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FACT SHEET
Prepared by the Center for Defense Information
Ph: (202) 332-0600/Fax: (202) 462-4559
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DAGESTAN CONFLICT: A DAY-BY-DAY TIMELINE
By Tomas Valasek, Research Analyst, Center for Defense Information
7 August 1999
- The conflict begins with an invasion of the Botlikh region of Dagestan by militants from Chechnya. An estimated 1,000 -
1,200 fighters seize several villages and small towns on the Chechen-Dagestani border
9 August 1999
- Shamil Basayev and commander Khattab inspect troops in Dagestan
- Russian aircraft accidentally drop air-delivered mines on Georgia, near the border with Dagestan
10 August 1999
- Government of "Independent Islamic Dagestan" declared by forces around Shamil Basayev
- Newly-designated Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promises that rebels will be crushed within two weeks
- At a press conference Chechen President Aslan Mashkadov denies Chechnya's involvement in Dagestan
11 August 1999
- Shamil Basayev claims leadership of the troops in Dagestan, ends uncertainty over who commands the rebel units. Basayev vows
to expel "infidels" from north Caucasus
- Islamic insurgents claim to have captured several Dagestani villages. Russian forces use helicopter gunships to counter the latest
offensive, suffering ten casualties
12 August 1999
- Russian Deputy Interior Minister Minister Igor Zubov requests Chechnya's assistance with the Dagestani insurgency in a letter to
Chechen President Aslan Mashkadov; Chechen presidential press spokesman Said Abdulmuslimov tells the Russian press that
the Chechen leadership refused a Russian request to send troops to assist in quelling the rebellion in Dagestan
- Russian armed forces say that they had attacked insurgents' position in the towns of Tandur and Rakhta in southern Dagestan and
had plans for a larger offensive; 300 Dagestani volunteers reportedly left for the Botlikh district on Wednesday to fight alongside
their Russian counterparts
- Russia's acting Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered the finance ministry to allocate funds for Russian troops involved in the
conflict
- Dagestani members of the Representatives of the Islamic Shura told reporters in Grozny that they had asked Chechen warlord
Basayev to lead the insurgency in Dagestan, Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov, commander of Russian Interior Ministry troops, estimated
the number of rebels in Dagestan at 1200
13 August 1999
- Five planes from Russia land in Dagestan, bring fresh troops, weapons and supplies; Russia admits losing three helicopters,
destroyed by gunfire while on the ground and wounded three Russian Interior Ministry generals, including the chief of the
intelligence corps
- Russia conducts fourteen airstrikes on rebel positions in Botlikh district
- Russian Federation Council chairman Yegor Stroyev discloses that border guards were withdrawn from the border between
Chechnya and Dagestan right before the rebel attack on August 7
15 August 1999
- Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov declares state of emergency, denies involvement in the Dagestan crisis in a televised
address. He accuses Russia of precipitating the crisis through supporting Islamic radicals in Chechnya
16 August 1999
- Chechnya mobilizes reservists and veterans of the 19996 war with Russia, 5,000 people at a rally in the capital of Grozny protest
hostilities in Dagestan
- President Yeltsin rules out imposing a state of emergency in Russia, claims the situation in the country is "normal." His envoy to
the Russian Duma asks the legislators to approve a law on state of emergency, saying that Dagestan conflict proves that "this law
is essential."
17 August 1999
- Colonel-General Viktor Kazantsev takes over Dagestan operation from Colonel-General Vyacheslav Ovchinnikov, formally
marking the transition of command from the Interior Ministry to the Defense Ministry.
18 August 1999
- Russia officially apologizes for accidentally dropping bombs on Georgia, Tbilisi accepts the apology without reservation, hails
"new neighborly relations" with Moscow
- Sirazhdin Ramazanov appointed Prime Minister of the Islamic State of Dagestan by rebels fighting in the republic
- Russian command in north Caucasus says up to 15,000 troops are expected to deploy in Dagestan - five airborne batallions,
special unit, Interior Ministry troops, riot police, all backed by Dagestani police and armed volunteers
- Russian aircraft strike TV and radio broadcast facilities in Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi, villages controlled by Dagestani Islamic
militants
19 August 1999
- Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev and Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo visiting Dagestan, Sergeyev promises that
militants will be eliminated "within a very short period."
