Insurgency Success Factors and Rebel Legitimacy
cities. One such battle occurred in 1999 when Shamil Basaev was leading a battle against
Russian troops. After suffering terrible losses, Basayev led the remaining rebel militia, followed
by Russian troops, to his hometown, anticipating that familiarity with the terrain would provide a
military advantage. Instead, Russian militia destroyed the town and killed nearly 100 villagers,
including six members of Basayev's family. Civilian opinions of the rebellion were further
reduced after incidences such as these, where the rebellion was perceived as putting civilians at
risk 248
The Second Chechen War also presented crushing military blows against the rebellion on
a scale not seen in the First Chechen War 249. The failure of the insurgency to negotiate with the
Russian government to secure peace deals challenged civilian perceptions of rebel ability to
protect Chechen civilians against Russian forces. One of the main reasons for Kadyrov's
defection from the insurgency is the perception that conceding to Russia as the surest way,
possibly only way, to end the war and achieve security in Chechnya 250.
While Russia declared victory over the rebellion in 2000, forces failed to achieve control
of Chechnya until 2002251. From 2002 up until 2007, Russia retained an active military presence
of security forces in Chechnya and launched an ongoing counterinsurgency campaign to address
the Chechen insurgency 252. Russia's COIN operations further challenged the legitimacy of rebel
protection of civilians. After 2000, Russian troops were ordered to punish rebels and suspected
supporters. Family members of rebels became targets for imprisonment, torture, and murder 253.
Over time, security forces largely failed to differentiate between Chechen civilians and Chechen
insurgents, resulting in arbitrary arrests, torture, and civilian disappearances 254. While the
rebellion references such acts commonly in propaganda campaigns, rebels failed to openly
challenge or deter Russian action. Rebel absence in civilian wrongs at the hands of the Russian
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