ABSTRACT
The Chechen Republic is located on the northern slopes of the Caucasus. Dagestan lies to the east, Stavropol Krai to the north-west and the Republic of North Osetiya—Alaniya and the Republic of Ingushetiya to the west. Georgia lies to the south-west. The Republic comprises lowlands in the north; mixed fields, pastures and forests in the Chechen plain; and high mountains and glaciers in the south. In the 18th–19th centuries the Russian, Ottoman and Persian Empires fought for control of the Caucasus. During 1991 an All-National Congress of the Chechen People seized power and agreed with Ingush leaders to divide the Republic, with the larger part of the territory to constitute a Chechen Republic, which claimed independence from Russia. In July 2012 Chechen forces staged a special operation in the Ingushetiyan village of Galashki.
