Men gather at a construction site near an Ingush flag during a protest against the new land swap deal, agreed by the heads of the Russian regions of Ingushetia and Chechnya, in Ingushetia's capital Magas, Russia October 7, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov 

Ramzan Kadyrov smiles as he attends the ceremony of appointing him prime minister of Chechnya's pro-Moscow government in Grozny, March 4, 2006. [Kadyrov, a strongman accused of mass human rights abuses, replaces Sergei Abramov, an economist who resigned after being injured in a car crash.] 

Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev (L) listens to his deputy, general Vladimir Toporov during a visit to the headquarters of Russian troops in the Chechnyan city of Hankala, November 3, 2000. Igor Sergeyev who visited Chechnya, said that "the situation here still remains tense". 

- FILE PHOTO FEB00 - This February file photo shows Mumadi Saidayev, a close ally of Chechen rebel leader [Aslan Maskhadov], as he speaks to journalists in Vedeno district. Russia said on Thursday its forces in the rebel region of Chechnya had seized a leading guerrilla leader and described the operation as a major success in its hunt for separatist chiefs. 

Russian soldiers guard Chechen guerrillas captured near the village of Urus-Martan at a Russian base in Khankala on the outskirts of the Chechen capital Grozny. Russia's war in Chechnya raged on two fronts on Wednesday as the military attacked mountain rebel hideouts and the province's two Moscow-appointed Chechen leaders stepped up their war of words. Picture taken July 15. 

A troupe of dancers perform for troops at a base in Khankala, on the outskirts of the Chechen capital Grozny, June 12. [Russia confirmed on Tuesday that troops stationed in breakaway Chechnya had been the target of three so-called "kamikaze" car bomb attacks in the past week.] 

Russian soldiers standing on a railway restaurant car cheer as singer Vika Tseganova performs for troops at a base in Khankala, on the outskirts of the Chechen capital Grozny, June 12. [Russia confirmed on Tuesday that troops stationed in breakaway Chechnya had been the target of three so-called "kamikaze" car bomb attacks in the past week.] 

A troupe of dancers from the Moscow region wearing traditional Russian dress perform for troops at a base in Khankala, on the outskirts of the Chechen capital Grozny, June 12. [Russia confirmed on Tuesday that troops stationed in breakaway Chechnya had been the target of three so-called "kamikaze" car bomb attacks in the past week.] 

Russian soldiers clean the barrel of a self propelling howitzer at a position near the village of Urus-Martan, some 25kms from the regional capital Grozny, April 2. [U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson arrived back in Moscow on Monday after a two-day visit to the North Caucasus to discuss with top Russian officials what she called serious allegations of human right breaches in the separatist region. Picture taken April 2. ] 

Chechen women carry bricks as they help to rebuild the city's war damaged railway station in the regional capital Grozny March 30. [Two senior Russian commanders flew to Grozny on Friday to oversee an operation to unblock the road to the site of a rebel ambush on a police commando convoy which killed four Russians and left 39 missing. ] 

Chechen women carry bricks as they help to rebuild the city's war damaged railway station in the regional capital Grozny March 30. [Two senior Russian commanders flew to Grozny on Friday to oversee an operation to unblock the road to the site of a rebel ambush on a police commando convoy which killed four Russians and left 39 missing.] 

Local residents queue for food handouts distributed free of charge by the Russian Emergency Services from field kitchens in the Chechen capital Grozny March 30. [The bodies of at least 27 Russian police commandos caught in an ambush in Chechnya this week have been found at the mountainous site of the attack in the rebel region, Russian news agencies reported on Saturday.] 

A Russian soldier walks through a Chechen graveyard in the regional capital Grozny March 30. Two senior Russian commanders flew to Grozny on Friday to oversee an operation to unblock the road to the site of a rebel ambush on a police commando convoy which killed four Russians and left 39 missing. 

A military nurse sits with wounded Russian soldiers inside a plane flying over Chechnya to Mozdok in Ossetia March 30. [Two senior Russian commanders flew to Chechnya on Friday to oversee an operation to unblock the road to the site of a rebel ambush on a police commando convoy which killed four Russians and left 39 missing.] 

