Chechnya is a small republic consisting of Muslims and is located in the Caucasus Mountains. Its population is 1.3 million which makes up 1% of the entire Russian Federation population, from which the republic is trying to secede. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, many territories declared independence without major problems. But there has been a major ethnic conflict between Chechnya and Russia. This ethnic conflict in post-communist Russia is a result of economic, political, and external factors.
             The history of the conflict begins way back in the 1600s. Since the 17th century, recognized as an independent nation, Chechens were opponents of Russian conquer in the Caucasus during 1818-1917. In 1858 Russia defeated the leader Imam Shamil and his supporters whose aim was to establish an Islamic State. After the Russian Revolution, the declaration of independence by Chechens was accepted by the Bolsheviks who later established the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Region in 1924. During World War II, Chechen and Ingush troops have been blamed for cooperating with the German Nazis. In effect, Stalin deported many Chechen residents to Central Asia and Siberia. It is estimated that during the departure about 100,000 people died due to extreme conditions like cold, starvation... After the death of Stalin in 1953, people who were deported returned back to their lands, and the Chechen republic was reestablished in 1957. This event clearly explains why Chechen nationalism was so strong, tight, and anti-Russian than the other ethnic minorities in the Soviet Union.
             After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some Chechen leaders, Dzhokhar Dudayev at the top, announced the formation of a new parliament and declared independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. In 1994 Russian President Boris Yeltsin ordered 40,000 troops to prevent the separation of the southern oil-production region of Chechnya from Russia. Russia quickly found itself in trouble...