home » Psychology of Personality » Unknown photos of the war in Chechnya. Unknown photos of the war in Chechnya Photos of the Chechen war

Unknown photos of the war in Chechnya. Unknown photos of the war in Chechnya Photos of the Chechen war

We present you the release of photographs by Alexander Nemenov about the First Chechen War and the history of this military conflict. (Warning! This issue contains photographic materials that may seem unpleasant or frightening)

1. The First Chechen War (the Chechen conflict of 1994-1996, the First Chechen campaign, the Restoration of the constitutional order in the Chechen Republic) - hostilities between the troops of Russia (AF and the Ministry of Internal Affairs) and the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in Chechnya, and some settlements in neighboring regions of the Russian North Caucasus, in order to take control of the territory of Chechnya, on which the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was proclaimed in 1991.

2. Officially, the conflict was defined as "measures to maintain constitutional order", military operations were called the "first Chechen war", less often the "Russian-Chechen" or "Russian-Caucasian war". The conflict and the events preceding it were characterized by a large number of casualties among the population, military and law enforcement agencies, there were facts of ethnic cleansing of the non-Chechen population in Chechnya.

3. Despite certain military successes of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the results of this conflict were the withdrawal of Russian units, massive destruction and casualties, the de facto independence of Chechnya before the Second Chechen War, and a wave of terror that swept across Russia.

4. With the beginning of perestroika in various republics of the Soviet Union, including Checheno-Ingushetia, various nationalist movements became more active. One such organization was the All-National Congress of the Chechen People (OKChN), which was set up in 1990 and aimed at secession of Chechnya from the USSR and the creation of an independent Chechen state. It was headed by the former General of the Soviet Air Force Dzhokhar Dudayev.

5. On June 8, 1991, at the II session of the OKCHN, Dudayev proclaimed the independence of the Chechen Republic Nokhchi-cho; Thus, a dual power developed in the republic.

6. During the "August coup" in Moscow, the leadership of the CHIASSR supported the State Emergency Committee. In response to this, on September 6, 1991, Dudayev announced the dissolution of the republican state structures, accusing Russia of a "colonial" policy. On the same day, Dudayev's guards stormed the building of the Supreme Council, the television center and the Radio House. More than 40 deputies were beaten, and the chairman of the Grozny City Council, Vitaly Kutsenko, was thrown out of a window, as a result of which he died. On this occasion, the head of the Chechen Republic Zavgaev D. G. spoke in 1996 at a meeting of the State Duma "Yes, on the territory of the Chechen-Ingush Republic (today it is divided), the war began in the fall of 1991, namely the war against a multinational people, when the criminal criminal regime under some support of those who today also show an unhealthy interest in the situation here, these people were covered in blood. The first victim of what was happening was the people of this republic, and the Chechens above all. , during a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Republic. When Besliev, the Vice-Rector of the State University, was shot dead in the street. When Kankalik, the Rector of the same State University, was killed. When up to 30 people were found killed on the streets of Grozny every day in the autumn of 1991. When, starting from the autumn of 1991, and until 1994 Grozny's morgues were packed to the ceiling, made ads on local television asking to be picked up, to identify who is there, and so on. - Zavgaev D.G., Head of the Chechen Republic, transcript of the meeting of the State Duma dated July 19, 1996.

8. Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR Ruslan Khasbulatov then sent them a telegram: "I was pleased to learn about the resignation of the Republic's Armed Forces." After the collapse of the USSR, Dzhokhar Dudayev announced the final withdrawal of Chechnya from the Russian Federation. On October 27, 1991, presidential and parliamentary elections were held in the republic under the control of separatists. Dzhokhar Dudayev became the President of the Republic. These elections were recognized by the Russian Federation as illegal

9. On November 7, 1991, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the Decree "On the introduction of a state of emergency in the Chechen-Ingush Republic (1991)". After these actions of the Russian leadership, the situation in the republic deteriorated sharply - supporters of the separatists surrounded the buildings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB, military camps, blocked railway and air hubs. In the end, the introduction of the state of emergency was frustrated, the Decree "On the introduction of a state of emergency in the Chechen-Ingush Republic (1991)" was canceled on November 11, three days after its signing, after a heated discussion at a meeting of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR and from the republic the withdrawal of Russian military units and units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs began, which was finally completed by the summer of 1992. The separatists began to seize and loot military depots.

10. Dudayev's forces got a lot of weapons: Two launchers of an operational-tactical missile system in a non-combat ready state. 111 L-39 and 149 L-29 training aircraft, aircraft converted into light attack aircraft; three MiG-17 fighters and two MiG-15 fighters; six An-2 planes and two Mi-8 helicopters, 117 R-23 and R-24 aircraft missiles, 126 R-60s; about 7 thousand GSh-23 air shells. 42 T-62 and T-72 tanks; 34 BMP-1 and BMP-2; 30 BTR-70 and BRDM; 44 MT-LB, 942 vehicles. 18 MLRS Grad and more than 1000 shells for them. 139 artillery systems, including 30 122-mm D-30 howitzers and 24 thousand shells for them; as well as self-propelled guns 2S1 and 2S3; anti-tank guns MT-12. Five air defense systems, 25 memory devices of various types, 88 MANPADS; 105 pcs. ZUR S-75. 590 units of anti-tank weapons, including two Konkurs ATGMs, 24 Fagot ATGMs, 51 Metis ATGMs, 113 RPG-7 systems. About 50 thousand small arms, more than 150 thousand grenades. 27 wagons of ammunition; 1620 tons of fuel and lubricants; about 10 thousand sets of clothing items, 72 tons of food; 90 tons of medical equipment.

12. In June 1992, the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Pavel Grachev, ordered that half of all weapons and ammunition available in the republic be transferred to the Dudaevites. According to him, this was a forced step, since a significant part of the “transferred” weapons had already been captured, and there was no way to take out the rest due to the lack of soldiers and echelons.

13. The victory of the separatists in Grozny led to the collapse of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR. Malgobeksky, Nazranovsky and most of the Sunzhensky district of the former CHIASSR formed the Republic of Ingushetia as part of the Russian Federation. Legally, the Chechen-Ingush ASSR ceased to exist on December 10, 1992.