Russian soldiers fire a mortar at rebel targets from a position in the Chechen regional capital Grozny on March 28. [Chechen rebels attacked a Russian interior ministry convoy on Wednesday, inflicting casualties on a day when Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo vowed to set about crushing remaining separatist resistance.] 

A Chechen boy rides a bicycle past a Russian armoured personnel carrier in a street in the regional capital Grozny March 28. [Russia's Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo arrived in the separatist region on Wednesday and vowed to set out plans to crush remaining resistance and capture rebel commanders. ] 

A Russian soldier casts his ballot at a mobile polling station in the outskirts of the Chechen capital Grozny March 20. Russian military and inhabitants of remote regions already started voting ahead of March 26 presidential elections. 

Local residents discuss as a Russian soldier looks on after refusing to let them pass into the village of Komsomolskoye March 19. Russian troops were reported on Tuesday to have finally conquered the key village of Komsomolskoye after two weeks of ferocious fighting. 

Russian soldiers riding on an armoured column watch a plume of smoke rising from an explosion in the village of Komsomolskoye March 19. Russian troops were reported on Tuesday to have finally conquered the key village of Komsomolskoye after two weeks of ferocious fighting. 

A Russian special police officer walks with his dog near the village of Komsomolskoye at the mouth of the Argun gorge in Chechnya March 16. Russian troops on Sunday were busy hunting small rebel groups in Komsomolskoye, where they have been battling rebels for 10 days. 

A Russian soldier casts his ballot at a polling station in Khankala, near the Chechen capital Grozny March 17. Russian military and inhabitants of remote regions already started voting ahead of March 26 presidential elections. [With a week to go in Russia's presidential election, increasingly confident Acting President Vladimir Putin calmly took the day off at a Black Sea resort on Sunday.] cvi/str REUTERS 

A Russian soldier casts his vote in a ballot box at a polling station in Khankala near the Chechen capital Grozny March 17. Russian military and inhabitants of remote regions already started voting ahead of March 26 presidential elections. [With a week to go in Russia's presidential election, increasingly confident Acting President Vladimir Putin calmly took the day off at a Black Sea resort on Sunday.] cvi/str REUTERS 

A Russian soldier, wounded during fighting in the village of Komsomolskoye in southern Chechnya, recieves medical attention as he is evacuated by helicopter March 11. Chechen rebels retreated from villages encircled by Russian troops on Sunday after a week of some of the 5-month-old campaigns bloodiest fighting. 

A Russian soldier searches a Chechen fighter captured during fighting near the village of Komsomolskoye in southern Chechnya March 11. Chechen rebels retreated from villages encircled by Russian troops on Sunday after a week of some of the 5-month-old campaigns bloodiest fighting . 

A Russian soldier feeds a Chechen fighter captured during fighting near the village of Komsomolskoye in southern Chechnya March 11. Chechen rebels retreated from villages encircled by Russian troops on Sunday after a week of some of the 5-month-old campaigns bloodiest fighting. 

Russian soldiers question a Chechen fighter captured during fighting near the village of Komsomolskoye in southern Chechnya March 11. Chechen rebels retreated from villages encircled by Russian troops on Sunday after a week of some of the 5-month-old campaigns bloodiest fighting. 

Russian soldiers carry military munitions to positions near the village of Komsomolskoye in southern Chechnya March 11. Chechen rebels retreated from villages encircled by Russian troops on Sunday after a week of some of the 5-month-old campaigns bloodiest fighting. 

A Russian officer looks at bodies of comrades killed during fighting near the village of Komsomolskoye in southern Chechnya March 11. Chechen rebels retreated from villages encircled by Russian troops on Sunday after a week of some of the 5-month-old campaigns bloodiest fighting. 

A wounded Russian soldier cries out as he recieves medical attention after fighting near the village of Komsomolskoye in southern Chechnya March 11. [Acting President Vladimir Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying on Monday that the military had seized a leading Chechen warlord, Salman Raduyev.] 

Russian soldiers take a rest at the position near the village of Komsomolskoye in southern Chechnya March 10. Russian soldiers waged fierce battles on Sunday with rebels who had broken free of their blockade in Chehcnya's southern mountains at the end of a week of almost continous bloody fighting. 

Russian soldiers cover their ears as they fire a mortar at rebel targets in the the village of Bolshoy Kharseno near the Argun Gorge in southern Chechnya February 28. Russian generals hailed the capture of the Chechen mountain village of Shatoi on Tuesday and said it marked the end of organised resistance to the military's bid to restore full control over the rebel region. 

