Tumakov D. V. The beginning of the first Chechen war 1994—1996 in the assessment of the party “Democratic choice of Russia”

The article is devoted to how the Democratic Choice of Russia party assessed the entry of federal troops into rebellious Chechnya in December 1994 and the beginning of the first Chechen war of 1994—1996. The source of this publication were the fundamental party documents, the memories of its leader E. T. Gaidar and other Russian politicians, as well as the materials of the central periodical press of the mid 90s. The party suggested alternative ways of influencing the regime of Chechen separatists. Various forms of anti-war protest by Democrats are also reflected. Much attention is paid to the ambiguity of the position of the Russian “young reformers” and the presence of different points of view in the ranks of the former “party of power”. Some of them advocated a complete severance of relations with the Kremlin because of the bloody war in the North Caucasus, others were for a compromise in the “Chechen issue” and conditional support for the course of Russian President Boris Yeltsin. In conclusion, the author draws the attention to the fact that the political positions of the Democratic Choice of Russia party were generally weakened in the mid 90s and that it was unable to become the leader of a strong anti-war movement.

Reference to article:

Tumakov D. V. The beginning of the first Chechen war 1994—1996 in the assessment of the party “Democratic choice of Russia” // Ivanovo State University Bulletin. Series «The Humanities». 2021. No.4. P. 111–117.