14. The exact border between Chechnya and Ingushetia has not been demarcated and has not been defined to date (2012). During the Ossetian-Ingush conflict in November 1992, Russian troops entered the Prigorodny district of North Ossetia. Relations between Russia and Chechnya deteriorated sharply. The Russian high command proposed at the same time to solve the "Chechen problem" by force, but then the entry of troops into the territory of Chechnya was prevented by the efforts of Yegor Gaidar.

16. As a result, Chechnya became de facto independent, but not legally recognized by any country, including Russia, as a state. The republic had state symbols - a flag, emblem and anthem, authorities - the president, parliament, government, secular courts. It was supposed to create a small Armed Forces, as well as the introduction of their own state currency - nahara. In the constitution adopted on March 12, 1992, CRI was characterized as an "independent secular state", its government refused to sign a federal treaty with the Russian Federation.

17. In reality, the state system of the CRI proved to be extremely inefficient and in the period 1991-1994 was rapidly criminalized. In 1992-1993, over 600 premeditated murders took place on the territory of Chechnya. During the period of 1993, at the Grozny branch of the North Caucasian Railway, 559 trains were subjected to an armed attack with complete or partial looting of about 4 thousand wagons and containers in the amount of 11.5 billion rubles. For 8 months in 1994, 120 armed attacks were carried out, as a result of which 1,156 wagons and 527 containers were looted. Losses amounted to more than 11 billion rubles. In 1992-1994, 26 railway workers were killed in armed attacks. The current situation forced the Russian government to take a decision to stop traffic on the territory of Chechnya from October 1994

18. A special trade was the manufacture of false advice notes, on which more than 4 trillion rubles were received. Hostage-taking and the slave trade flourished in the republic - according to Rosinformtsentr, since 1992, 1,790 people have been kidnapped and illegally held in Chechnya.

19. Even after that, when Dudayev stopped paying taxes to the general budget and forbade employees of the Russian special services from entering the republic, the federal center continued to transfer funds from the budget to Chechnya. In 1993, 11.5 billion rubles were allocated for Chechnya. Until 1994, Russian oil continued to flow to Chechnya, while it was not paid for and resold abroad.

20. The period of Dudayev's rule is characterized by ethnic cleansing against the entire non-Chechen population. In 1991-1994, the non-Chechen (primarily Russian) population of Chechnya was subjected to murders, attacks and threats from Chechens. Many were forced to leave Chechnya, being expelled from their homes, leaving or selling apartments to Chechens at a low price. Only in 1992, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 250 Russians were killed in Grozny, 300 were missing. The morgues were filled with unidentified corpses. Widespread anti-Russian propaganda was kindled by relevant literature, direct insults and appeals from government stands, desecration of Russian cemeteries[

21. In the spring of 1993, the contradictions between President Dudayev and the parliament sharply aggravated in the CRI. On April 17, 1993, Dudayev announced the dissolution of the Parliament, the Constitutional Court and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On June 4, armed Dudayevites under the command of Shamil Basayev seized the building of the Grozny City Council, in which meetings of the parliament and the constitutional court were held; thus, a coup d'état took place in CRI. The constitution, adopted last year, was amended, Dudayev's regime of personal power was established in the republic, which lasted until August 1994, when legislative powers were returned to parliament

22. After the coup d'état on June 4, 1993, in the northern regions of Chechnya, not controlled by the separatist government in Grozny, an armed anti-Dudaev opposition was formed, which began an armed struggle against Dudayev's regime. The first opposition organization was the National Salvation Committee (KNS), which held several armed actions, but was soon defeated and disintegrated. It was replaced by the Provisional Council of the Chechen Republic (VSChR), which proclaimed itself the only legitimate authority on the territory of Chechnya. The VChR was recognized as such by the Russian authorities, who provided it with all kinds of support (including weapons and volunteers).

23. Since the summer of 1994, hostilities have unfolded in Chechnya between troops loyal to Dudayev and the forces of the opposition Provisional Council. Troops loyal to Dudayev carried out offensive operations in the Nadterechny and Urus-Martan regions controlled by opposition troops. They were accompanied by significant losses on both sides, tanks, artillery and mortars were used.

24. The forces of the parties were approximately equal, and neither of them was able to prevail in the struggle.

25. Only in Urus-Martan in October 1994, the Dudayevites lost 27 people killed, according to the opposition. The operation was planned by Aslan Maskhadov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the CRI. The commander of the opposition detachment in Urus-Martan, Bislan Gantamirov, lost from 5 to 34 people killed, according to various sources. In Argun in September 1994, a detachment of the opposition field commander Ruslan Labazanov lost 27 people killed. The opposition, in turn, on September 12 and October 15, 1994, carried out offensive actions in Grozny, but every time they retreated without achieving decisive success, although they did not suffer heavy losses.

26. On November 26, oppositionists unsuccessfully stormed Grozny for the third time. At the same time, a number of Russian servicemen who “fought on the side of the opposition” under a contract with the Federal Counterintelligence Service were captured by Dudayev’s supporters.

27. Entering troops (December 1994)
At that time, the use of the expression "the entry of Russian troops into Chechnya", according to the deputy and journalist Alexander Nevzorov, was, to a greater extent, caused by journalistic terminological confusion - Chechnya was part of Russia.
Even before the announcement of any decision by the Russian authorities, on December 1, Russian aircraft attacked the Kalinovskaya and Khankala airfields and disabled all the aircraft at the disposal of the separatists. On December 11, President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin signed Decree No. 2169 "On Measures to Ensure Law, Law and Order and Public Security on the Territory of the Chechen Republic." Later, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation recognized most of the decrees and resolutions of the government, which justified the actions of the federal government in Chechnya, as consistent with the Constitution.
On the same day, units of the United Group of Forces (OGV), consisting of parts of the Ministry of Defense and the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, entered the territory of Chechnya. The troops were divided into three groups and entered from three different sides - from the west from North Ossetia through Ingushetia), from the north-west from the Mozdok region of North Ossetia, directly bordering on Chechnya and from the east from the territory of Dagestan).
The eastern group was blocked in the Khasavyurt district of Dagestan by local residents - Akkin Chechens. The Western group was also blocked by local residents and came under fire near the village of Barsuki, however, using force, they nevertheless broke through into Chechnya. The Mozdok grouping advanced most successfully, already on December 12 approaching the village of Dolinsky, located 10 km from Grozny.
Near Dolinskoye, Russian troops came under fire from the Chechen Grad rocket artillery installation and then entered the battle for this settlement.
The Kizlyar group reached the village of Tolstoy-Yurt on December 15.
The new offensive of the units of the OGV began on December 19. The Vladikavkaz (western) group blockaded Grozny from the western direction, bypassing the Sunzha Range. On December 20, the Mozdok (northwestern) group occupied Dolinsky and blocked Grozny from the northwest. The Kizlyar (eastern) group blocked Grozny from the east, and the paratroopers of the 104th airborne regiment blocked the city from the side of the Argun Gorge. At the same time, the southern part of Grozny was not blocked.
Thus, at the initial stage of hostilities, in the first weeks of the war, Russian troops were able to occupy the northern regions of Chechnya practically without resistance.

