Word: moscow
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...first conquered the Caucasus, 19th century general Alexei Yermolov: use siege warfare rather than frontal assault. Make slow advances under cover of heavy guns and bombardment. Avoid close encounters with a lightly armed but fearsome enemy. Applying these principles in their current campaign, which began in late September, Moscow's generals aimed to grind down the rebel force until the remnants would flee back into the mountains and then keep them there, where they would gradually wither under the onslaught of winter and warplanes. It seemed to be working...
...rifle fire and rocket-propelled grenades that slaughtered the soldiers as their vehicles exploded in flames. Three hours later, more than 100 Russian corpses lay amid the wreckage, according to on-the-spot wire services. It was an awful replay of the head-on tactics that had cost Moscow so many casualties--and public support for the war--in a similar assault on Grozny five years...
Just that afternoon in Moscow, Russia's generals had boldly predicted imminent victory. The secret of their success, they said, was the change in tactics. Grozny would be taken "in a matter of days," declared General Valeri Manilov of the General Staff, and all of Chechnya would fall to Russia in a month or two. A day later, the military denied that any foray into Grozny had even taken place. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, chief sponsor and political beneficiary of the war, dismissed reports of heavy casualties as "complete nonsense...
...Minutka Square battle was the first real setback for Russia's military since it launched its "counter-terror operation," as Moscow insists on calling the war against Chechen independence. Russian generals are once again figures of respect, not the butt of jokes. The three ground commanders, Colonel General Viktor Kazantsev, Lieut. General Gennadi Troshev and Major General Vladimir Shamanov, were recently named heroes of the Russian Federation. The country's self-confidence has flourished along with its armed forces. And Putin's supporters happily predict that a victory will propel him to the presidency next July...
...Domestic political concerns, rather than U.S. criticism, may yet restrain Moscow. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's comments on Thursday that the end of the Chechnya campaign was "close" suggest that the political logic that pushed Moscow into this war may now prompt it to prematurely declare victory. "The primary political objective of this war is to get Putin elected president next year," says TIME Moscow correspondent Andrew Meier. "And Putin's handlers recognize that as fast as he's risen on the success of Chechyna thus far, he could fall just as fast if the public begins to perceive that...