Russian soldiers stand with a raised flag after a mopping up operation in the remains of the Chechen capital Grozny February 27. A top Russian General said on Tuesday that his troops had crushed rebel resistance in the last major stronghold in the separatist region. 

A group of Russian soldiers keep look out as they ride atop an armoured personnel carrier through the Chechen capital Grozny February 28. Russian troops on Tuesday siezed the village of Shatoi, the last major rebel stronghold in southern Chechnya, Itar-Tass news agency quoted the Russian military command as saying. 

A Russian Interior Ministry soldier controls the surroundings of Chernokozovo detention camp February 28. Chernokozovo, a detention camp 50 km away from the capital Grozny, is at the heart of Russia's image problem in its five-month-old campaign to subdue Chechnya's rebels. 

Chechen men, detained on suspicion of being Islamic fighters, walk in Chernokozovo detention camp's yard February 28. Chernokozovo, a detention camp 50 km away from the capital Grozny, is at the heart of Russia's image problem in its five-month-old campaign to subdue Chechnya's rebels. 

V Russian marines cover their ears as they fire a mortar towards rebel targets from a position near the village of Serzhen-Yurt February 25. Russian forces wrested control of a mountainous district of southern Chechnya from separatist fighters and warplanes bombed rebel targets in the war-racked region, Russian news reported said on Saturday. 

Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, Chechenya's former acting president (4th L) prays at a seminar held in Islamabad February 23. Yandarbiyev, whom Pakistan wants to leave, urged Islamic countries on Wednesday to recognise his breakaway Russian republic rather than cry over its present plight.

AH/JDP 

Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, former acting president of Chechenya, prays during a seminar held for solidarity with Chechen people in Islamabad, February 23. Yandarbiyev, whom Pakistan wants to leave, urged Islamic countries on Wednesday to recognize his breakaway Russian republic rather than cry over its present plight after Moscow's military assault.

AH/HB 

Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, former acting president of Chechenya (C), raises hands for unity with Qazi Hussein Ahmad, leader of Jamaat Islami Pakistan (L), and Doctor Mohayyuddin president of the Kurd Islamic League, during a seminar held for the solidarity with the Chechen people, in Islamabad February 23. Yandarbiyev, whom Pakistan wants to leave, urged Islamic countries on Wednesday to recognize his breakaway Russian republic rather than cry over its present plight.

AH/JDP/HB 

Russian soldiers drive their armoured vehicle in the Chechen regional capital Grozny February 10. Russian troops, fresh from battles in Grozny, are preparing in the mountainous south of the rebel region for what they expect to be the decisive strike against separatist forces. 

A Chechen man feeds his injured friend while they are detained on suspicion of being Islamic fighters in a prison in the Naursky region of Chechnya. Russian military officials said on Wednesday that they had started the last phase of their battle to control the breakaway region of Chechnya and one general confirmed two regiments would be withdrawn. Picture taken February 5. 

Chechen men, detained on suspicion of being Islamic fighters, lie on mattresses as a guard looks on in a prison in the Naursky region of Chechnya. Russian military officials said on Wednesday that they had started the last phase of their battle to control the breakaway region of Chechnya and one general confirmed two regiments would be withdrawn. Picture taken February 5. 

Chechen men, detained on suspicion of being Islamic fighters, hold their hands in the in a prison in the Naursky region of Chechnya. Russian military officials said on Wednesday that they had started the last phase of their battle to control the breakaway region of Chechnya and one general confirmed two regiments would be withdrawn. Picture taken February 5. 

Chechen men detained on suspicion of being Islamic fighters hold their hands up in a prison in the Naursky region of Chechnya. Russian military officials said on Wednesday that they had started the last phase of their battle to control the breakaway region of Chechnya and one general confirmed two regiments would be withdrawn. Picture taken February 5. 

Chechen men of call-up age, arrested in Grozny by Russian special police for not carrying any identification documents, sit in a trench where they will be temporarily kept, February 6. A top Russian commander said on Tuesday his troops would soon destroy Chechen rebels in their last mountain strongholds and win the war in Chechnya. 

