "disappearances," torture, arbitrary detention and unlawful killings reported in Chechnya, and finding very little progress in bringing perpetrators to justice.[2]
On 16 April 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree formally ending the counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya, envisaging the withdrawal of around 20,000 federal Interior Ministry troops; a lower-level insurgency in the North Caucasus continued after this date.[3]
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: Estimates of deaths in the Second Chechen War (1999-2009) vary enormously by source and methodology, ranging from around 25,000 to 200,000 civilian deaths and 8,000 to 40,000 Russian military deaths; the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, a human-rights organization, put a conservative estimate at around 150,000-200,000 civilians, 20,000-40,000 Russian soldiers, and a comparable number of Chechen fighters killed. These figures reflect sharp, unresolved disagreement between sources rather than a settled total.
- Casualties of the Second Chechen War (Wikipedia) link, Casualty estimate ranges section. Source record
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2.
Claim: On 25 January 2006, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution 1479, calling on Russian authorities to take effective action to end ongoing "disappearances," torture, arbitrary detention in illegal and secret facilities, and unlawful killings reported in Chechnya, and finding very little progress in bringing to justice those responsible for human rights violations despite commitments Russia made upon joining the Council of Europe in 1996.
- Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Resolution 1479 (2006): Human rights violations in the Chechen Republic (Council of Europe) link, Resolution text (via secondary reporting). Source record
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3.
Claim: On 16 April 2009, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree formally ending the counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya, envisaging the withdrawal of around 20,000 federal Interior Ministry troops from the republic; a lower-level insurgency in the North Caucasus continued after this date.
- Russia ends Chechen "counter-terrorism operation" (openDemocracy) link, Decree and withdrawal section. Source record