Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Chechen National Army | |
---|---|
Chechen: Nóxçiyn Respublik Içkeri Qoman Eskar | |
Active | 1991-2001 |
Country | Chechen Republic of Ichkeria |
Type | Army |
Role | Land warfare |
Headquarters | Grozny |
Sub-branches | General Staff ∟ Army ∟ Air Force |
Commanders | |
Commander-in-Chief | Dzhokhar Dudayev (until 1991) |
The Chechen National Army (Chechen: Nóxçiyn Respublik Içkeri Qoman Eskar; Russian: Национальную Армия Чеченской Республики Ичкерия) or Chechen Armed Forces were the united militarized formations of the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
Defence Ministers of Chechnya[]
- Magomed Khanbiev (1998—2004)
- Rustaman Makhauri (2004—2007)
Branches[]
Ground Forces[]
Dudayev spent the years from 1991 to 1994 preparing for war, mobilizing men aged 15–55 and seizing Russian weapons depots. This was seen as a bid to prop up Chechnya's independence and sovereignty.[1] Major weapons systems were seized from the Russian military in 1992, and on the eve of the First Chechen War they included 23 air defense guns, 108 APC/tanks, 24 artillery pieces, 5 MiG-17/15, 2 Mi-8 helicopters, 24 multiple rocket launchers, 17 surface to air missile launchers.[2] The ground forces counted 10,000 troops in December 1994, rising to 40,000 soldiers by early 1996.[2]
Structure:
- General Staff
- Special Purpose Regiment
- Tank Regiment
- Separate Aviation Detachment
- Military college
- Civil defense units
Air Force[]
As a result of the withdrawal from the Chechen Republic in 1992, parts of the Russian army were left with almost all weapons, including aircraft and air defense systems. At the Kalinovskaya Airbase, the Armavir Aviation School left 39 combat training aircraft L-39 Albatross, 80 L-29 Dolphin, 3 MiG-17 fighters, 2 MiG-15UTI training aircraft, 6 An-2 aircraft and 2 helicopters Mi-8. The military also had 94 L-29 trainer aircraft, 52 L-39 trainer aircraft, 6 An-22 transport aircraft, and 5 Tu-134 transport aircraft.[2] Most of the Chechen aviation equipment was destroyed at airfields in the very first days of the Chechen campaign. The air defense of the air bases consisted of 10 Strela-10 air defense systems, 23 anti-aircraft artillery installations of various types and 7 Igla MANPADS. In addition, according to some media reports, the units of the Mujahideen who fought in Chechnya had a certain number of American-made Stinger MANPADS.
Bases[]
Three air bases were used to base the Chechen aviation forces:
- Airbase "Grozny - Severny"
- Airbase "Kalinovskaya"
- Khankala airbase
It was also reported about the ongoing work on the adaptation of several sections of highways for the basing of aircraft.
National Guard[]
The Chechen National Guard (Chechen: Nóxçiyn Respublik Içkeri Qoman Gvardi; Russian: Национальную гвардию Чеченской Республики Ичкерия) was a major formation in Chechnya and its military. On March 13, 1997, President Aslan Maskhadov, established the National Guard of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which was to become the only regular armed formation, on the basis of the Armed Force s of the CRI. Brigadier General Magomed Khanbiev was appointed commander of the CRI National Guard. The number of the National Guardsmen was 2,000 and it included the autonomous Presidential Guard, which was directly subordinate to the President, and the Sharia Guard, which was at the disposal of the Supreme Shariah Court of the CRI. In addition, individual battalions were subordinate to the General Staff and the chairman of the government.[3]
Organizational structure[]
- National Guard Units
- 1st Battalion of the National Guard named after Umalt Dashaev[4]
- 2nd Battalion of the National Guard named after Khamzat Khankarov[4]
- 3rd Battalion of the National Guard named after Dzhokhar Dudayev[4]
- 8th Argun National Guard Battalion[5]
- 10th Shali Armored Battalion of the National Guard[5]
- Engineer Battalion[4]
- Presidential Guard
- Sharia Guard (Islamic religious police)
- Security Battalion of the General Staff of the Armed Forces
- Special Battalion under the Cabinet of Ministers of the CRI
Other paramilitary/security formations[]
- Interior Ministry
- Department of National Security - Based on the former Soviet KGB
- Anti-terrorist Center under the President of the CRI - In May 1997, the Anti-Terrorist Center was created under the President of the CRI, headed by the field commander Khunkar-Pasha Israpilov.[3]
See also[]
- Armed Forces of Transnistria
- Artsakh Defence Army
- Abkhazian Armed Forces
- Armed Forces of South Ossetia
- Donbas People’s Militia
- Luhansk People’s Militia
References[]
- ^ "Chechnya: Ten Years After -- The Logic Behind The First Chechen War". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
- ^ a b c Lutz, Raymond R. (April 1997). "Russian Strategy In Chechnya: a Case Study in Failure". Archived from the original on 27 October 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
- ^ a b Тимур Музаев — ЧЕЧЕНСКАЯ РЕСПУБЛИКА ИЧКЕРИЯ. Общий обзор.
- ^ a b c d Чеченский кризис-99 Тимур МУЗАЕВ Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Чеченская Республика Ичкерия в мае 1999 года Тимур МУЗАЕВ. 1999 г. Из серии «Политический мониторинг».
- Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
- Military units and formations established in 1991
- Military by former country
- Paramilitary organizations based in Russia
- Guerrilla organizations