28. Assault on Grozny (December 1994 - March 1995)
In mid-December, federal troops began shelling the suburbs of Grozny, and on December 19 the first bombing of the city center was carried out. Many civilians (including ethnic Russians) were killed and wounded during artillery shelling and bombing.
Despite the fact that Grozny was still not blocked from the south side, on December 31, 1994, the assault on the city began. About 250 units of armored vehicles, extremely vulnerable in street battles, entered the city. The Russian troops were poorly trained, there was no interaction and coordination between the various units, and many soldiers had no combat experience. The troops had aerial photographs of the city, outdated city plans in limited quantities. The means of communication were not equipped with closed communication equipment, which allowed the enemy to intercept communications. The troops were ordered to occupy only industrial buildings, squares and inadmissibility of intrusion into the houses of the civilian population.
The western grouping of troops was stopped, the eastern one also retreated and did not take any action until January 2, 1995. In the northern direction, the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 131st separate Maikop motorized rifle brigade (more than 300 people), a motorized rifle battalion and a tank company of the 81st Petrakuvsky motorized rifle regiment (10 tanks), under the command of General Pulikovsky, reached the railway station and the Presidential Palace. The federal forces were surrounded - according to official data, the losses of the battalions of the Maykop brigade amounted to 85 people killed and 72 missing, 20 tanks were destroyed, the brigade commander Colonel Savin died, more than 100 servicemen were captured.
The eastern group under the command of General Rokhlin was also surrounded and bogged down in battles with separatist units, but nevertheless, Rokhlin did not give the order to retreat.
On January 7, 1995, the Northeast and North groups were united under the command of General Rokhlin, and Ivan Babichev became the commander of the West group.
The Russian troops changed tactics - now, instead of the massive use of armored vehicles, they used maneuverable air assault groups supported by artillery and aircraft. Fierce street fighting ensued in Grozny.
Two groups moved to the Presidential Palace and by January 9 occupied the building of the Oil Institute and the Grozny airport. By January 19, these groups met in the center of Grozny and captured the Presidential Palace, but detachments of Chechen separatists retreated across the Sunzha River and took up defensive positions on Minutka Square. Despite the successful offensive, Russian troops controlled only about a third of the city at that time.
By the beginning of February, the strength of the OGV had been increased to 70,000 people. General Anatoly Kulikov became the new commander of the OGV.
Only on February 3, 1995, the South grouping was formed and the implementation of the plan to blockade Grozny from the south began. By February 9, Russian units reached the boundary of the Rostov-Baku federal highway.
On February 13, in the village of Sleptsovskaya (Ingushetia), negotiations were held between the commander of the United Forces, Anatoly Kulikov, and the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the CRI, Aslan Maskhadov, on the conclusion of a temporary truce - the parties exchanged lists of prisoners of war, and both sides were given the opportunity to take out the dead and wounded from the streets of the city. The truce, however, was violated by both sides.
In the 20th of February, street fighting continued in the city (especially in its southern part), but the Chechen detachments, deprived of support, gradually retreated from the city.
Finally, on March 6, 1995, a detachment of militants from the Chechen field commander Shamil Basayev retreated from Chernorechye, the last district of Grozny controlled by the separatists, and the city finally came under the control of Russian troops.
A pro-Russian administration of Chechnya was formed in Grozny, headed by Salambek Khadzhiev and Umar Avturkhanov.
As a result of the assault on Grozny, the city was actually destroyed and turned into ruins.

29. Establishing control over the flat regions of Chechnya (March - April 1995)
After the assault on Grozny, the main task of the Russian troops was to establish control over the flat regions of the rebellious republic.
The Russian side began to conduct active negotiations with the population, persuading local residents to expel the militants from their settlements. At the same time, Russian units occupied the dominant heights above the villages and cities. Thanks to this, on March 15-23, Argun was taken, on March 30 and 31, the cities of Shali and Gudermes were taken without a fight, respectively. However, the militant groups were not destroyed and freely left the settlements.
Despite this, local battles were going on in the western regions of Chechnya. March 10 began fighting for the village of Bamut. On April 7-8, the combined detachment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, consisting of the Sofrinsky brigade of internal troops and supported by detachments of SOBR and OMON, entered the village of Samashki (Achkhoy-Martanovsky district of Chechnya). It was alleged that the village was defended by more than 300 people (the so-called "Abkhazian battalion" of Shamil Basayev). After the Russian servicemen entered the village, some residents who had weapons began to resist, and skirmishes began on the streets of the village.
According to a number of international organizations (in particular, the UN Commission on Human Rights - UNCHR), many civilians died during the battle for Samashki. This information, disseminated by the separatist agency "Chechen-Press", however, turned out to be quite contradictory - thus, according to representatives of the human rights center "Memorial", these data "do not inspire confidence." According to Memorial, the minimum number of civilians who died during the cleansing of the village was 112-114 people.
One way or another, this operation caused a great resonance in Russian society and increased anti-Russian sentiment in Chechnya.
On April 15-16, the decisive assault on Bamut began - Russian troops managed to enter the village and gain a foothold on the outskirts. Then, however, the Russian troops were forced to leave the village, as now the militants occupied the dominant heights above the village, using the old missile silos of the Strategic Missile Forces, designed for nuclear war and invulnerable to Russian aircraft. A series of battles for this village continued until June 1995, then the fighting was suspended after the terrorist attack in Budyonnovsk and resumed in February 1996.
By April 1995, almost the entire flat territory of Chechnya was occupied by Russian troops, and the separatists focused on sabotage and partisan operations.