- Russian troops rebuffed in an attempt to storm Tando, a village occupied by fighters from Chechnya. Eight servicemen are
reported killed, the figure is later revised downward to four.
- Shamil Basayev puts his troops on alert for second stage of operations believed to target Khasavyurt in the north of Dagestan
20 August 1999
- Russian artillery pounding rebel strongholds in the Botlikh region, Russian Deputy Interior Minister Zubov admits use of artillery
and air strikes is not effective enough but rules out direct assault for fear of losses
21 August 1999
- Yeltsin spokesman quotes the president as saying that it was impossible to expect "quick solution" to the conflict in Dagestan
23 August 1999
- Russian Federation Council Chairman Yegor Stoev said the planned meeting between presidents of Russia and Chechnya is
"absurd and useless."
24 August 1999
- Chechen rebels announce withdrawal from the Botlikh region, first stage of the war ends. Rebels add they are switching to a
new stage of operation using guerilla and "military-political" tactics. The village of Tando, long occupied by the Chechens, is
reported to be completely destroyed by Russian bombardment.
- Moscow bars radio and television networks from carrying interviews with Chechen and Dagestani leaders
25 August 1999
- Russian troops occupy villages abandoned by retreating fighters around Shamil Basayev, Russian and Dagestani units clearing
the area of mines and snipers, Russian tank destroyed by a mine
- Chechnya complains that Russia staged two air raids against Chechen targets, warns that Moscow may be starting a new war
against the breakaway republic; women and children are reported to leaving areas hit by Russian aircraft
- Russian Defense Ministry spokesmen in Dagestan confirms air raids against Chechnya, Russian Defense Minister Sergeyev in
Moscow denies Chechnya was attacked
27 August 1999
- Russian parliament approves $4.1 million in emergency reconstruction for Dagestan and $500 thousand for assistance for
displaced persons, estimated at over 10,000
29 August 1999
- Russian forces open second stage of conflict by attacking strongholds of Islamic fundamentalists in Karamakhi and
Chabanmakhi villages after their population refuses calls to disarm.
- Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov dismisses Movladi Udugov from Chechnya's National Security Council, accuses him of
"large-scale ideological sabotage against the Chechen state." Udugov has been serving as a spokesman for Shamil Basayev.
31 August 1999
- First in a series of bomb explosions in Moscow kills a woman in a shopping mall
- Shamil Basayev categorically denies receiving money from Osama Bin Laden, Russian Defense Ministry reports concentration of
gunmen in Chechnya on the border with Dagestan, near the Novolakskoye region
1 September 1999
- Shamil Basayev vows to continue "holy war" against Russian forces
3 September 1999
- Vice President of Chechnya, Vakha Arsanov, says that Russian actions in Dagestan and Chechnya "violate all international
norms," states that Chechnya wishes peaceful settlement of all conflicts in north Caucasus
- Russia claims to have seize the last bastion of Islamic militants in Dagestan but fighting around Chabanmakhi continues
4 September 1999
- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declares federal forces have prevailed in Dagestan, Russian representatives meet with
Islamic rebels, demand complete capitulation and disarmament
- Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov calls for international recognition for Chechnya, says Russia supports criminal gangs on
Chechen territory
- Bomb levels military barracks in the Dagestan city of Buynaksk, 64 killed
5 September 1999
- Militants from Chechnya invade Dagestan again; third - "Novolakskoye" - stage of the conflict begins, over 1,000 rebels
penetrate deep into Dagestan, some 70 km from Buynaksk where Russian troops pound secessionist Islamic villages
- Russian forces bomb suspected rebel bases in Chechnya
6 September 1999
- Russia sends an estimated 1,500 troops to the Novolakskoye region to stop the invasion from Chechnya
- Dagestan authorities say 25,000 people have volunteered to fight against the invaders from Chechnya
- Russia blames Osama Bin-Laden for aiding the Chechen militants, officials claim he visited Chechnya shortly before the rebels
invaded Dagestan
7 September 1999
- Russian aircraft bombed villages in Chechnya near the Dagestan border, spokesman for Chechen President Maskhadov denies
militants in Dagestan have links with Chechnya; Russian TV airs footage of alleged Chechen atrocities
- At least 14 Russian servicemen killed in a shootout over a police station in Novolakskoye, Russian Deputy Interior Minister
Pyotr Latishev acknowledged that rebels faced no resistance in crossing to border; "there is no border line between Dagestan and
Chechnya, no front line or system of border control," he said.
