Radio War Nerd #324 — Chechen Wars, Pt. 3: The First Chechen War
Recorded: April 5, 2022
In part 3 of our Russia-Chechnya Wars series, we start with Chechnya's first declaration of independence in 1991, the long slide to war in 1994, and end with Russia's shock military defeat in August 1996, on the same day that zombie-Yeltsin was inaugurated for his second term as Russia's president.
Images:
*Original Russian invasion plan
*Grozny disaster, December 31, 1994 - Jan 3, 1995
Previous episodes on the Chechen Wars:
*EP #321 - Intro to Chechen Wars
*EP #322 - Chechen Wars, Part 2: 1722-1991
Total time: 2:08:16
Comments (14)
1:08 Connecticut mentioned:’)
I’ve heard reports that Russia retreated from Butscha (Ukraine) and the reports of war crimes started 3 days later,,, implying had there been bodys in the streets one could assume a more rapid response… but I’d like to not assume anything..
Very illuminating, thanks for making this
Mark wtf was that intro
You mentioned that the demonstrators didn't storm the KGB headquaters. On the one hand that seems to be a good thing: "no violence". On the other hand: Memorial just got banned by a former KGB agent... Maybe in Russia they couldn't get rid of the old elites altogether. But I don't understand how there could be any democratic development in Russia without getting rid of the KGB elites. Another point: The whole story about "bad influence from the west" (there for sure was plenty) in my eyes doesn't suffice to explain the development Russia took. That seems way to simplistic.
sometimes it really is kind of simple though, the west did everything possible to fuck with the elections that put Yeltsin in power and then Yeltsin put Putin on power..with all of the centralized executive powers that the west encouraged Yeltsin to take. On a broader level, the economic chaos that the west created through shock therapy is exactly the kind of economic and political situation that is perfect for 'strongmen' types.
President Dudayev of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, if you're not into the whole brevity thing
This was a particularly good episode, thank you Mark. As John said, it really sheds a lot of light on the current conflict. Really looking forward to the next few episodes, you guys are helping keep me sane in the middle of this full on propaganda campaign, thank you. Seems like civilians deaths aren't tragedies, they're opportunities to craft a message, it's really disgusting. I hope your brother is doing better.
Thanks Lionel, appreciate it.
Naashvilli lol
Any day graced by a new War Nerd episode is a good day
You guys ever heard of this book, Chechen Blues by Alexander Prokhanov? It's supposed to be a classic and its been finally translated into English. https://antelopehillpublishing.com/product/chechen-blues-by-alexander-prokhanov/
That press looks a little fashy
I really like your collection of links to previous episodes. Please don't forget to update the main one with all the episodes and make sure it comes high up. Would be cool.