Guerrilla phase of the Second Chechen War (2002)
Encyclopedia
January
- January 3 - Six-day fighting in Tsotsin-Yurt claimed around 100 rebels killed according to Moscow, and 40 Russians were killed according to the Chechen separatists. Five Russian troops were killed in the other attacks across Chechnya.
- January 17 - More than 30 Russian servicemen reportedly died in separate attacks on troop columns in the VedenoVedenoVedeno is a rural locality in the Chechen Republic, Russia, located some southeast of Grozny. It is the administrative center of Vedensky District. Population: 11,512 ;...
and Urus-MartanUrus-MartanUrus-Martan is a town and the administrative center of Urus-Martanovsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Martan River. The town is located in the central part of the republic, to the southwest of the capital Grozny. Population:...
districts.
- January 19 - Seven Russian Internal TroopsInternal TroopsThe Internal Troops, full name Internal Troops of the Ministry for Internal Affairs ; alternatively translated as "Interior " is a paramilitary gendarmerie-like force in the now-defunct Soviet Union and its successor countries, particularly, in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan...
have died and three were wounded in an explosion of a remote-controlled mine in DagestanDagestanThe Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
. Rebel attacks in ChechnyaChechnyaThe Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
killed eight troops and injured nine, while the military detained 86 people on suspicion of participating in rebel formation during a series of security sweeps.
- January 27 - A Russian Interior Ministry Mi-8Mil Mi-8The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....
was shot down in Nadterechny District, killing 14 people including crew. Among those killed in the crash were Russian deputy Interior MinisterInterior ministerAn interior ministry is a government ministry typically responsible for policing, national security, and immigration matters. The ministry is often headed by a minister of the interior or minister of home affairs...
, Lieutenant-General Mikhail Rudchenko responsible for security in the Southern Federal DistrictSouthern Federal DistrictSouthern Federal District is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. Its territory lies mostly on the Pontic-Caspian steppe. Its population was 13,856,700 according to the 2010 Census, living on an area of...
, and Major-General Nikolai Goridov, deputy commander of the Internal Troops, as well as several other high-ranking officers including colonelColonelColonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
s Oriyenko, Stepanenko, and Trafimov.
March
- March 19 - One of the leaders of the radical wing of the Chechen resistance and the influential ArabArabArab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
volunteer, Ibn al-KhattabIbn al-KhattabSamir Saleh Abdullah Al-Suwailem , more commonly known as Emir Khattab meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab, and also known as Habib Abdul Rahman, was a Muslim guerilla fighter and financier working with Chechen Mujahideen in the First Chechen War...
, was killed by a poisonPoisonIn the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ed letter in an operation by the Federal Security Service (FSB).
April
- April 6 - Five Russian soldiers have been killed in Chechnya when their armoured vehicle detonated a mine outside GroznyGroznyGrozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
.
- April 14 - Russia forces have launched a major operation in southern Chechnya involving aircraft and heavy guns against the Vedensky District after the Chechen guerrillas claimed the lives of nine Russian servicemen in explosions and hit-and-run tacticsHit-and-run tacticsHit-and-run tactics is a tactical doctrine where the purpose of the combat involved is not to seize control of territory, but to inflict damage on a target and immediately exit the area to avoid the enemy's defense and/or retaliation.-History:...
attacks.
- April 17 - Two attacks in the southern Shatoysky DistrictShatoysky DistrictShatoysky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the fifteen in the Chechen Republic, Russia. Its administrative center is the rural locality of Shatoy. District's population: 13,155 . Population of Shatoy accounts for 13.5% of the district's population....
killed 11 Russian servicemen and wounded 13.
- April 18 - Insurgents killed 21 and wounded seven Chechen OMONOMONOMOH is a generic name for the system of special units of militsiya within the Russian and earlier the Soviet MVD...
officers in the attack on a convoy in Grozny.
July
- July 5 - Rebel ambushes in Chechnya killed 11 Russian soldiers and police officers.
- July 8 - Two soldiers and six police officers were killed in clashes with Chechen rebels, while the Russian troops detained 90 people for questioning over suspected ties to insurgents.
- July 16 - Separatist fighters attacked Russian army convoys and checkpoints in Chechnya, killing six.
