In 1859, after decades of war, Chechnya was conquered by czarist armies and officially became a part of Russia. Chechnya made an autonomous republic, jointly with Ingushetia, in 1934. In 1944 Stalin ordered some 600,000 Chechen and Ingush citizens deported to central Asia, accusing the Chechens of collaborating with the invading German Nazis. A third died before reaching their destination and when those remaining were finally allowed to return home by Nikita Khrushchev in 1957, they arrived only to find their homes inhabited by ethnic Russians. Chechen president Dzhokhar Dudayev declared the nation's independance in 1991 and consequently, in 1994, Russian troops invaded Chechnya in an effort to oust Dudayev. The thirteen month war left up to 30,000 dead and was never resolved. In 1997 Russian soldiers assassinated Dudayev, and in 1999, the fighting resumed after Chechen rebels raided nearby regions. The rebels were blamed for bombings that left some 300 dead, although they have never been proven to be the perpetrators.

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© 2002 Marisa, Kristi, Bridget, Barbara -- Seton Catholic High School, Christian Morality.
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