Nowadays, terrorism has become a cancer of human society. Looking back, the losses caused by it are shocking. Today, uncle Ku led us into the terrorist attack in Russia more than 20 years ago.
On June 14, 1995, the 1200 hostages incident in bujonovsk hospital shocked the world, making Basayev an out and out terrorist and leaving a bloody and painful lesson to Russia.
Faced with the constant pressure of terrorists, Yeltsin’s compromise inflated the ambitions of Chechen terrorist and separatist forces, and gradually infiltrated the north Caucasus and even the hinterland of Russia
Why is Russia pinched by the “wolf of the Caucasus”?
What decision did Putin make next?
(Wang Zhengxing / tr. by Phil Newell)
Editor | Li Xue lookout think tank
This article is an original article of Wangwang think tank. If you need to reprint it, please indicate the source of Wangwang think tank (zhczyj) and the author’s information before the article. Otherwise, legal liability will be strictly investigated.
one
Forcing Yeltsin to sit at the negotiating table
After the “August 19 coup” in 1991, the Soviet Union was teetering.
On September 6, Dudayev, a retired Air Force Major General and Chechen who was awarded the title of “Soviet hero” in the Afghan war, overthrew the local regime by force; In November, it announced the establishment of the “Chechen Republic of iqcriya” and the formation of the illegal armed “Chechen National Guard”.
On October 5, 2011, a warning sign on a wasteland in the suburb of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. Figure Xinhua News Agency
On Nov. 9, in order to exert pressure on the Russian Federation government, badayev, the head of Dudayev’s guard, plotted a hijacking case – he and four other people hijacked a Tu-154 passenger plane carrying 171 passengers from the Russian mining city with grenades and guns. After flying to Türkiye, he withdrew and returned to Chechnya.
This incident directly established Basayev’s position in the hearts of Chechen terrorists.
[Note: in the 18th century, Chechnya was incorporated into the territory of Russia. During the Soviet Union, it was a part of the Russian Federation rather than a member Republic.]
Chechnya’s geographical position is extremely important. As a bridge connecting Russia and the three South Caucasus republics of Alain, Dagestan and Ingushetia, it is the only way for Russia to pass from the Caucasus to Europe, and also connects the oil pipelines in the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Moreover, behind Dudayev, there is the support of the United States, Britain and other countries. If Russia wants to defend national reunification, it must eliminate this separatist force.
However, at this time, Russia was still in the aftershock of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and its people were not stable, its economy was depressed, and it was unable to solve the Chechen issue, providing room for Dudayev’s separatist ambitions.
Three years later, the domestic situation in Russia stabilized. On December 11, 1994, Yeltsin sent troops to Chechnya, and the first Chechen War broke out.
In February of the following year, the Russian army took Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, after paying some casualties. Chechen illegal armed forces retreated into the mountains and launched guerrilla warfare. In the battle of Grozny, Basayev and the “Abkhazia” battalion he personally organized accumulated great prestige.
With the continuous advancement of the Russian army and the abandonment of the illegal armed forces, the Chechen issue will soon come to an end. Basayev decided to burn the war into Russia, forcing Yeltsin to sit at the negotiating table.
two
The terrorists jumped out of the coffin
In the early morning of June 14, in the Stavropol border region of Russia, a police car opened the road, followed by three military trucks. The first truck was carrying coffins, containing the bodies of martyrs transported from the Chechen front. The other two were soldiers in charge of escort.
Due to the particularity of the carrier and the lax defense system, the convoy easily passed through the checkpoints along the way without careful examination and arrived at bujonovsk City, about 100 kilometers away from Chechnya, at noon.
Administrative division of the north Caucasus region and geographical location of bujonovsk City
When the motorcade arrived near the Ministry of internal affairs in the center of the city, the “body” on the vehicle suddenly climbed out of the coffin, raised a gun to shoot around, killed the police and sentinels nearby, quickly occupied the Ministry of internal affairs building and raised the Chechen flag on the roof; Subsequently, the soldiers divided into multiple routes, successively attacked the police station, the communications bureau, the bank, the market, the Cultural Palace and other landmark buildings, and took hostages.
It turned out that these people were Chechen terrorists, disguised as federal soldiers who had withdrawn from the front line, and headed by Basayev wearing a green headband. The north Caucasus region is a sensitive region of Russia. The failure of the defense early warning system and intelligence work in this region in wartime left an opportunity for terrorists.
