Insurgency in the North Caucasus
The insurgency in the North Caucasus (Russian: Борьба с терроризмом на Северном Кавказе) was a low-level armed conflict between Russia and militants associated with the Caucasus Emirate and, from June 2015, the Islamic State, in the North Caucasus.[7][14][15][16] It followed the official end of the decade-long Second Chechen War on 16 April 2009.[17] It attracted volunteers from the MENA region, Western Europe, and Central Asia.[18] The Russian legislation considers the Second Chechen War and the insurgency described in this article as the same "counter-terrorist operations on the territory of the North Caucasus region".[19]
The insurgency became relatively dormant in its later years.[15][16] During its peak, the violence was mostly concentrated in the North Caucasus republics of Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria. Occasional incidents happened in surrounding regions, such as North Ossetia–Alania, Karachay-Cherkessia, Stavropol Krai, and Volgograd Oblast.
While the insurgency was officially declared over on 19 December 2017 when FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov announced the final elimination of the insurgent underground in the North Caucasus,[20] counter-terrorism operations in the North Caucasus have not ended.[19]