30. Establishing control over the mountainous regions of Chechnya (May - June 1995)
From April 28 to May 11, 1995, the Russian side announced the suspension of hostilities on its part.
The offensive resumed only on May 12. The blows of the Russian troops fell on the villages of Chiri-Yurt, which covered the entrance to the Argun Gorge and Serzhen-Yurt, located at the entrance to the Vedeno Gorge. Despite a significant superiority in manpower and equipment, Russian troops were bogged down in the enemy's defense - it took General Shamanov a week of shelling and bombing to take Chiri-Yurt.
Under these conditions, the Russian command decided to change the direction of the strike - instead of Shatoi to Vedeno. The militant units were pinned down in the Argun Gorge and on June 3 Vedeno was taken by Russian troops, and on June 12 the regional centers of Shatoi and Nozhai-Yurt were taken.
Also, as in the plains, the separatist forces were not defeated and they were able to leave the abandoned settlements. Therefore, even during the "truce", the militants were able to transfer a significant part of their forces to the northern regions - on May 14, the city of Grozny was shelled by them more than 14 times

31. Terrorist act in Budyonnovsk (June 14-19, 1995)
On June 14, 1995, a group of Chechen fighters numbering 195 people, led by field commander Shamil Basayev, drove trucks into the territory of the Stavropol Territory and stopped in the city of Budyonnovsk.
The building of the GOVD became the first object of attack, then the terrorists occupied the city hospital and drove the captured civilians into it. In total, about 2,000 hostages were in the hands of the terrorists. Basayev put forward demands to the Russian authorities - the cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya, negotiating with Dudayev through the mediation of UN representatives in exchange for the release of the hostages.
Under these conditions, the authorities decided to storm the hospital building. Because of the leak of information, the terrorists had time to prepare to repel the assault, which lasted four hours; as a result, the special forces recaptured all the corps (except the main one), releasing 95 hostages. Spetsnaz losses amounted to three people killed. On the same day, an unsuccessful second assault attempt was made.
After the failure of military actions to free the hostages, negotiations began between the then Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Viktor Chernomyrdin and field commander Shamil Basayev. The terrorists were provided with buses, on which they, along with 120 hostages, arrived in the Chechen village of Zandak, where the hostages were released.
The total losses of the Russian side, according to official data, amounted to 143 people (of which 46 were employees of law enforcement agencies) and 415 wounded, the losses of terrorists - 19 killed and 20 wounded

32. The situation in the republic in June - December 1995
After the terrorist attack in Budyonnovsk, from June 19 to June 22, the first round of negotiations between the Russian and Chechen sides took place in Grozny, at which it was possible to achieve a moratorium on hostilities for an indefinite period.
From June 27 to June 30, the second stage of negotiations took place there, at which an agreement was reached on the exchange of prisoners "all for all", the disarmament of the CRI detachments, the withdrawal of Russian troops and the holding of free elections.
Despite all the agreements concluded, the ceasefire regime was violated by both sides. Chechen detachments returned to their villages, but not as members of illegal armed groups, but as "self-defense units." There were local battles throughout Chechnya. For some time, the emerging tensions could be resolved through negotiations. So, on August 18-19, Russian troops blocked Achkhoy-Martan; the situation was resolved at the talks in Grozny.
On August 21, a detachment of militants of the field commander Alaudi Khamzatov captured Argun, but after a heavy shelling undertaken by Russian troops, they left the city, into which Russian armored vehicles were then introduced.
In September, Achkhoy-Martan and Sernovodsk were blocked by Russian troops, since militants were in these settlements. The Chechen side refused to leave their positions, because, according to them, these were "self-defense units" that had the right to be in accordance with the agreements reached earlier.
On October 6, 1995, an assassination attempt was made on the commander of the United Group of Forces (OGV), General Romanov, as a result of which he ended up in a coma. In turn, "retaliation strikes" were inflicted on Chechen villages.
On October 8, an unsuccessful attempt was made to eliminate Dudayev - an air strike was launched on the village of Roshni-Chu.
The Russian leadership decided before the elections to replace the leaders of the pro-Russian administration of the republic, Salambek Khadzhiev and Umar Avturkhanov, with the former head of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Dokka Zavgaev.
On December 10-12, the city of Gudermes, occupied by Russian troops without resistance, was captured by detachments of Salman Raduev, Khunkar-Pasha Israpilov and Sultan Geliskhanov. On December 14-20, there were battles for this city, it took Russian troops about a week of “cleansing operations” to finally take Gudermes under their control.
On December 14-17, elections were held in Chechnya, which were held with a large number of violations, but nevertheless recognized as valid. Supporters of the separatists announced in advance the boycott and non-recognition of the elections. Dokku Zavgaev won the elections, having received over 90% of the votes; at the same time, all military personnel of the UGV participated in the elections.

33. Terrorist act in Kizlyar (January 9-18, 1996)
On January 9, 1996, a detachment of 256 militants under the command of field commanders Salman Raduev, Turpal-Ali Atgeriev and Khunkar-Pasha Israpilov raided the city of Kizlyar. Initially, the goal of the militants was a Russian helicopter base and an armory. The terrorists destroyed two Mi-8 transport helicopters and took several hostages from among the soldiers guarding the base. Russian military and law enforcement agencies began to pull up to the city, so the terrorists seized the hospital and the maternity hospital, driving about 3,000 more civilians there. This time, the Russian authorities did not give the order to storm the hospital, so as not to increase anti-Russian sentiment in Dagestan. During the negotiations, it was possible to agree on providing the militants with buses to the border with Chechnya in exchange for the release of the hostages, who were supposed to be dropped off at the very border. On January 10, a convoy with militants and hostages moved to the border. When it became clear that the terrorists would leave for Chechnya, the bus convoy was stopped by warning shots. Taking advantage of the confusion of the Russian leadership, the militants captured the village of Pervomaiskoye, disarming the police checkpoint located there. Negotiations were held from January 11 to 14, and an unsuccessful assault on the village took place on January 15-18. In parallel with the assault on Pervomaisky, on January 16, in the Turkish port of Trabzon, a group of terrorists seized the Avrazia passenger ship with threats to shoot the Russian hostages if the assault was not stopped. After two days of negotiations, the terrorists surrendered to the Turkish authorities.
On January 18, under the cover of night, the militants broke through the encirclement and left for Chechnya.
The loss of the Russian side, according to official figures, amounted to 78 people dead and several hundred wounded.

