On April 16th, Russia formally ceased counter-terrorism operations in Chechnya, putting an official end to a nearly ten-year campaign. Stability in the troubled North Caucasus region, however, remains tenuous, as a small insurgency continues to simmer. As the Interfax news agency reports, the move comes from an order by President Dmitri Medvedev.
“This step will continue to lead Chechnya out from Russia’s legal framework,” journalist and researcher Vladimir Voronin told the Kasparov.ru online newspaper. Voronin said the order was at once a populist measure, and a step that will allow Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov to maintain a large deal of freedom and independence from the federal center for Chechnya.
The counter-terrorism operation in Chechnya was initiated in September 1999, after a series of apartment bombings left hundreds dead in Moscow. The Kremlin linked the bombings to Chechen terrorist groups. Military operations had started earlier, in ...
