Seventeen years ago, on Aug. 10, 2009, Chechen human rights defender Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband, Alik Dzhabrailov, were abducted from the office of their charity in Grozny. Their bodies were found the following day, in what remains one of the most prominent unsolved killings of civil society activists in Chechnya.

Today marks 18 years since the start of the armed conflict between Russia and Georgia, known as the Five-Day War. It was on this day that Russia invaded Georgian territory, marking the beginning of hostilities between the two countries.

Operation "Jihad" began at dawn on August 6, 1996. A force of just 887 fighters from the Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria entered Grozny, facing a Russian military contingent numbering in the thousands. Learn more about the course of the operation and its aftermath in our video report.

On December 31, 1994, on New Year's Eve, Russian troops launched an assault on Grozny. As part of the so-called "operation to restore constitutional order," the Russian command hoped to quickly capture the city, but they encountered a resounding failure. The Chechen resistance engaged in fierce fighting, and the Russian army suffered significant losses. Learn more in our video report.