The Chechen⁽¹⁾ conflict between Russia and the separatists is still unresolved. Having had various statuses during the Soviet period, the Chechen republic declared its independence in November 1991; only Afghanistan recognised it. Two armed conflicts happened: in 1994-95 and 1999-2000.

Today, massive round-ups have given place to more discreet arrests, and attacks by Chechens, as with federal military operations, still occur daily.

The origins of the conflict date back to the seventeenth century when the Tsarist Empire colonised the Caucasus, the Chechens refusing this domination. This progressive colonisation of the Caucasus was accompanied by the Islamisation of the local populations, mainly towards the Sufi movement, and the communities often came under the responsibility of spiritual leaders. This situation continued up until the Soviet period.⁽²⁾ The Soviet regime met with vigorous opposition when it launched the land collectivisation programme and attempted to apply its anti-religious doctrines. On 12 May 1997, the Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov signed an ‘agreement for peace and on the principles of relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Chechnya’, and a framework agreement on economic cooperation. On 3 February 1999, the Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov proclaimed sharia law across the entire Republic. But the conflict was not resolved by diplomacy.