During the collapse of the [[Soviet Union]] in 1991, Dzhokar Dudayev, a former Soviet Air Force general, led the Chechen people to declare independence from Russia, as the Chechens had been under Russian occupation for over a century. However, in December 1994, [[Boris Yeltsin]] turned against his promises of Chechen soverignty, and invaded the repblic to restore Russian rule. The Chechen people defeated the Russians in the First Chechen War, and gained ''de facto'' independence in 1996. | During the collapse of the [[Soviet Union]] in 1991, Dzhokar Dudayev, a former Soviet Air Force general, led the Chechen people to declare independence from Russia, as the Chechens had been under Russian occupation for over a century. However, in December 1994, [[Boris Yeltsin]] turned against his promises of Chechen soverignty, and invaded the repblic to restore Russian rule. The Chechen people defeated the Russians in the First Chechen War, and gained ''de facto'' independence in 1996. |