Russian troops set fire to a poster of the Chechen national symbol, the wolf, in Grozny February 7. Russian officials flew to Chechnya to visit the shattered regional capital on Tuesday where the military has launched a "clean up"operation to kill those rebels still in hiding. 

Russian troops on patrol ride atop an armoured vehicle through Grozny February 7. Russian officials flew to Chechnya to visit the shattered regional capital on Tuesday where the military has launched a "clean up"operation to kill those rebels still in hiding. 

Russian special police officers guard Chechen men of call-up age arrested for not carrying any identification documents in Grozny February 6. [Russian troops pressed their campaign against Chechen rebels in the breakaway region's southern mountains, buoyed by their seizure of the gutted Grozny. Acting President Vladimir Putin vowed in a television interview on Monday evening to destroy all "bandit groups". ] 

Russian interior ministry troops on patrol walk through Grozny February 7. Russian officials flew to Chechnya to visit the shattered regional capital on Tuesday where the military has launched a "clean up"operation to kill those rebels still in hiding. 

A woman cries as she walks past a column of call-up age Chechen men arrested by Russian special police for not carrying any identification documents in the Chechen capital Grozny February 6.[Russian troops pressed their campaign against Chechen rebels in the breakaway region's southern mountains, buoyed by their seizure of the gutted Grozny. Acting President Vladimir Putin vowed in a television interview on Monday evening to destroy all "bandit groups". ] 

A group of call-up age Chechen men, arrested for not carrying any identification documents in the Chechen capital Grozny, stand by a unit of Russian special police February 6. [Russian troops pressed their campaign against Chechen rebels in the breakaway region's southern mountains, buoyed by their seizure of the gutted Grozny. Acting President Vladimir Putin vowed in a television interview on Monday evening to destroy all "bandit groups". ] 

Russian special police officers guard a group of call-up age Chechen men arrested for not carrying any identification documents in the Chechen capital Grozny February 6. [Russian troops pressed their campaign against Chechen rebels in the breakaway region's southern mountains, buoyed by their seizure of the gutted Grozny. Acting President Vladimir Putin vowed in a television interview on Monday evening to destroy all "bandit groups". ] 

A Russian special police officer walks with a group of call-up age Chechen men arrested for not carrying any identification documents in the Chechen capital Grozny February 6.[Russian troops pressed their campaign against Chechen rebels in the breakaway region's southern mountains, buoyed by their seizure of the gutted Grozny. Acting President Vladimir Putin vowed in a television interview on Monday evening to destroy all "bandit groups". ] 

A Russian special police officer guards a group of call-up age Chechen men arrested for not carrying any identification documents in the Zavodskoy district of Grozny February 6. Russian troops and Chechen rebels clashed on Monday in the breakaway region's southern mountains and in lowlands to the west, where guerrillas were dispersed after fleeing the fallen capital Grozny last week. 

Russian soldiers survey the surroundings as they patrol in the Chechen capital Grozny February 4. Russia said on Friday it had pinned down about 1,000 Chechen rebels who fled the fallen Grozny into a trap and troops would now focus on Chechnya's southern mountains. 

Russian soldiers eat at a position on the outskirts of the Chechen capital Grozny February 1. The Russian military said it had scored major advances in its campaign to restore control over separatist Chechnya and reported heavy losses by rebels trying to escape its drive into the capital Grozny. 

Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev (R) shakes hands with an unidentified soldier during an award ceremony in Khankala, a suburb of the Chechen capital Grozny, February 2. Russia said on Thursday it was killing or capturing rebels still trapped in the Chechen capital and had launched an operation to destroy a group that fled to a neighbouring village.

CVI/AA 

Russian soldiers survey the surroundings as they patrol in the Chechen capital Grozny February 1. Russia's military said on Wednesday organised resistance was melting away in Grozny and Moscow's troops were accelerating their advance through the shattered capital. 

A Russian soldier sleeps on top of an armoured vehicle at a position in the Chechen capital Grozny February 1. Russia's military said on Wednesday organised resistance was melting away in Grozny and Moscow's troops were accelerating their advance through the shattered capital. 

Chechen fighters work with a map at a headquarters in central Chechnya December 16. The Russian commander in Chechnya promised in an interview published on Thursday to take full control of the separatist region within three weeks despite insistent calls from the West to seek a negotiated solution.