ABSTRACT
Chechnya is located in the Northern Caucasus and borders on Georgia, North Ossetia, Dagestan and the Russian Federation. The Chechens are Sufi Muslims and have inhabited the area from the earliest times. In December 1922, the Chechen were granted an autonomous oblast which in December 1934 was merged with that of the Ingush to form the Chechen Ingush oblast. However, the Ingush population expressed a wish to remain within the Russian Federation. Although not recognised by Russia, Dzhokhar Dudayev was sworn in as president of Chechnya in November 1991 and independence was declared. In retaliation, in March 1992, Chechnya cut the oil pipelines from the Grozny fields to Russia. On 11 December 1994, the Russian military intervened until the Khasavyurt Accords of late August 1996 brought a cessation of hostilities and the removal of Russian troops. The war with Russia resulted in the destruction of much of the Chechnya infrastructure and indirectly in the growth of the illegal.
