Chechnya holds presidential elections in the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse. Retired Soviet army Gen. Dzhokhar Dudayev wins, claiming 90 percent of the vote. Russia's legislature does not recognize the election's legitimacy, pointing out that six of the 14 districts in the Chechen-Ingush republic did not take part in the voting. Dudayev declares Chechnya independent of Russia almost immediately after the elections.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin enacts emergency rule in Chechnya in reaction to Dudayev's declaration of independence, sending Russian troops to the airport near Grozny. In response, Dudayev readies a military defense. During an emergency session, the Russian Supreme Soviet refused to back Yeltsin's decision to take military action and the Russian troops left Chechnya soon thereafter.

Three militant Chechen separatists hijack a Russian passenger plane and force it to fly to Turkey with the intention of holding a news conference to condemn the Russian position on Chechnya. Afterwards, the three hijackers are not sent to Russian authorities for prosecution, but are instead allowed to return to Chechnya where they are reportedly greeted as "national heroes" according to John Dunlop's book, Russia Confronts Chechnya. One of the hijackers, Shamil Basayev, would later become a key figure in the separatist movement, leading militant attacks on Russian troops and a hospital in southern Russia.

All autonomous republics of the former Soviet Union sign a federation treaty except Chechnya and Tatarstan.

Russia recognizes the division of Ingushetia and Chechnya into two separate republics. Ingushetia keeps its ties to the Russian Federation while Chechnya's claim to independence remains unrecognized by Moscow or the international community.

Chechnya adopts a constitution recognizing itself as an independent state with a president and parliament. Dudayev refuses to sign a treaty with Russia that would have made Chechnya a Russian republic with a great degree of autonomy, instead repeating earlier demands for complete independence. In the following months, thousands of ethnic Russians flee Chechnya as the region struggles to deal with its complex ethnic makeup.

According to a 1996 essay by Vera Tolz, there is no real local or federal authority or parliament in charge of Chechnya, and borders are ill-defined during this period. This leads to the creation of a huge black market for arms and drugs sales — a development that benefited Chechens and Russians alike, according to some regional observers. Official figures show industrial production drops in the Chechen and Ingush republics by some 30 percent in 1992 and another 61 percent in 1993, while unemployment skyrockets, author John Dunlop writes. According to Dunlop, this leads Dudayev and his partners to turn to illegal sources of income such as money counterfeiting, document falsification, weapons sales and the narcotics trade.

A Russian delegation visits Grozny and signs a protocol on the preparation of a treaty on the delimitation of powers in Chechnya, but Dudayev is excluded from the talks and does not recognize the negotiations as legitimate. The Russian delegation proceeds to negotiate with members of the Chechen parliament who were virtually powerless in the politics of the region at the time according to a 1996 essay by Vera Tolz.

After the Republic of Tatarstan signs a bilateral treaty with Moscow, the pressure increases on Chechnya to follow suit, as it becomes the only new republic not to participate in a Russian Federation treaty.

Disillusioned with many of Dudayev's decisions and supported by Russian special forces, Chechen opposition troops, known as the Provisional Chechen Council, attempt unsuccessfully to take over Grozny and end the separatist movement.

Yeltsin orders Russian tanks and troops to enter Chechnya to restore "constitutional order."