First Chechen War

The First Chechen War was fought from 1994 to 1996 between Russia and the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which had declared independence from Russia in 1991. Russian forces invaded in December 1994 to reassert central control, expecting a swift campaign, but met fierce resistance in the fighting for the capital Grozny and elsewhere that inflicted heavy Russian casualties over nearly two years of war. The conflict ended with the Khasavyurt Accord of August 1996, under which Russian troops withdrew from Chechnya and a final decision on its political status was deferred, leaving the territory in a state of de facto independence for the next several years.