The terrorists infiltrating into the urban area were dispersed in advance and joined the battle according to the agreed signal, with a strength of about 70 people. Some terrorists hijacked several buses and ran around in the street, constantly shooting around and taking hostages.
According to the news, Stavropol border region quickly dispatched a large number of police and troops to the scene. The Russian Ministry of internal affairs and the State Security Bureau also sent troops to support, including the famous alpha special force.
Under the strong attack of the military and police forces, the terrorists withdrew from the building of the Ministry of internal affairs and fled into the urban area in multiple ways. Along the way, they kept taking hostages. They were directly shot and killed when they did not cooperate. In the evening, they regrouped in a hospital in the east of bujonovsk.
On June 17, 1995, Basayev took hostages at bujonovsk hospital.
There are about 450 medical workers, 150 children, about 350 pregnant women, lying in women and patients, and about 200 people abducted by terrorists from the urban area.
Basayev holds 1200 innocent lives in his hands.
In order to protect the hostages, the attacking Russian military police stopped and transferred armored vehicles to surround the hospital.
Unlike the ordinary hostage taking incident, the number of hostages was not only large, but also the terrorists were seriously affected by extremist and separatist ideas. Most of them survived the brutal fighting on the Chechen front. They had rich combat experience and used military weapons. The leader Basayev has received regular officer skill training and knows how to arrange troops.
Basayev’s terms:
*When one of his subordinates was killed, he killed 10 hostages;
*If injured, five hostages will be killed;
*The Russian authorities are required to send reporters to the hospital to interview and send representatives to negotiate.
three
I couldn’t make up my mind. The hostages were killed one after another
At this time, there is no precedent in the world to properly handle such a large-scale hostage taking incident. At that time, Russian President Yeltsin demanded that Basayev immediately release the hostages, and appointed the director of the National Security Bureau, stepashin, as the commander in chief of the operation to take measures to rescue the hostages. Deputy Prime Minister yegorov, defense minister grachov, interior minister Yelin, and Stavropol border region administrator Kuznetsov arrived at the scene one after another.
Yeltsin’s human rights adviser and State Duma representative kovalev believed that Basayev’s death declaration was a “bluff”. As a member of the State Duma, this person publicly accused Russia of military involvement in Chechnya as a platform for terrorists.
Is it a peaceful negotiated solution or a military rescue? Or is it a combination of negotiation and force? Yeltsin did not give clear instructions. Stepashin has never handled such a thorny incident. He was at a loss for a moment. He did not find the reporter Basayev wanted, nor did he arrange negotiation experts.
The terrorists shot and killed six wounded and sick Russian military and police officers, and shot and killed several hostages in the evening. They threw their bodies out of the window, once again demonstrating a tough attitude to the Russian government. At the same time, they brought enormous psychological pressure to thousands of hostages.
On the 15th, stepashen arranged for negotiation experts to contact Basayev. The real purpose of the attack finally surfaced. The terrorists proposed:
*Russia releases all Chechen detainees;
*Russia’s withdrawal from Chechnya;
*Recognize Chechnya’s independence.
How to solve the problem? Yeltsin’s general policy was vague, stepashen could not make up his mind, and the work of the negotiation team could not be carried out. At the beginning, everyone thought that Basayev was only a money and person, and had been negotiating around ransom and safe passage, without any negotiation strategy. Russian reply:
*Ransom can be paid;
*Provide vehicles to open safe passages for Basayev and his subordinates to evacuate;
*Release women, children, the elderly and the seriously injured.
The two sides fell into a stalemate. Basayev also asked for a global live broadcast of the news conference, which was sternly rejected by stepashen.
At 20:00, in order to put pressure on the Russian authorities, Basayev shot and killed six hostages one after another, and threatened to kill 10 more if he did not agree to the request for a press conference. Stepashin had to agree.
Terrorists in Chechnya claimed to have planted two large bombs in Moscow. The Russian side has improved the security level of major cities, including Moscow, increased police forces for important targets, checked passing vehicles, and focused on mobile personnel from the Caucasus region.
four
A quick decision turned into a stalemate
On the 16th, the Russian State Duma held a meeting to discuss the hijacking incident, but still failed to come up with operational guidance. It is inconceivable that, at a time when the lives of 1200 hostages are uncertain and the people of the whole country need the backbone most, Yeltsin did not go to bujonovsk. Instead, he went to Canada to attend the G-7 summit and appealed to the international community for help in front of the camera of the media.
