A deployment of some 40,000 Russian troops manages to gain control of most urban areas of Grozny, but not the mountainous regions of southern Chechnya. Thousands are killed as Chechen fighters continue to resist Russian military occupation for the next 20 months. Pummeled by intense bombing, the city center of Grozny is virtually destroyed and some 100,000 people -- many of them civilians -- are estimated killed over the course of the conflict, according to BBC reports.

As fighting continues between Chechen separatist fighters and Russian forces trying to gain further control over the region, Chechen rebels seize hundreds of hostages at a hospital in Budennovsk in southern Russia. More than 100 people are killed after an unsuccessful raid by Russian forces to end the standoff. During this time period, Russian troops begin the notorious zachistka operations -- known as "cleansing" or "mopping up" security missions -- during which Russian forces conduct house-to-house searches for rebel fighters or hidden weapons caches.

After weeks of negotiations, a fragile cease-fire is reached between separatist leaders and Russian officials, only to fall apart months later.

Doky Zavgayev, former president of the joint Chechen-Ingush republic, is elected Chechnya's president. However, Dudayev declares the results of the election invalid, claiming that the Zavgayev government is a puppet regime installed by Moscow.

A Russian rocket kills Dudayev by locking onto the signal from his mobile phone, according to reports from journalists in the region. Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, the Chechen vice president, succeeds him.

In their first formal negotiations, Yeltsin and Yandarbiyev sign a short-lived peace agreement.

Separatist fighters, led by militant commander Shamil Basayev, launch a fierce attack on Russian troops, recapturing Grozny. Moscow sends Russian Gen. Alexander Lebed to negotiate an end to the violent situation, which had become a political disaster for Yeltsin. Chechen rebel chief of staff Aslan Maskhadov and Lebed sign a cease-fire as part of the Khasavyurt Accords.

Lebed and Maskhadov's cease-fire evolves into a proposed peace settlement that includes an agreement on Russian troop withdrawals and the discussion of full Chechen independence in five years.