Battle of the Terrible (1999-2000)

September 1999

• September 30 - Russian aviation launches missile and bomb strikes at the October, Staropromyslovsky and Zavodskoy districts of Grozny ^[5] .

October 1999

• October 5 - battles take place in the villages of Chervlennaya and Naurskaya 25-50 km from the capital of Chechnya ^[5] .
• October 21 - Nikolai Koshman , a representative of the government of the Russian Federation in Chechnya, declares that most of the settlements in the Grozny district of Chechnya are freed from militants and that Russian troops are located 12-14 km from Grozny ^[6] .
• October 22 - several explosions take place at night in Grozny. According to militants, the missile attack was caused by air-to-surface missiles, 137 were killed and 250 people were injured. The leadership of the Russian armed forces denies any involvement in the explosions ^[6] .
• October 25 - Russian attack aircraft strike at the southern outskirts of the city; destroyed anti-aircraft installation and two vehicles of militants ^[6] .
• October 28 - A representative of the headquarters of the united group of troops reports that by 10:30 am 80% of the encirclement of the city has been completed ^[7] .
• October 29 - the “humanitarian corridor” is open for the evacuation of the civilian population. As a result of the airstrike on the convoy killed more than 100 civilians ^[8] . In July 2005, the Government of the Russian Federation lost the case on the suit of six Chechens in the European Court of Human Rights and paid compensation for moral and material damage.
• October 30 - during the strike of the Russian aviation, the fuel depot and the electrical equipment shop in Grozny were destroyed, in which grenade launchers were made handicraft ^[7] .
• October 31 - Russian aviation inflicts rocket-bombing strikes on the northern part of Grozny. 10 propaganda bombs AgitAB-500-300 are dropped on the city ^[7] .

November 1999

• November 1 - the commander of the Eastern grouping of the Russian armed forces, Gennady Troshev, declares that the Russian army will not storm Grozny ^[7] .
• November 5 - as a result of the next strike of the Russian attack aircraft in Grozny, the headquarters of the Chechen field commander Ruslan Gelayev and four oil refineries mini-plants were destroyed ^[9] .
• November 6 - the strike of the Russian rocket launcher " Tochka-U " against militant clusters in Grozny ^[9] .
• November 8 - Russian artillery strikes against militant positions in Grozny and the surrounding settlements ^[9] . According to incoming reports, the strikes were carried out mainly in the center of the capital: severe destruction at the intersection of Lenin Avenue and Nuradilova Street, as well as in the area of ​​Gudermeskaya and Bogdan Khmelnitsky streets. ^[ten]
• November 9
  • Russian helicopter strikes against militant positions in Grozny ^[9] . Also, units of the Russian armed forces are blocking Grozny from the north, west, and partly from the east. According to the Russian command, there are about 5,000 militants in the city. ^[eleven]
  • Chairman of the Yabloko faction in the State Duma, Grigory Yavlinsky, voiced the position of the party on the situation in Chechnya. Yavlinsky suggested that the political leadership of the country suspend offensive operations and bombardment of the Chechen territory, limiting itself to introducing on its territory and adjacent areas of the adjacent subjects of the Federation of Emergency , to start negotiations with the leadership of Ichkeria and ultimately to demand its leader A. Maskhadov to resolve the crisis or resign. ^[12]
• 10th of November
  • According to the commander of the Vostok grouping of the united federal forces in the North Caucasus, Lieutenant-General G. N. Troshev , thanks to the choice of assault tactics in confronting the defending forces, the Russian troops have almost lost all of Gudermes’s entourage. ^[ten]
  • units of the Zapad group of the united federal forces begin an assault on the village of Alkhan-Kala, 18 km west of Grozny. With the help of aviation, 18 militant vehicles, 10 strongholds and an anti-aircraft installation were destroyed. According to official reports, up to 150 militants were killed in Chechnya a day, there are no dead among the soldiers of the federal forces. ^[ten]
• 11th of November
  •  

    Commander of the Vostok group, Lieutenant-General of the RF Armed Forces Gennady Troshev
     