The development of the incident has made more and more people realize that the Russian side is likely to launch a military rescue. In a speech outside the bujonovsk police station, yegorov said that he is fully negotiating with Basayev and will not risk the lives of innocent people; As many terrorists in Chechnya lay down their weapons, Russia will withdraw as many troops from Chechnya.
Basayev was not idle. He arranged traps and cross fire points at the entrance of the main channel of the hospital. At the same time, he learned the dynamics of the other side through the live news on the TV and was ready to kill people at any time.
Frightened hostages crowded in the corridor, surrounded by terrorists on patrol; Lack of food and water, the wounded can not get medical treatment, and the journalists who enter occasionally will be taken hostage as rescuers; The families of the hostages are anxiously waiting outside the hospital, constantly checking the paper posted on the bulletin board, hoping to get information from their relatives
During the negotiations, alpha special forces continued to try to spy on the inside of the hospital. However, the front of the hospital is an open area, the surrounding buildings lack a good perspective, the terrorists and hostages are mixed together, the effect of technical and human reconnaissance means is limited, the number of terrorists, the type of firepower, the position structure and the setting of obstacles are unknown, and even the structural drawing of the main building of the hospital can not be found.
It is difficult for the existing intelligence to support the headquarters to formulate a sound action plan, and it is difficult for the commandos to organize targeted combat training. The best way to buy time is to delay. However, the Russian side has obviously failed to achieve its goal.
On the 17th, stepashin decided to launch a strong attack.
At 5:30, the battle began. Alpha was the main attack, and other military and police forces were responsible for assisting. The buildings around the main building such as the hospital garage, canteen and emergency building were gradually controlled by the Russian military and police, and nearly 100 hostages were rescued.
The combat environment is a large-scale hospital building complex, in which there are deceptive mines and cross fire points. When attacking the main building, the Russian army encountered difficulties. Basayev arranged cross fire in the open area in front of the main building. More importantly, the Russian offensive forces belonged to different units – including the army of the Russian Federation, the mobile force of the Ministry of internal affairs and the alpha special force of the Security Bureau, as well as the regional police force attached to the Stavropol border region and bujonovsk city. There was no effective coordination between them.
The commandos launched three attacks, but the results were limited. When Alfa passed through the open area of the main building of the hospital, he encountered cross fire suppression by terrorists due to command problems and poor coordination between infantry and Tanzania, resulting in unnecessary casualties.
Afterwards, Basayev once commented on the Russian military and police participating in the rescue operation: “they are a group of brave soldiers led by mediocre people.”.
As a result, a quick and decisive attack turned into a stalemate that the commander did not want to see in the military rescue.
five
Armed with human shields, they left in arrogance
After a brief adjustment, the Russian side dispatched armored vehicles to directly bombard the main building of the hospital. Alpha took the opportunity to attack the ground floor of the main building and rescued dozens of hostages.
Basayev saw this and forcibly took the hostages to the window to serve as human shields and ordered the killing of the hostages.
Stepashin believes that if the war continues, it will be even more uncontrollable. Even if all terrorists are eliminated, a large number of hostages will be killed, and it will be impossible to explain to the people and the international community. He ordered a halt to the attack.
At 0900 hours, the battle ended. 14 terrorists were killed, 11 Russian military and police personnel were killed (including 3 alpha team members), and more than 100 hostages were injured by mistake, stray bullets and massacres during the fighting.
After negotiations, the Russian side stopped attacking and Basayev released 154 women and children.
It is obvious that the director of the security bureau can not cope with the deterioration of the situation.
On the morning of the 18th, then Russian Prime Minister Chernomyrdin negotiated with Basayev through a special telephone. Basayev’s requirements remain basically unchanged:
*Russian troops stopped military operations in Chechnya and withdrew;
*Start the peace talks between Russia and Chechnya;
*Provide transportation means and open up safe passages to ensure the evacuation of them and their subordinates.