34. Attack of militants on Grozny (March 6-8, 1996) On March 6, 1996, several detachments of militants attacked Grozny, controlled by Russian troops, from various directions. The militants captured the Staropromyslovsky district of the city, blocked and fired at Russian checkpoints and checkpoints. Despite the fact that Grozny remained under the control of the Russian armed forces, the separatists, when withdrawing, took with them stocks of food, medicine and ammunition. The losses of the Russian side, according to official figures, amounted to 70 people killed and 259 wounded.

35. Battle near the village of Yaryshmardy (April 16, 1996) On April 16, 1996, a column of the 245th motorized rifle regiment of the Russian Armed Forces, moving to Shatoi, was ambushed in the Argun Gorge near the village of Yaryshmardy. The operation was led by field commander Khattab. The militants knocked out the head and trailing column of the vehicle, thus the column was blocked and suffered significant losses - almost all armored vehicles and half of the personnel were lost.

36. Liquidation of Dzhokhar Dudayev (April 21, 1996)
From the very beginning of the Chechen campaign, Russian special services have repeatedly tried to eliminate the President of the CRI, Dzhokhar Dudayev. Attempts to send assassins ended in failure. It was possible to find out that Dudayev often talks on the satellite phone of the Inmarsat system.
On April 21, 1996, the Russian AWACS A-50 aircraft, on which equipment was installed for the bearing of a satellite phone signal, received an order to take off. At the same time, Dudayev's motorcade left for the area of the village of Gekhi-Chu. Unfolding his phone, Dudayev contacted Konstantin Borov. At that moment, the signal from the phone was intercepted, and two Su-25 attack aircraft took off. When the aircraft reached the target, two missiles were fired at the cortege, one of which hit the target directly.
By a closed decree of Boris Yeltsin, several military pilots were awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation

37. Negotiations with separatists (May - July 1996)
Despite some successes of the Russian Armed Forces (the successful elimination of Dudayev, the final capture of the settlements of Goiskoye, Stary Achkhoy, Bamut, Shali), the war began to take on a protracted character. In the context of the forthcoming presidential elections, the Russian leadership decided once again to negotiate with the separatists.
On May 27-28, a meeting of the Russian and Ichkerian (headed by Zelimkhan Yandarbiev) delegations took place in Moscow, at which it was possible to agree on a truce from June 1, 1996 and an exchange of prisoners. Immediately after the end of the negotiations in Moscow, Boris Yeltsin flew to Grozny, where he congratulated the Russian military on their victory over the "rebellious Dudayev regime" and announced the abolition of military duty.
On June 10, in Nazran (Republic of Ingushetia), during the next round of negotiations, an agreement was reached on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Chechnya (with the exception of two brigades), the disarmament of separatist detachments, and the holding of free democratic elections. The question of the status of the republic was temporarily postponed.
The agreements concluded in Moscow and Nazran were violated by both sides, in particular, the Russian side was in no hurry to withdraw its troops, and the Chechen field commander Ruslan Khaykhoroev took responsibility for the explosion of a regular bus in Nalchik.
On July 3, 1996, the current President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, was re-elected to the presidency. The new Secretary of the Security Council Alexander Lebed announced the resumption of hostilities against the militants.
On July 9, after the Russian ultimatum, hostilities resumed - aircraft attacked militant bases in the mountainous Shatoisky, Vedensky and Nozhai-Yurtovsky regions.

38. Operation Jihad (August 6-22, 1996)
On August 6, 1996, detachments of Chechen separatists numbering from 850 to 2,000 people again attacked Grozny. The separatists did not set out to capture the city; they blocked administrative buildings in the city center, and also fired at roadblocks and checkpoints. The Russian garrison under the command of General Pulikovsky, despite a significant superiority in manpower and equipment, could not hold the city.
Simultaneously with the storming of Grozny, the separatists also captured the cities of Gudermes (taken by them without a fight) and Argun (Russian troops held only the building of the commandant's office).
According to Oleg Lukin, it was the defeat of Russian troops in Grozny that led to the signing of the Khasavyurt ceasefire agreements.

In December 1991, the former General of the Soviet Army D. Dudayev, elected President of the Chechen-Ingush Republic, announced the creation of the Republic of Ichkeria and its secession from Russia. Since the summer of 1994, fighting has returned in Chechnya between the "produdayev" militants and opposition forces. December 9 President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin signed the Decree "On Measures to Suppress the Activities of Illegal Armed Groups on the Territory of the Chechen Republic";.

Photographer V. Podlegaev. Commander of the Joint Grouping of Federal Forces of the Russian Federation in Chechnya, Lieutenant General A.A. Romanov (center) and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic A. Maskhadov (left) during negotiations. Chechen Republic. June 16, 1995. RIA Novosti

Two days later, units of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia entered the territory of Chechnya, and on December 31, bloody battles began for Grozny. Using aviation and heavy weapons, the United Group of Forces (OGV) gradually expanded the controlled territories, squeezing the militants into the mountains. In June 1995, a detachment of militants took hundreds of people hostage in a hospital in the city of Budyonnovsk (Stavropol Territory). In order to save the lives of citizens, the Russian government agreed to start peace negotiations with representatives of Ichkeria.

However, negotiations broke down in October 1995, and hostilities continued. The conflict has become a difficult test for Russia and its power structures. In the eyes of the world community, Russia's authority has suffered serious damage. Anti-war sentiment intensified within the country. In August 1996, taking advantage of the lack of clear political instructions to the UGA command from the Russian leadership, the militants captured Grozny. Under these conditions, the President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin decided to hold peace talks. On August 30, an agreement was signed in the city of Khasavyurt on the withdrawal of troops and the “freezing” of the status of Chechnya for five years.

