Insurgency Success Factors and Rebel Legitimacy
reduced the rebellion's legitimacy. The bombings and repeat invasions of Dagestan represented a
growing security concern to Russian and international actors 55. The Chechen insurgency is
credited with committing both the invasion of Dagestan and the apartment bombings. The de
facto government publicly decried both the invasion of Dagestan and the apartment bombings, in
an attempt to retain favorable perceptions amongst Russian actors and the international
community56. External perceptions recognized the de facto government's inability to control
insurgent activity, or maintain security. This perception decreased perceptions amongst Russian
administration, elites, and civilians of the Chechen government as a legitimate political actor,
who could maintain control and rule over Chechnya 57.
Legitimacy catapulted the momentum of the independence movement in several key
ways. First, the movement obtained early sympathies from international and domestic actors, as
well as wide-spread support from the Chechen population 58. Public acknowledgement in
different arenas in Russian political space both restricted the Russian government's ability to
react harshly to the bid and opened avenues for rebellion leaders to access diplomacy, resources,
and effectively declare control over Chechen political space59.
Three factors, in particular, contributed to awarding the rebellion legitimacy in Russian-
Chechen political space: support of political institutions and elites, democratic elections, and
negotiations. The three factors provide the strongest indicators of areas where insurgents
managed to harness legitimacy to achieve greater access to the resources and relationships
political space contributed to rebellion success.
Support of Legitimate Political Institutions and Political Elites
Political actors, namely elites and political leaders, awarded the Chechen separatist
movement with varying levels of legitimacy from 1990 to 2007. These actors effectively
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