1996 The beginning of the assault on Grozny
Twenty years ago, on August 6, 1996, Chechen separatists led by Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev launched an assault on Grozny. Federal troops, despite more than threefold superiority in people and absolute - in armored vehicles and aviation, were defeated, and the militants were able to gain a foothold in the city.