information:filtering, stylistic:tone, structural:reformatting
The Chechen–Russian conflict was the centuries-long ethnic and political conflict, often armed, between the Russian, Soviet and Imperial Russian governments and various Chechen forces. The recent phase of the conflict started after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and ended with the oppression of Chechen separatist leaders and crushing of the separatist movement in the republic proper in 2017. Formal hostilities in Chechnya date back to 1785, though elements of the conflict can be traced back considerably further. The Russian Empire ostensibly had little interest in the North Caucasus other than as a communication route to its ally the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and its enemies, the Persian and Ottoman Empires, but growing tensions triggered by Russian activities in the region resulted in an uprising of Chechens against the Russian presence in 1785, followed by further clashes and the outbreak of the Caucasian War in 1817. Russia officially won against the Imamate in 1864 but only succeeded in defeating the Chechen forces in 1877. During the Russian Civil War, Chechens and other Caucasian nations lived in independence for a few years before being Sovietized in 1921. In 1944 on the grounds of dubious allegations of widespread collaboration with the advancing German forces, the Chechen nation as a collective were deported to Central Asia. The most recent conflicts between the Chechen and Russian governments began in the 1990s. As the Soviet Union disintegrated, the Chechens declared independence in 1991. By late 1994, the First Chechen War broke out, and after two years of fighting, the Russian government negotiated a ceasefire in August 1996. In 1999, the fighting restarted, resulting in yet another major armed conflict, with a large number of casualties on both sides. There was vast destruction of the Chechen capital in the battle of Grozny. The Russian military established control over Chechnya in late April 2000, ending the major combat phase of the war, with insurgency and hostilities continuing for several years. The end of the conflict was proclaimed by Russian authorities in 2017, ending a centuries-old struggle, at least in name. However, armed Chechen groups continue to operate in opposition to Russian forces in Ukraine and Syria.