Photographer V. Vyatkin. Paratroopers of a separate artillery battalion of the 247th Stavropol Regiment of the Russian Airborne Forces at the forefront. Chechen Republic. November 1, 1999. RIA Novosti

Incessant terrorist attacks, attacks, kidnappings have turned the south of Russia into a front zone. In August 1999, Chechen fighters invaded Dagestan and captured several villages in the border areas. As a result of the military operation of the North Caucasian Military District in August-September 1999, the bulk of the militants were eliminated.

Photographer I. Mikhalev. Russian soldier before the start of hostilities. Chechen Republic. May 12, 1996. RIA Novosti

In retaliation for the losses in September, the militants carried out a series of terrorist attacks with hundreds of casualties, blowing up residential buildings in Buynaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk. In October 1999, a counter-terrorist operation began in Chechnya. During the winter-spring period of 1999/2000, the troops of the United Group of Troops (Forces) (OGV(s)) created by decree of the President of the Russian Federation drove Chechen extremists to the south, cutting off the mountainous regions of Chechnya from the flat part of the republic.

Photographer H. Bradner. The movement of militants towards the presidential palace under artillery fire. Grozny. Chechen Republic. January 1995. Photo courtesy of J. Butler (UK)

On February 7, 2000, Grozny was liberated. The Russian troops were faced with the task of eliminating numerous groups of militants in mountainous areas. The enemy introduced the tactics of guerrilla warfare, operating on the territories of both Chechnya and neighboring republics. As a result of the operation, illegal armed formations of Ichkeria were defeated. However, fighting with gangs continued for another eight long years.

Photographer Y. Pirogov. Russian servicemen who died in battle. The area of the airport "Severny", the Chechen Republic. January 10, 1995. RIA Novosti

The regime of the counterterrorist operation in Chechnya was canceled only on April 16, 2009. According to the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, during the entire period of hostilities in 1992-2009, without return losses of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and other law enforcement agencies in Chechnya, more than 8,500 people were killed and died, captured and missing - 510 people, wounded - over 70,000 people.

Photographer I. Mikhalev. Member of illegal armed groups during the battle. Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny, Chechen Republic, August 14, 1996, RIA Novosti

Photographer Y. Tutov. Presidential palace. Grozny. Chechen Republic. February 17, 1995. RIA Novosti

Photographer Y. Tutov. Russian soldiers during a break between battles. Chechen Republic. January 12, 1995. RIA Novosti

Photographer N. Ignatiev. Engineering reconnaissance of the railway track on the bridge over the river. Terek. Chechen Republic. January 1995. Photo courtesy of J. Butler (UK)

Photographer I. Mikhalev. Soldiers of the Joint Group of Federal Forces of the Russian Federation on a halt. Chechen Republic. May 25, 1996. RIA Novosti

Photographer V. Podlegaev. Surrender of weapons by illegal armed groups. S. Zandag. Chechen Republic. August 16, 1995. RIA Novosti

Photographer D. Donskoy. Meeting of the President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin with soldiers and officers of the 205th motorized rifle brigade of the federal forces of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus. Chechen Republic. May 28, 1996. RIA Novosti

Photographer S. Gutsiev. View of Minutka Square in Grozny. Chechen Republic. May 15, 1996. RIA Novosti

Photographer I. Mikhalev. Russian soldiers before the start of hostilities. Chechen Republic. May 12, 1996. RIA Novosti

Photographer Y. Kozyrev. Russian paratroopers repulse an attack by Chechen fighters, falling into an ambush near Tsentoroy. Chechen Republic. December 16, 1999. Photo courtesy of Y. Kozyrev

Photographer Y. Kozyrev. Removal of the wounded from the battle. District of Tsentoroi. Chechen Republic. December 16, 1999. Photo courtesy of Y. Kozyrev

Photographer Y. Kozyrev. Removal of the wounded from the battle. District of Tsentoroy, Chechen Republic. December 16, 1999. Photo courtesy of Y. Kozyrev

Photographer Y. Kozyrev. Soviet paratroopers after the battle. District of Tsentoroy, Chechen Republic. December 16, 1999. Photo courtesy of Y. Kozyrev

Photographer O. Lastochkin. Mi-24 combat helicopter loitering over the location of Russian troops. Chechen Republic, October 16, 1999. RIA Novosti

Photographer V. Vyatkin. Rest after a military operation. Chechen Republic. April 1, 2000. RIA Novosti

Photographer V. Vyatkin. Special operation of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation to identify and destroy the base camps of Chechen gangs in the mountain gorge of the river. Bass, Chechen Republic. April 1, 2000. RIA Novosti

Photographer V. Vyatkin. The operation of the special reconnaissance detachment of the 45th regiment of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation to identify and destroy bandit formations in the mountain gorge of the river. Bass, Chechen Republic. April 1, 2000, RIA Novosti

Photographer V. Vyatkin. The death of Sergei Timoshin, a soldier of the 6th company of the 10th regiment of the Russian Airborne Forces. Chechen Republic. April 1, 2000. RIA Novosti

Photographer A. Kondratiev. And about. President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin among the fighters of the federal forces of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus. Chechen Republic. December 31, 1999, RIA Novosti

From the book: Military chronicle of Russia in photographs. 1850s - 2000s: Album. - M.: Golden Bee, 2009.

On December 11, 1994, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree "On Measures to Ensure Law, Law and Order and Public Security on the Territory of the Chechen Republic." The joint grouping of the armed forces of Russia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs entered the territory of Chechnya. Thus began the First Chechen War, photos of which are waiting for you below.

Despite the fact that the Russian army officially began hostilities in December 1994, back in November, the first Russian soldiers were captured by the Chechens.

Dudayev's militants pray in front of the Presidential Palace in Grozny

In January 1995, the palace looked like this:

Dudayev's militant with a handicraft submachine gun in early January 1995. In Chechnya in those years, various types of weapons were collected, including small arms.