After more than ten hours of tug of war negotiations, Chernomyrdin finally compromised and made a public statement at 20:35 on the same day:
*The Russian army stopped all military operations in Chechnya at 0500 hours on June 19, 1995, and Basayev released all hostages;
*A delegation led by Mikhailov was set up and went to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, on the 18th to take charge of all peace negotiations on Chechen issues;
*After releasing all hostages, Basayev will provide transportation to ensure that he and his subordinates can reach Chechnya safely.
After the statement was issued, Basayev began to release the hostages in batches, and the Russian side also began to prepare passenger cars and safe passages. At 5:00 on the 19th, the Russian troops in Chechnya stopped all military operations.
In the hospital, Basayev detained 120 hostages (including 16 journalists and 9 State Duma representatives), and the rest were released. Subsequently, the terrorists boarded seven buses in groups with the hostages. The hostages as shields and chips were seated near the window and the terrorists were in the aisle.
After all of them boarded the bus, Basayev did not immediately order the departure, but continued to propose to take away the bodies of the killed accomplices, claiming that these terrorists were “warriors who sacrificed for Chechen independence”. The Russian side urgently dispatched a refrigerated vehicle for its use.
When they were ready, the Russian army watched the convoy led by Basayev drive away from bujonovsk.
In the course of the convoy, the terrorists sent a document to each hostage and asked for his signature. The content was “voluntarily join the army of Basayev and be responsible for this Act”. Some people obeyed and others refused.
The convoy entered Zadak village in Chechnya via Dagestan, and the hostages were released.
six
Compromised Russia is pinched at the “door of life”
The incident ended. According to the statistical results reported by Kuznetsov, chief executive of Stavropol border region, 129 hostages were killed (including 18 who died of serious injuries) and 415 were injured in the whole incident. A large number of people suffered great psychological trauma, and 11 Russian military and police officers were killed; 54 government buildings and 110 civilian houses were destroyed, and the direct economic loss exceeded 171 billion rubles.
The terrorists were killed 14 people, and the rest almost escaped.
The Russian government’s performance in the incident has greatly disappointed people from all walks of life. Yeltsin’s support rate has dropped. The hostages have strongly protested against the release of terrorists by the government. The State Duma’s motion of no confidence in the government has won the support of the majority of parliamentarians. Many senior officials, including then deputy prime minister yegorov, defense minister grachov, Minister of the interior Yelin, and director of the National Security Bureau stepashin, have successively resigned, Kovalev, a platform for terrorists and separatist forces, was dismissed by the State Duma.
However, these are only appearances, and the evil consequences caused by the incident began to appear in the later days – the Russian government, which chose to compromise, gave terrorists a “lifeline”.
Yeltsin’s compromise inflated the ambitions of Chechen terrorists, gradually spread to the north Caucasus region adjacent to Chechnya, and even penetrated into the hinterland of Russia – Basayev tasted the sweetness of terrorist attacks, which was far more cost-effective than war. At the same time, he has accumulated experience in organizing large-scale group terrorist attacks in practice. Since then, he has continued to experiment and optimize on Russian soil.
On November 23, Basayev announced on television that radioactive materials had been placed around Moscow. The Russian emergency rescue team launched a carpet search and finally found four radioactive cans containing medical cesium stolen by terrorists from bujonovsk hospital. The radiation terrorist attack caused psychological panic in Russian society.
In August 1996, Yeltsin ordered the withdrawal of troops from Chechnya. With the “hassaviyurt peace agreement”, the fruits of the war that the Russian army paid a huge price in Chechnya disappeared.
In August 1999, Basayev gathered more than 5000 people from Chechnya to attack the Russian army camp in Dagestan in an attempt to split Dagestan from Russia.
seven
“The wolf of the Caucasus” was blown to pieces
At this time, Putin, who had just become prime minister, was fully responsible for handling the incident and coordinating various powerful departments to crack down on the Basayev terrorist forces.
On July 10, 2006, officers of the Russian internal security forces inspected the scene in Ingushetia. Basayev and several illegal armed elements were killed in the bombing on the same day.
After Basayev was hit, he sent a large number of terrorists to sneak into Russia, smuggled explosives into Moscow, buinaksk, volgatensk and other cities, and launched a series of explosions, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries. Not only that, the terrorists also randomly made terrorist phone calls and spread false information such as bomb attacks, which caused panic.
Putin seized the opportunity to send troops into Chechnya in October. With the first experience, the Russian army fought steadily in the second Chechen War. In May 2000, it successfully ended the war and regained control of Chechnya.
