, war = First Chechen War

Insurgency in the North Caucasus The insurgency in the North Caucasus (russian: Борьба с терроризмом на Северном Кавказе) was a low-level armed conflict between Russia and militants associated with the Caucasus Emirate and, from June 2015, ...

, image = , caption = Flag of Caucasian Front and coat of arms of ChRI , dates of operation = May 2005 – October 2007 , type =

Guerilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run tactic ...

, ideology = Islamism , leaders = • Abdul-Halim Sadulayev •

Shamil Basayev Shamil Salmanovich Basayev ( ce, Салман ВоӀ Шамиль ; russian: Шамиль Салманович Басаев; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his kunya "Abu Idris", was a senior military commander in the Cheche ...

•

Dokka Umarov Doku Khamatovich Umarov ( ce, Ӏумар Хьамади кӀант Докка, translit='Umar Ẋamadi khant Dokka, ; russian: Доку Хаматович Умаров, Doku Khamatovich Umarov; 13 April 1964 – 7 September 2013), also known as ...

• Ali Taziev • Abdullah Yandurkaev , groups =

Ingush Jamaat Vilayat Galgayche (russian: Вилайят Галгайче, Vilayyat Galgayche; inh, Вилаят ГӀалгӀайче, Vilayat Ghalghayche), was an Islamist militant organization connected to numerous attacks against the local and federal sec ...

Shariat Jamaat
Yarmuk Jamaat

Kataib al-Khoul Kataib al-Khoul, also known as the Ossetian Jamaat and Vilayat Iriston (russian: Вилайят Иристон, Vilayyat Iriston; os, Вилайят Ирыстон, Vilajyat Iryston), was a militant Islamist organization connected to numerous att ...

, headquarters =

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

, area =

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, size = , partof = Flag_of_Chechen_Republic_of_Ichkeria

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (; ce, Нохчийн Республик Ичкери, Nóxçiyn Respublik Içkeri; russian: Чеченская Республика Ичкерия; abbreviated as "ChRI" or "CRI") was a ''de facto'' state that ...

, predecessor = Flag_of_Chechen_Republic_of_Ichkeria

, successor = Flag of Caucasian Emirate

Caucasus Emirate The Caucasus Emirate ( ce, Имарат Кавказ, Imarat Kavkaz, IK; russian: Кавказский эмират, Kavkazskiy emirat), also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a Jihadist ...

, opponents = , battles =

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 ...

, status= The Caucasian Front (russian: Кавказский фронт), also known as Caucasus Front or the Caucasian Mujahideen, established in May 2005 as an Islamic structural unit of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria's armed forces by the decree of the fourth

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

, Abdul-Halim Sadulayev. In September 2006, Ali Taziev was appointed as the

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

and commander-in-chief of the Caucasian Front by Dokku Umarov. The group eventually reorganized as "

Vilayat Nokhchicho The Province of Nokhchicho ( ce, Vilayat Noxçiyçö, Вилаят Нохчийчоь, , russian: Джамаат Нохчийчоь, translit=Djamaät Nokhchiicho', ) was the Chechen-based wing of the Caucasus Emirate organisation. It was created ...

" in 2007 and became a part of the

History

The group united various rebel Jamaat groups across the

, including the

, Shariat Jamaat, Yarmuk Jamaat and

, to fight the Russian rule not only in Chechnya but also in the rest of the Caucasus. It was led by a Chechen commander

until his death in July 2006 and since then by Ali Taziev. In October 2007 the Caucasian Front later became the

, a self proclaimed

emirate An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...

. While the anti-Russian local insurgencies in

started even before the formal creation of the Caucasian Front, two months after

Aslan Maskhadov Aslan (Khalid) Aliyevich Maskhadov (russian: Асла́н (Хали́д) Али́евич Масха́дов; ce, Масхадан Али-воӀ Аслан (Халид), Masxadan Ali-voj Aslan (Xalid); 21 September 1951 – 8 March 2005) was ...

's death, the new Chechen leader Abdul-Halim Sadulayev officially announced that they had formed a Caucasus Front within the framework of "reforming the system of military-political power." The movement had taken on a new role as the official ideological, logistical and, probably, financial hub of the new insurgency in the North Caucasus. Increasingly frequent clashes between federal forces and local rebels continued in Dagestan and Ingushetia, while sporadic fighting erupts in the other southern Russia regions. Before the declaration of the

, the movement had conducted two-large scale attacks, the

2004 Nazran raid The Nazran raid was a large-scale raid carried out in the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia on the night of June 21–22, 2004, by a group of Chechen (mostly) and Ingush militants led by Chechen commanders Shamil Basayev and Dokku Umarov. Chechen m ...

in Ingushetia and the 2005 Nalchik raid in Kabardino-Balkaria. The movement also launched many smaller attacks such as the 2006 Avtury ambush & 2007 Zhani-Vedeno ambush.

Fronts of the Caucasian front

Fronts within the Chechen Republic

* Northern Front (later became northeastern front and northwestern front) * Eastern front (later became southeastern front)

Fronts beyond the Chechen Republic

In October 2006, Dokku Umarov established two new fronts beyond the North Caucasus region.North Caucasus Conflict Spreads to Tatarstan

The Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission today is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, wh ...

, 2 August 2012 *

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

front (became Idel-Ural wilayah) *

Ural Ural may refer to: *Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan * Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India *Ural Federal District, in Russia *Ural econ ...

front

Sectors of the Caucasian front

The Caucasian Front was also divided into several sectors (

wilayat A wilayah ( ar, وَلاية, wālāya or ''wilāya'', plural ; Urdu and fa, ولایت, ''velâyat''; tr, vilayet) is an administrative division, usually translated as "state", " province" or occasionally as " governorate". The word comes ...

). * Ingush sector * Ossetian sector * Kabardino-Balkarian sector *

Stavropol Stavropol (; rus, Ставрополь, p=ˈstavrəpəlʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Stavropol Krai, Russia. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 547,820, making it one of Russia's fastest growing cities. It was known as ...

sector * Karachay-Cherkess sector * Adygean sector *

Krasnodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southe ...

sector

List of attacks

: 87 killed * 2005 Nalchik raid: 138 killed * 2006 Avtury ambush: 7 killed * 2007 Zhani-Vedeno ambush: 5 killed

References

{{Chechen wars Islamism in Chechnya Jihadist groups National liberation movements Political organizations based in Russia Organized crime by ethnic or national origin