    The commander of the group "West" Vladimir Shamanov
    Following the negotiations of G. Troshev with local elders, field commanders Yamadayev brothers and Chechen mufti Akhmat Kadyrov missed the federal forces in Gudermes without a fight. Major-General Alexander Stolyarov , Deputy Commander of the 22nd Army, became the military commander of the security zone of the region, Malik Gezimieva was appointed head of the administration. ^[13]
  • As a result of a point strike of federal aviation in the regional center of Shali, the house of the chairman of the republican parliament Ruslan Alikhadzhiyev was completely destroyed. Five people died, including his cousin Uvays. Alikhadzhiev himself was injured. ^[ten]
• November 16 - federal forces took control of the settlement of Novy Shatoi . ^[14]
• November 17 - the reconnaissance group of the 91st battalion of the 31st separate air assault brigade (12 dead, 2 prisoners) suffered losses under Vedeno . ^[15]
• November 18 - According to NTV, the federal forces took control of the district center Achkhoi-Martan "without a single shot." ^[sixteen]
• November 20 - Russian troops are located 5 km from the city ^[9] .
• November 25 - President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Aslan Maskhadov appealed to Russian soldiers participating in the "counter-terrorist operation" with a proposal to go over to the side of the militants under his personal security guarantees. ^[17]
• November 29 - Aslan Maskhadov leaves Grozny with his headquarters and moves to the town of Shali 20 km south-east of the capital of Chechnya. ^[18]
• November 30 - units of the Russian Armed Forces blocked all the main ways of delivering weapons to Grozny. ^[nineteen]

December 1999

• December 6 - Federal forces drop leaflets on Grozny in which insurgents and civilians are invited to leave the city before December 11 through a special security corridor. All remaining in the city after this period will be considered militants. ^{[20] [21]}
• December 9 - the village of Shali, the last outpost of the rebels on the approaches to Grozny, was occupied by federal forces without a fight. The strategic goal of the operation has been achieved: Grozny is blocked from the south. ^[22]
• December 14 - the advanced units of the federal forces entered directly into Grozny. ^[23] The headquarters of the command of the joint grouping of troops in the North Caucasus reported that no tasks had been set for the complete liberation of Grozny from armed gangs: the large-scale military operations were not conducted yet, the security corridor for the civilians to leave the city still remains.
• December 15 - Employees of the Russian Information Center together with the head of the Public Relations Center of the FSB of Russia Lieutenant-General Alexander Zdanovich held a joint press conference for representatives of the foreign military diplomatic corps with explanations on the occasion of the operation of the federal forces in Grozny. They categorically denied reports of overseas divisions of federal forces with a large group of militants numbering more than two thousand people that were widely spread by foreign agencies. According to BBC and Reuters , last night, units of the Russian Armed Forces from the eastern outskirts of Grozny attempted a forced breakthrough to the city center. Foreign news agencies, citing eyewitnesses to the events, reported that the tank group that took part in the march was stopped in Minutka Square, where a battle ensued, during which at least seven tanks and eight armored personnel carriers were allegedly killed, and the losses of the federal forces ranged from 50 to 100 killed The military news agency called these messages "information provocation", but confirmed the fact that the day before from the military base in Khankala , a convoy consisting of 15 units of armored vehicles really advanced in the Minutka Square area to eliminate the major center of resistance. ^[24]

December 1999

• December 26 - a special operation began in search and liquidation of Chechen separatist detachments in Grozny by forces of internal troops and police.
• December 27 - detachments of the pro-Russian Chechen militia under the command of Bislan Gantamirov and Russian troops took control of the Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny ^[25] .
• December 28 - Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev noted that after three days of fierce fighting, advanced FS units managed to advance to the center of Grozny. Sergeyev admitted that the militants are putting up fierce resistance.
• December 29 - as a result of a bloody battle in "fire bags" during the day, nearly 40 soldiers of the federal troops, several tanks and infantry fighting vehicles “burned down”.

At 8.15 am Moscow time, militants (presumably R. Chitigova ^[26] ) blew up a container with chlorine or ammonia on the northern outskirts of the city ^[27] . There is no information about the victims.

January 2000

• January 6
  • Russian army units occupied the territory of the railway station in the Oktyabrsky district of Grozny.
  • The armed forces of the Russian Federation taken Achhoi-Martan , the soldiers strengthen their position on the southern outskirts of Vedeno .
• January 7 - Militants make it clear about the beginning of the stage of guerrilla war against the advancing enemy forces. So, at the station Chervlennaya on the tank with fuel for the military, during the inspection before its departure a stretch of two bound grenades was found.
• January 8 - units of the federal forces in Grozny received an order to suspend a special operation in connection with "honoring a Muslim holiday and the environmental situation in the city and its suburbs." On the same day and. about. President Vladimir Putin made technical changes in the command of the united group in the North Caucasus. Generals Vladimir Shamanov and Gennady Troshev were relieved of their duties as commanders of the eastern and western groups of federal forces in Chechnya due to their appointment to higher positions.
• January 9 - Argun and Shali settlements already occupied by Russian troops were attacked by a large rebel detachment. Most of them were under the guise of civilians. In Argun, Chechen militants attacked the city’s commandant’s office and railway station, blocking it. In Shali, they seized a school where they held hostages from among the civilian population.
• January 10 - taking into account the possibility of complete encirclement and destruction of units of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in Argun and Shali, acting. President Vladimir Putin announces the suspension of a federal offensive for a day.
   