Padded BMP-2 of the Russian army

Prayer against the backdrop of a fire caused by shrapnel falling into a gas pipe

Young gunman

Field commander Shamil Basayev rides in a bus with hostages

On the eve of the new year 1995, the clashes in Grozny were especially cruel. The 131st Maykop motorized rifle brigade lost many soldiers.

The militants fire back from the advancing Russian units.

Children play in the suburbs of Grozny

Chechen fighters in 1995

Minutka Square in Grozny. Evacuation of refugees.

Gennady Troshev at the stadium. Ordzhonikidze in 1995. The lieutenant general led the Joint Group of Forces of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Chechnya, during the Second Chechen War he also commanded Russian troops, then was appointed commander of the North Caucasus Military District. In 2008, he died in a Boeing crash in Perm.

A Russian serviceman plays a piano left in Grozny's central park. February 6, 1995

Intersection of Rosa Luxembourg and Tamanskaya streets

Chechen fighters run for cover

Grozny, view from the Presidential Palace. March 1995

A Chechen sniper who has settled in a destroyed building is aiming at Russian servicemen. 1996

Chechen negotiator enters the neutral zone

Children from the orphanage play on a damaged Russian tank. 1996

An elderly woman makes her way through the ruined center of Grozny. 1996

Chechen militant holding a machine gun while praying

Russian checkpoint near the Council of Ministers, 1995

People left homeless after the bombing of Grozny cook on a fire in the middle of the street

People are fleeing the war zone

The CRI command stated that at the height of the conflict, up to 12 thousand fighters fought for it. Many of them were in fact children who went to war after their relatives.

On the left is a wounded man, on the right is a Chechen teenager in military uniform

By the end of 1995, most of Grozny was a ruin

Anti-Russian demonstration in the center of Grozny in February 1996

A Chechen with a portrait of separatist leader Dzhokhar Dudayev, who was killed in a rocket attack on April 21, 1996

Before the 1996 elections, Yeltsin visited Chechnya and in front of the soldiers signed a decree on the reduction of military service.

Election campaign

On August 19, 1996, the commander of the grouping of Russian troops in Chechnya, Konstantin Pulikovsky, issued an ultimatum to the militants. He suggested that civilians leave Grozny within 48 hours. After this period, the assault on the city was to begin, but the commander was not supported in Moscow, and his plan was thwarted.

On August 31, 1996, agreements were signed in Khasavyurt under which Russia undertook to withdraw troops from the territory of Chechnya, and the decision on the status of the republic was postponed for 5 and a half years. In the photo, General Lebed, who was then the presidential envoy in Chechnya, and Aslan Maskhadov, field commander of Chechen fighters and the future "president" of the CRI, are shaking hands.

Russian soldiers drink champagne in the center of Grozny

Russian soldiers are preparing to be sent home after the signing of the Khasavyurt Accords

According to human rights activists, up to 35,000 civilians died during the First Chechen War.

In Chechnya, the signing of the Khasavyurt agreements was perceived as a victory.

A city destroyed and turned into ruins, thousands of dead inhabitants, huge losses of Russian troops for such an operation. This assault was called unprepared by some high-ranking generals, and they may have been right.

From the borders of Chechnya to its capital, the united group reached almost without problems, but the city itself was surrounded only from three sides. They entered Grozny without aviation support and on armored vehicles, almost helpless in the conditions of battle in the narrow streets. The Russian fighters did not know the area - they were given only outdated plans and fuzzy aerial photographs - and even then in limited quantities. There were no cartridges for machine guns, there were no closed radio communications either - all communications were intercepted by militants.

"We'll take Grozny with two airborne regiments," Defense Minister Pavel Grachev said. As a result, the assault on the city lasted 66 days. "Komsomolskaya Pravda" turns over one of the many tragic pages of the First Chechen campaign.

This was Grozny on the first day of 1995. This is not the merit of the military who stormed the city, but the numerous shelling and air raids that continued throughout the last week of the past year. Several thousand people were killed during these shellings.

The Presidential Palace, whose defense was led by Aslan Maskhadov, was decided to be taken on a whim. The fighters of two battalions of the Maykop brigade under the command of Colonel Ivan Savin, reached him without resistance and decided to celebrate New Year's Eve nearby - near the station.

Maskhadov turned out to be more cunning. With the onset of darkness, the Chechen fighters knocked out the first and last vehicles in the echelon, cutting off the rest of the way to retreat. There was no more fighting. Execution. 85 fighters were killed, 72 were missing. Colonel Savin and the entire leadership of the brigade were killed, and the remaining soldiers left Grozny the next day in small groups and one by one. Almost all equipment was lost.

Having digested the unsuccessful results of the first assault attempt, the federal troops changed tactics. Now they took the city quarterly. This tactic will eventually succeed, but the Russian fighters will be bogged down in street guerrilla warfare for more than two weeks.

Maneuverable air assault brigades, with the support of aviation and artillery, recaptured house after house, the militants retreated. Our military was forbidden to occupy the apartments of ordinary residents, but militants did it. They did not always feel sorry for those inside.

The most terrible rumor of that time: Grozny had to be taken by January 1 in order to make a birthday present to Defense Minister Grachev. The surprise obviously failed - even after the scheduled date, the scales even leaned towards the Russian army, but very slowly and with serious losses.

Grozny was stormed for the second time in less than a month and a half. At the end of November, this was done by local militias, opponents of Dzhokhar Dudayev. That assault turned out to be a failure, and it may have fueled the forces of the militants.

Conspiracy theorists believe that the militants knew about the impending assault. They say that the authorities of Chechnya warned the inhabitants of the city in advance that it was not worth moving around Grozny on December 31 and January 1: absolutely all moving targets would be destroyed.

How fierce the fighting was can be judged by the damage inflicted on the city. Even the most holy places did not survive, which are not customary to shell even during the most bloody battles.

It was not possible to carry out the evacuation before the start of the assault. It also did not work out quickly during the battles. A significant part of the Grozny residents remained within the city until the end of the campaign. It was not easy to survive under air strikes: you had to hide in basements and eat from time to time.

In the besieged Grozny, there was no time for a real funeral. The dead civilians were often buried by their relatives in the yards of the houses where they lived. If there was someone to bury.

