gestan and Chechnya and set up a socialist government (Johnson 2000: Infoplease.com "Timeline of Key Events in Chechnya"). The next conflict with Chechnya came in 1944 when Stalin deported thousands of Chechens to Siberia and Khazakhstan for fear of them cooperating with the Germans during World War II. Stalin basically exiled the Chechens from their homeland for thirteen years (Johnson, 2000: Infoplease.com "Timeline of Key Events in Chechnya"). Finally, in 1957 the Chechens were able to return home and live under Russian rule. There was a long period of peace until the fall of the Soviet Union.
             In 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed, 14 of its territories declared their independence. Chechnya was one of those territories. The Chechens held their own election and elected Dzhokhar Dudayev as their president (Johnson, 2000: Infoplease.com "Timeline of Key Events in Chechnya"). However, Russian President Boris Yeltsin refused to recognize Chechnya's independence. Yeltsin sent troops to Chechnya where they were met by a band of paramilitary Muslims that were heavily armed and the Russian troops were forced to withdraw (Johnson, 2000: Infoplease.com "Timeline of Key Events in Chechnya"). Chechnya still asserted its independence from Russia. In 1994 bands of Muslims from Chechnya executed wide spread kidnappings in order to get ransom money (Johnson, 2000: Infoplease.com "Timeline of Key Events in Chechnya"). Russia decides to invade Chechnya and a bloody war follows. The war resulted in over 70,000 deaths. In 1995 10,000 Russian troops invaded the Chechan capitol of Grozny and sent the rebels running (Johnson, 2000: Infoplease.com "Timeline of Key Events in Chechnya"). Chechen President Dudayev was also killed by a Russian rocket. The rebels may have been on the run, but they hit back hard.
             The Chechens launched a major counterstrike in 1996. The rebels ...