  Major General Mikhail Malofeev
• January 11 - successful operation of the federal forces to release Argun and Shali, taking control of the district center of Vedeno
• January 17 - fierce fighting in the center of Grozny. As a result of the counterattack of the militants on the street Copernicus, Major General Mikhail Malofeev , deputy commander of the North grouping, was killed. The total number of losses of federal forces during the entire siege of Grozny, according to official data, reached 500 people, of whom 120 were killed. About 2,000 militants continue to resist in the city ^[28] .
• January 18 - Federal forces seized an important strategic facility in the city center - a bridge over the Sunzha River. As a result, communication between the Chechen detachments of the western and eastern regions of Grozny was interrupted ^[29] .
• January 19 - fighting in the area of ​​Minutka Square.
• January 30 - breakthrough of the main militant detachments ( Shamil Basayev ) from the city. Despite the heavy losses in the minefields, they managed to escape. Basayev himself lost his foot. Over 250 militants killed in minefields .
• January 31 - Russian forces managed to gain a foothold in the strategically important Minutka Square. Almost all the northern areas of the city were under the control of the troops and the police ^[30] .

February 2000

•  

  Brigadier General of CRI Aslanbek Ismailov
  February 3 - according to the assessment of the commander of the Western group of federal forces in Chechnya, Major General Vladimir Shamanov , federal forces control about 50% of the territory of Grozny. According to Shamanov, “ within a few days ” full control will be established over the capital. At the same time, the general noted that the resistance to the assault detachments moving deep into the city is mainly provided by snipers, most of whom are mercenaries from Arab countries .

According to the military, the outgoing Chechen formations actively mine administrative buildings and residential buildings, without taking into account the fact that civilians may be in the basements of these structures. The absence of organized resistance from the militants besieged in the city may indirectly confirm the statement by the head of the State Council of Chechnya Malik Saydullayev announced the day before about the withdrawal of two thousandth defenders from Grozny. ^[31]

On the same day, Rosinformcenter reported that during the task of unblocking the entrance to the Argun gorge , 300 to 500 militants were destroyed. The federal forces lost 30 people during the operation. According to some military experts, the ratio of losses of insurgents and government forces is incommensurable, therefore officially announced figures raise doubts. ^[31]

• February 6 - Acting President Vladimir Putin announced the completion of the operation to liberate Grozny. ^[32] In an interview with ORT television, the prime minister said:

“ Regarding the situation in Chechnya, I can tell you: some time ago, the last stronghold of resistance of terrorists — the Zavodskoy district of Grozny — was taken, and the Russian flag was hoisted over one of the administrative buildings. So we can say that the operation to free Grozny is over . ” - ^[33]

For its part, the separatist command does not consider the military campaign finally completed with the capture of the capital. In a statement by their leader Aslan Maskhadov , distributed on February 8, the transfer of Grozny into the hands of federal forces was called a "temporary strategic maneuver . " The guerrilla warfare declared by the leader of the separatists was supported by the former vice-president of Ichkeria, Vakha Arsanov , who announced the start of “total military actions throughout Russia” . ^[33]

• February 18 - For organization and participation in the armed rebellion on the territory of Chechnya, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Aslan Maskhadov was charged in absentia in a criminal case under article 279 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation . Maskhadov was also charged with organizing illegal armed formations and encroaching on the life of law enforcement officers. He was declared federal, and two years later he was put on the international wanted list. ^[34]

In the storming of Grozny by the federal forces took part:

• 33rd Separate Operational Assistance Brigade of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs ; ^[35]
• 21st Separate Operational Assistance Brigade of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; ^[35]
• The 7th special purpose detachment of the internal troops "Rosich" ; ^[35]
• 674th operational regiment of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; ^[35]
• The 205th separate motorized rifle brigade ; ^[one]
• The 506th guards motorized rifle regiment of the 27th guards motorized rifle division ; ^[35]
• The 423rd Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 4th Guards Tank Division ; ^[one]
• The 255th guards motorized rifle regiment of the 20th guards motorized rifle division ; ^[one]
• The 245th guards motorized rifle regiment of the 3rd motorized rifle division ; ^[one]
• 15th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment , 2nd Guards Motorized Rifle Division . ^[one]

The hero of Russia, Colonel-General Gennady Troshev, in his memoirs highly appreciated this operation of the Russian troops, given, as he noted, the particular difficulty of fighting in urban environments:

All this as a whole (and the effective use of technology, the construction of battle formations, and the interaction of forces and means) made it possible to achieve the goals set in the Grozny operation with minimal loss of personnel.

- Gennady Troshev . “ My war. Chechen diary of a trench general ", memoirs, book

• New Year's assault on Grozny
• Operation Jihad
• Militants attack Grozny (2004)

• Chronicle of the storming of Grozny (1999—2000)