Shamil Basayev became involved in the nearby Dagestan War after he lost his bid for president. This prompted Vladimir Putin to launch the Second Chechen War, which successfully reclaimed Grozny for the Russians. Since then, Chechnya has been officially under Russian control, but there is still a strong insurgency.

In 2003, Shamil's subordinate launched an attack on a theater in Moscow. 850 hostages were taken and demands were made (the Chechens wanted an immediate Russian withdrawal from Chechnya). After a few days of negotiation, Putin allowed the Russian Spetsnaz to enter. The Spetsnaz pumped a sleeping agent into the theater and knocked many of the terrorists and hostages asleep. The Spetsnaz then entered and killed all of the terrorists. Afterwards, many of the hostages got sick from the gas.

In 2004, Shamil's men launched an attack on a school in Beslan. 1200 teachers, parents, and children were taken hostage and held in atrocious conditions for several days. Eventually, the Russians raided the school. Many civilian casualties resulted from the fire that resulted and approximately 1/4 of the hostages were killed.

In 2006, Shamil was killed (probably by Russian security forces).

For more information:
Theage.com
http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/shamil/shamil.htm
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2002/1104/cover/story.html
http://www.caucasus.dk/publication1.htm
http://www.smallwarsjournal.com/documents/wolvesden.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/chechnya2.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3624136.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3627406.stm

Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine

Shamil Basayev is a politician and self-proclaimed terrorist fighting for Chechnya's independence from Russia. Chechnya is a small Muslim republic in southern Russia. Basayev has ties to Al Qaeda, the Mujahideen, and many other terrorist networks.

He was active in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, where his Abkhaz Battalion helped to fight off the Georgian Army. This Abkhaz Battalion was then brought back to defend Chechnya's capitol city of Grozny. Shamil held off Russia's invading force (which went in under Yeltsin) for awhile but he eventually had to flee.

In June 1995, when things weren't looking good for the Chechen separatists, Shamil led an attack on a hospital in Budyonnovsk and took 1800 people hostage. The hostage-taking eventually resulted in a Russian withdrawal from Chechnya, and Shamil became a national hero. A few months later, Shamil would lead an assault of Grozny and he succeeded in taking the capital back from the Russians. Due mostly to Shamil, the Russians lost the First Chechen War.

For more information:
Theage.com
http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/shamil/shamil.htm
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2002/1104/cover/story.html
http://www.caucasus.dk/publication1.htm
http://www.smallwarsjournal.com/documents/wolvesden.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/chechnya2.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3624136.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3627406.stm

Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine

This episode was written by Brian Liddicoat, a real estate attorney in Northern California.

The words �Groom Lake� and �Area 51� have achieved an almost myth-like quality thanks to interest in UFOs and shows like the X-Files. But the real history of this base is even more interesting than the fiction. The names �Area 51� and �Groom Lake� refer to a large flight test base in the Nevada Desert, about 100 miles north of Las Vegas. The facility was originally built by Lockheed in the 1950s to support early secret tests of the U-2 spyplane. It has hosted the first flights of some of America�s most ground-breaking aircraft, including the F-117 stealth fighter. Now operated by the US Air Force as a detachment of the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, the Groom Lake facility continues to secretly test America�s most secret aviation technology.

For more information, read:
Dark Eagles by Curtis Peebles
Lockheed Secret Projects: Inside the Skunk Works by Dennis Jenkins
Dreamland by Phil Patton
www.dreamlandresort.com

Military History Podcast is sponsored by Armchair General Magazine