The city was on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. Even, perhaps, up to their ears in it: there was no electricity, gas and water, too.

By the middle of the month, the Russian military managed to minimize losses among the local population, and, which is also important, took the presidential palace. The airport by that time was already under the control of the federal troops, but the Chechens could leave the city from the south side.

However, they were in no hurry to leave. New Year's assault is the first example in the modern history of Russia, when women took the side of our opponents. Women who many years later will carry out terrorist attacks in major cities of the country.

By the beginning of February, the combined group of troops had increased the contingent to 70,000 people. At the same time, a group of troops "South" was created, which finally completed the formation of the ring around Grozny. The militants understood that it was necessary to try to negotiate.

On February 13, the commander of the UGV Kulikov and the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the CRI, Maskhadov, concluded a temporary truce. An exchange of prisoners of war followed, but the ceasefire was constantly violated.

The last district of the city, where the militants settled, was taken on March 6. It was Chernorechye. The militants who settled there were led by a certain Shamil Basayev. The city completely came under the control of the Russian military.

Officially, in a little over two months, 1,426 soldiers of the joint group of troops were killed, more than 4,000 were wounded. Moscow considers the loss of militants more serious - 7,000 dead. The number of victims among the civilian population, according to various estimates, is from 5,000 to 30,000 people.

The international community reacted unambiguously to the events in Grozny. "An unimaginable catastrophe," the OSCE said. "Pure madness," German Chancellor Helmut Kohl agreed.

After Grozny fell, the war in Chechnya finally became a partisan one. There were still big battles for small villages, terrorist attacks in Budennovsk and Kizlyar, the liquidation of Dudayev and new presidential elections, and the First Chechen War will end with the Khasavyurt peace. Everything ended exactly where it started: de facto independent Chechnya with de jure independence not recognized by anyone.

Corpses in the back of a truck in Grozny. Photo: Mikhail Evstafiev

Exactly 23 years ago, on December 11, 1994, Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree "On measures to ensure the rule of law, law and order and public security on the territory of the Chechen Republic." On the same day, units of the Joint Group of Forces (Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Internal Affairs) began hostilities in Chechnya. Maybe some of the participants in the first clashes were mentally prepared for death, but hardly any of them suspected that they would get stuck in this war for almost two years. And then it will come back again.

I would not like to talk about the causes and consequences of the war, about the behavior of the main actors, about the number of casualties, about whether it was a civil war or an anti-terrorist operation: hundreds of books have already been written about this. But many photographs must be shown so that you never forget how disgusting any war is.

Russian Mi-8 helicopter shot down by Chechens near Grozny. December 1, 1994

Photo: Mikhail Evstafiev

Despite the fact that the Russian army officially began hostilities in December 1994, back in November, the first Russian soldiers were captured by the Chechens.

Photo: AP Photo / Anatoly Maltsev

Dudayev's militants pray in front of the Presidential Palace in Grozny

Photo: Mikhail Evstafiev

In January 1995, the palace looked like this:

Photo: Mikhail Evstafiev

Dudayev's militant with a handicraft submachine gun in early January 1995. In Chechnya in those years, various types of weapons were collected, including small arms.

Photo: Mikhail Evstafiev

Padded BMP-2 of the Russian army

Photo: Mikhail Evstafiev

Prayer against the backdrop of a fire caused by shrapnel falling into a gas pipe

Photo: Mikhail Evstafiev

Action

Photo: Mikhail Evstafiev

Field commander Shamil Basayev rides in a bus with hostages

Photo: Mikhail Evstafiev

Chechen fighters ambushed a column of Russian armored vehicles

Photo: AP PHOTO / ROBERT KING

On the eve of the new year 1995, the clashes in Grozny were especially cruel. The 131st Maykop motorized rifle brigade lost many soldiers.

The militants fire back from the advancing Russian units.

Photo: AP PHOTO / PETER DEJONG

Children play in the suburbs of Grozny

AP PHOTO / EFREM LUKATSKY

Chechen fighters in 1995

Photo: Mikhail Evstafiev / AFP

Photo: Christopher Morris

Minutka Square in Grozny. Evacuation of refugees.

A Russian serviceman plays a piano left in Grozny's central park. February 6, 1995

Photo: Reuters

Intersection of Rosa Luxembourg and Tamanskaya streets

Photo: Christopher Morris

Chechen fighters run for cover

Photo: Christopher Morris

Grozny, view from the Presidential Palace. March 1995

Photo: Christopher Morris

A Chechen sniper who has settled in a destroyed building is aiming at Russian servicemen. 1996

Photo: James Nachtwey

Chechen negotiator enters the neutral zone

Photo: James Nachtwey

Children from the orphanage play on a damaged Russian tank. 1996

Photo: James Nachtwey

An elderly woman makes her way through the ruined center of Grozny. 1996

Photo: Piotr Andrews

Chechen militant holding a machine gun while praying

Photo: Piotr Andrews

A wounded soldier in a hospital in Grozny. 1995

Photo: Piotr Andrews

A woman from the village of Samashki is crying: during the operation of the troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, helicopters or RZSO shot her cows.

Photo: Piotr Andrews

Russian checkpoint near the Council of Ministers, 1995

Photo: AP Photo

People left homeless after the bombing of Grozny cook on a fire in the middle of the street

Photo: AP Photo / Alexander Zemlianichenko

People are fleeing the war zone

Photo: AP Photo / David Brauchli

The CRI command stated that at the height of the conflict, up to 12 thousand fighters fought for it. Many of them were in fact children who went to war after their relatives.

Photo: AP Photo / Efrem Lukatsky

On the left is a wounded man, on the right is a Chechen teenager in military uniform

Photo: Christopher Morris

By the end of 1995, most of Grozny was a ruin

Photo: AP Photo / Mindaugas Kulbis

Anti-Russian demonstration in the center of Grozny in February 1996

Photo: AP Photo

Chechen with a portrait of separatist leader Dzhokhar Dudayev, who was killed in a rocket attack on federal troops on April 21, 1996

Photo: AP Photo

Before the 1996 elections, Yeltsin visited Chechnya and in front of the soldiers signed a decree on the reduction of military service.

Photo: AP Photo