Insurgency Success Factors and Rebel Legitimacy
a way local criminals, warlords, radicals, and religious leaders were not. The de facto
government remains the only non-Russian affiliated Chechen political entity to engage in
economic, political, and social negotiations with foreign states and institutions.
It is important to note that the de facto government and separatist insurgency were
functioned as separate entities and experienced disagreement on some key areas until 1999. The
insurgent invasion of Dagestan in 1999, is perhaps the greatest indicator of the complex, yet
intertwined relationship between the de facto government and the insurgency. Chechen separatist
insurgent forces invaded the Russian-controlled Republic of Dagestan to "liberate" the state from
Russian control, despite heavy condemnation from de facto government leadership. When
Russian troops entered Chechnya, however, the government switched messaging to support
insurgent action, and militarily supported the insurgency's fight against Russian troops. The
leadership, resources, and military activity of the de facto government and separatist insurgency
merged temporarily during the First Chechen War, and completely in 1999 as the de facto
government lost control of political, geographical and economic territory and institutions.
This framework will be applied to the case study of the Chechen Rebellion in chapters
three through seven. The framework will be used to guide an evaluation of the impact of rebel
legitimacy in opening avenues for success in four key areas: political space, external support,
civilian support, and organizational management.
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