August
- August 6 - A land mine exploded under a military truck that was transporting 33 local servicemen back to their barracksBarracksBarracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
in the town of ShatoyShatoyShatoy or Shatoi is a village in the Chechen Republic, Russia. It is the administrative center of Shatoysky District. Population: 1,771 . It is the home village of underground rebel President Doku Umarov. Geographical location: ....
, killing 11 Chechen policemen and badly wounded seven.
- August 17 - Russian troops battled with Chechen rebels who attacked a number of villages in southern Chechnya in fighting that has left at least nine soldiers dead.
- August 19 - An overloaded Mi-26 transport helicopter was hit by an Igla missile and crashed into a mine field, killing some 127 soldiers aboardKhankala attack2002 Khankala Mi-26 crash occurred on 19 August 2002 when Chechen rebels with a shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile brought down a Mil Mi-26 helicopter in a minefield and resulted in the death of 127 Russian troops and air crew...
, the greatest loss of life in the history of helicopter aviationAviationAviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
. The Russian military command said that federal forces have killed 39 Chechen fighters in the past two days; the report could not be independently confirmed.
- August 23 - Eight soldiers were killed in Chechnya.
- August 31 - A Russian helicopter was downed by a missile in Chechnya, killing two.
September
- September 10 - Administrative head of the Nadterechny DistrictNadterechny DistrictNadterechny District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the fifteen in the Chechen Republic, Russia. Its administrative center is the rural locality of Znamenskoye. District's population: 51,755 ; Population of Znamenskoye accounts for 18.6% of the district's population....
, Akhmad Zavgayev (brother of Doku Zavgayev), was killed as unknown gunmen opened fire his car in his home village of Beno-Yurt, several kilometers away from Chechnya's border with North Ossetia.
- September 15 - Fighting killed 12 Russian servicemen and one rebel, while more than 100 suspected rebels were detained in security sweeps.
- September 26 - Ruslan Gelayev's forces raided into IngushetiaIngushetiaThe Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
, capturing the villages of Tarskoe and then GalashkiGalashkiGalashki is a village in Sunzhensky District of the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia, located on the left bank of the Sunzha River near the border with the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania...
. Gelayev's 150 fighters, including 30 Kabardinians and BalkarsBalkarsThe Balkars are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. They are possibly Bulgars or are descended from them...
, became surrounded, took large losses and were dispersed. According to the Russian officials, at least 17 Russian servicemen, including two Mi-24 pilots, and as many as 76 rebels were reported killed in clashes.
October
- October 10 - A bomb attack on a Grozny police station killing 25 Chechen policemen, including many senior officers, and wounding nine. It is suspected that one of the policemen was responsible for planting the bomb, which went off during the conference of 40 Grozny police commanders.
- October 29 - A Mi-8 shot down by the rebels explodes during attempted emergency landingEmergency landingAn emergency landing is a landing made by an aircraft in response to a crisis which either interferes with the operation of the aircraft or involves sudden medical emergencies necessitating diversion to the nearest airport.-Types of emergency landings:...
, killing all four people on board.
- October 31 - Chechen rebels killed six Russian servicemen, a Chechen policeman and a local administrator
November
- November 3 - Rebels shoot down a Mi-8 helicopter with a portable ground-to-air missile near Grozny, killing nine servicemen.
- November 15 - An official in the Chechen administration said that 12 federal service personnel and allied Chechen militiamen were killed.
- November 16 - Lieutenant-General Igor Shifrin, head of the Army's Glavspetzstroi (Main Directorate of Special Construction), was killed in ambush in Grozny when his and another vehicle came under intense fire from automatic weapons. Several other people were reported killed and wounded in the firefight, and at least 220 people were detained by Russian forces.
- November 29 - Five Russian servicemen and a paramilitary policeman were killed in clashes with rebels and from mine explosions in Chechnya.
December
- December 25–28 guerrillas laid down their weapons in Grozny. At least four Russians were killed.
- December 27 - Chechen suicide bombers drove two bomb vehicles into the heavily guarded republic's government complex in Grozny, killing 72 people and injuring some 210.
- December 30 - Four members of pro-Moscow forces were killed in the attacks in Grozny.