Battle of Grozny (1994–1995)
The First Battle of Grozny was the Russian Army's invasion and subsequent conquest of the Chechen capital, Grozny, during the early months of the First Chechen War. The attack would last from December 1994 to March 1995, which resulted in the military occupation of the city by the Russian Army and rallied most of the Chechen nation around the government of Dzhokhar Dudayev.
A Chechen militia fighter takes cover behind a burned-out Russian BMP-2 armoured vehicle
A Chechen fighter during the Battle of Grozny, January 1995
A Chechen civilian prays in Grozny, January 1995. The flame in the background is coming from a gas pipeline hit by air-burst shrapnel.
A Chechen fighter near the Presidential Palace in Grozny, January 1995
The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the Russian Federation from December 11th, 1994 to August 31st, 1996. This conflict was preceded by the battle of Grozny in November 1994, during which Russia covertly sought to overthrow the new Chechen government. Following the intense Battle of Grozny in 1994–1995, which concluded as a pyrrhic victory for the Russian federal forces, their subsequent efforts to establish control over the remaining lowlands and mountainous regions of Chechnya were met with fierce resistance from Chechen guerrillas who often conducted surprise raids.
A Russian Mil Mi-8 helicopter brought down by Chechen fighters near the Chechen capital of Grozny in 1994.
Dudayev's supporters pray in front of the Presidential Palace in Grozny, 1994.
Chechen women praying for Russian troops not to advance on Grozny, December 1994.
A Chechen fighter near the burned-out ruins of the Presidential Palace in Grozny, January 1995