Federalna Służba Bezpieczeństwa a konflikt w Czeczenii
The Federal Security Service and the Conflict in Chechnya

Summary/Abstract: The Federal Security Service operated actively during the two wars in Chechnya. Its task was to ensure the security of the forces engaged there, prevent the penetration of Chechen agents, manifestations of terrorism and sabotage, organize operational and reconnaissance subunits in the areas controlled by militants, obtain information, interrogate refugees and find mercenaries. There is no doubt that the officers of the Federal Security Service participated from the beginning in the preparation to the start of the first Chechen war, and then in the war operations. However, there is also ample evidence that the terrorist attacks in Russia, suggesting the involvement of Chechen fighters, were in fact planned and carried out by the FSB, to provide a pretext to start the second war in Chechnya and pacify its aspirations to independence. In the media, there appeared many facts and speculations, and the nervous reaction of the authorities confirmed repeatedly the belief that secret services were involved in the attacks. Many of the operations in Chechnya, commanded by FSB senior officers, often ended in a failure. As a result of war operations, the small region in the southern part of Russia was almost completely devastated, and its system of public order and law enforcement almost vanished. In this article the author attempts the address the research problem related to the role of the FSB during the Chechen wars. The complexity of the issue of Islamic terrorism in various regions of the world demonstrates the constant need to raise this problem, which supports the strategy of ensuring security.

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