- President Yeltsin condemns his military for "sloppiness" in its campaign in Dagestan, says that recent failures can only be
explained through "carelessness of the military."
8 September 1999
- Russian forces stop the advance of rebels from Chechnya only 5 km from Khasavyurt, a major regional center; Russian
commander warns that Chechen-Akkin population of Khasavyurt supports the rebels
- Intensive aerial and artillery bombardment of Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi
9 September 1999
- National Security Committee of Chechnya meets to discuss the "military aggression against Chechnya"
- RF helicopter, ground attacks continue in Novolakskoye region, federal forces report 10 dead and 16 injured
- Russia losses a Su-25 fighter, pilot rescued - first loss of a fighter aircraft
- Dagestani premier criticizes Russia for ignoring warning signs of invasion from Chechnya
- Russia promises the strengthen aviation forces in Dagestan, send more Su-25, Su-24 jets
- Russia reports 149 dead and 522 injured troops since fighting began on August 2 2 dead in a shootout between Dagestani police
and a group of Akin-Chechens, driving to a local prison to liberate 11 Chechens arrested on suspicion of terrorism
- Chechnya reports artillery and rocket attacks against three settlements in Chechnya
- 2 Interior Ministry troops killed in Karamakhi shootout
- Shamil Basayev dismisses reports of militants planning to attack Khasavyurt as "provocative," claims that guerrillas' plan is to
help the population of fundamentalist villages under assault by Russian federal forces
- second bomb explosion in Moscow kills 94, Khattab declares: "From now on, they will get our bombs everywhere. Let Russia
await our explosions blasting through their cities."
10 September 1999
- fighting in Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi regions
- fighting also near the Chechen border - Novolakskoye region
11 September 1999
- Russian troops advancing on Karamakhi
- Russian forces also take Gamiyakh village, previously occupied by Basayev's forces
- Chechnya claims Russian bombs hit Chechen villages; Russia admits operation on Dagestan-Chechen border, says bombs may
have missed targest
12 September 1999
- Shamil Basayev announces he is pulling his fighters back from Dagestan, denies link between Chechens and the bombings in
Moscow
13 September 1999
- Russian Mi-8 helicopter shot down in Novolakskoye region, all aboard killed while parachuting to the ground
- Russia bombed villages in Chechnya, claiming to target militants' bases in the breakaway republic. Chechen President Aslan
Maskhadov calls the act "aggression against Ichkeria [Chechnya]" and vows to ready his country for defense.
- The third bomb in 10 days destroys a Moscow apartment building, killing at least 118; Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
blames Chechen militants
14 September 1999
- Chechen militants announce withdrawal from Dagestan completed
- Interfax quotes Russian military sources announcing that the Novolakskoye region has been cleared of militants, mopping up
operations continuing
- Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi villages abandoned by militants who fled to either Chechnya or the mountains; large-scale
Russian operations against Dagestani Islamic radicals end although sporadic fighting continues
- Khattab retracts earlier claims on Moscow bombings, says "we would not like to be akin to those who kill sleeping civilians with
bombs and shells."
15 September 1999
- Russian Prime Minister Putin blames Chechnya for harboring and supporting the terrorists responsible for the recent bombings in
Russia, a security sweep throughout the capital of Moscow named "Operation Whirlwind" uncovers over 1.5 tons of explosives
brought into the city hidden in sugar sacks and detains 27 suspects
16 September 1999
- Another bombing in the Southern Russian city of Volgodonsk kills 17 and injures 115; the bomb exploded between a local
police station and an apartment building
- Russian Interior Ministry spokesman Mikhail Arkhipov said 500 to 1,500 insurgents have massed at the border between
Chechnya and Dagestan
- The Dagestani parliament passes a law banning the Islamic fundamentalist Wahhabi movement
- 15,000 people gather in the Chechen capital Grozny to protest Russian military actions in Chechnya
17 September 1999
- Russia's upper house of parliament begins an extraordinary session to discuss and steps to ensure security after a series of bomb
blasts in Moscow and other cities.
- Speaker of the Dagestan parliament says volunteer defense units will not be disarmed as long as the threat of invasion from
Chechnya persists
Send feedback to Tomas Valasek - tvalasek@cdi.org
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