Basayev broke his leg in the battle and hid in the mountains. Referring to the hostage incident in bujonovsk hospital, he planned and carried out a series of terrorist attacks such as the Moscow theater hostage incident and the Beslan school hostage incident. His hands were stained with the blood of the Russian people.
In the face of media interviews, he admitted that he was a terrorist, but he was also afraid of being targeted by Russia. Only a few of his close friends knew where he was hiding. Russia offered a reward of US $10 million to collect clues to capture the “Caucasian wolf”.
In 2002, after the hostage incident at the Moscow theater, Putin immediately cancelled important foreign affairs activities, took charge of Moscow, and personally directed the handling of the hostage incident.
In March 2006, Russia plans to hold the G8 summit in St. Petersburg. Basayev bought a large number of high explosives and weapons from different countries and prepared to give Putin a “big gift”.
On July 10, Basayev led a convoy full of explosives and weapons in Ingushetia to nazlan. Suddenly there was a loud noise. The bomb on the truck exploded, and then the convoy exploded in a series.
Basayev was blown to pieces and became another important leader of Chechen terrorists killed by the Russian army after Dudayev, mashadov, dododov and sadurayev.
It turned out that the Russian intelligence department had long targeted the core figure of the Chechen terrorist forces and had moved his hands in the bomb.
On the same day, the terrorists issued a statement on the website of “kafkaz center”, confirming that Basayev and three subordinates were killed in ekazevo village of Ingushetia Republic, and Umarov, who was the “commander in chief of Chechen anti-government armed southwest front” and “Chechen president”, became the successor.
On the 13th, in order to prevent retaliatory terrorist attacks, the Russian army held a two-week large-scale joint anti-terrorism exercise of the three armed forces in the southern region.
At the G-8 summit opened on the 15th, Putin announced the death of Basayev to the world.
On the 20th, Putin held a celebration meeting in Moscow to commend the meritorious personnel who killed Basayev and made a speech, demanding that the people of the whole country heighten their vigilance and that all armed forces strengthen their crackdown on terrorists.
On April 8, 2014, Basayev’s successor Umarov was killed by the Russian army.
As of 2017, of the 55 terrorists who escaped from bujonovsk hospital with Basayev, 6 were killed by the Russian army, 28 were sentenced to prison, and the remaining 21 were missing or still pursued by the Russian army.
Just as Putin said: “it is God’s job to forgive terrorists. What we need to do is send them to God.”.
Attachment:
Some terrorist attacks planned and carried out by Basayev
date
place
Attack mode
Hostage casualties
1991
November 9th
Mineral water city
Hijacking Tu-154 passenger plane
nothing
1995
June 14th
Bujonovsk
Occupy the hospital
Death 129
Injured 415
1996
January 9th
Kizilia
Occupy the hospital
Death 78
1999
September
Moscow, buynaksk, volgadensk
Homemade bomb attacks residential buildings
Death exceeds 300
2001
March 16th
Istanbul
Hijacking Tu-154 passenger plane
Death 2
2002
October 23rd
Moscow
Occupy the theater
Death 126
2002
December 27th
Grozny
Suicide car bomb
Death 72
2003
May 14th
Chechen village
Suicide bomb
Death 18
2003
July 5th
Moscow
Suicide bomb
Death 15
2003
December 5th
Towns in Chechnya
Homemade bomb attacks train
Death 44
2004
February 6th
Moscow
Homemade bomb attacks subway
Death 41
2004
May 9th
Grozny
Commemoration of victory day of homemade bomb attack
Death 25
2004
June 21st
Nazlan
Direct attack
Death over 90
2004
August 24th
Sochi, Volgograd
Homemade bomb attacks on Tu-154 and tu-134 airliners
Death 90
2004
August 31st
Moscow
Suicide bomber attacks subway
Death 10
2004
September 1st
Beslan
Occupy the school
Death 321
Injured 704
2005
July 25th
Bairam
Homemade bomb attacks train
Death 12
2005
October 13th
Kabalda balkaria
Direct attack on the police station
Death 45
(this article is about the cooperation between think tank and Wang Zhengxing. Wang Zhengxing, a former officer of a field army of the people’s Liberation Army, whose public name is “this is the war”, wechat ID: xiaoxiaongchumo123, welcome to follow.)