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The First Chechen War occurred during a two year period when Russian forces attempted to stop Chechnya from seceding, lasting from 1994 to 1996. Conservative casualty estimates are 7,500 Russian military, 4,000 Chechen combatants, and no less than 35,000 civilians - a minimum total of 46,500 dead. Others have cited figures in the range 80,000 to 100,000.
The Second Chechen War is the current military campaign initiated by Russia in 1999 that recaptured Chechnya, which had briefly gained de facto independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria following the First Chechen War. Although sporadic fighting continues to this day, the Russian military and political campaign has succeeded in installing a pro-Moscow Chechen regime, and eliminating the most prominent Chechen separatist leaders including former president Aslan Maskhadov and leading warlord Shamil Basayev.
Chechnya, 1996