Wars started by Russia since fall of ussr
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Executive summary
Since the Soviet breakup in 1991, major conflicts that sources attribute to Russian state action include the two Chechen wars (1994–2009 period), the 2008 Russo–Georgian War over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, military intervention in Moldova/Transnistria and frozen conflicts in the Caucasus in the 1990s, Russia’s intervention in Syria from 2015 onward, and the Russo‑Ukrainian war beginning with Crimea/Donbas in 2014 and the full‑scale invasion in 2022; multiple timeline pieces and lists summarize these as Russia’s principal post‑Soviet wars [1] [2] [3] [4]. Reporting and analyses disagree on labeling and on Moscow’s degree of direct initiation vs. proxy/separatist involvement in several early post‑1991 clashes — for example Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia — but treat the 2008, 2014 and 2022 campaigns as clear Russian uses of force [5] [3] [2].
1. Early post‑Soviet violence: frozen conflicts and proxy footprints
The chaotic months and years after 1991 produced multiple separatist wars across the former USSR in which Russia played a role; scholarly timelines and the Foreign Policy Research Institute list Transnistria (Moldova), Abkhazia and South Ossetia (Georgia) and other post‑Soviet clashes among the region’s defining conflicts, often citing significant Russian military, political or material involvement even where Moscow denied formal large‑scale incursions [5] [3] [2].
2. Chechnya: the Kremlin’s first major internal wars of the 1990s–2000s
Sources chronicle two brutal Chechen wars after independence movements in the North Caucasus: the late‑1990s/early‑2000s campaign in which Russian federal forces retook Grozny in 2000 and a prolonged counter‑insurgency concluded officially in 2009; press timelines emphasize heavy civilian tolls and urban destruction as emblematic of Russia’s post‑Soviet use of overwhelming force [1] [2] [6].
3. Georgia 2008: a short, decisive interstate war
The August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia lasted days but reshaped regional security: reporting frames it as the moment Western attention refocused on “post‑Soviet wars,” with Russia quickly routing Georgian forces and thereafter maintaining a robust military presence in the breakaway regions [1] [3] [2].
4. Crimea, Donbas and the long Russo‑Ukrainian war (2014–present)
Analysts and encyclopedic entries identify Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its backing of separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk as the start of a prolonged Russo‑Ukrainian war; that conflict escalated into a full‑scale invasion in 2022 and remains central to discussions of Russian aggression and international law [4] [7] [2].
5. Syria (2015– ): Russia’s power projection beyond the post‑Soviet space
In 2015 Moscow deployed forces to Syria to bolster Bashar al‑Assad’s government; multiple timelines and news overviews present this as a clear instance of Russia conducting expeditionary operations to defend an allied regime and project military influence in the Middle East [1] [2].
6. How sources dispute beginnings and intent: initiation vs. support
Open sources disagree on whether Russia “started” some conflicts outright or acted by seeding and supporting local separatists. The Conversation and regional analyses emphasize an evolution from pragmatic post‑Soviet meddling to more ideologically framed, imperial rhetoric under Putin; scholars note that Russia’s role in early 1990s conflicts was sometimes indirect (weapons, bases, political backing) while 2008, 2014 and 2022 are treated as more overt uses of force [3] [8] [2].
7. What these lists include — and what they leave ambiguous
Compendia and timelines (Wikipedia and news timelines) compile many incidents under “wars involving Russia,” but they vary in scope and labeling: some include internal, ethno‑regional insurgencies and proxy wars; others list only interstate invasions. That inconsistency means different sources will produce different shortlists depending on whether they treat Transnistria, Abkhazia or South Ossetia as independently started wars or as conflicts enabled by Russia [9] [10] [5].
8. Implications and limits of current reporting
Available sources identify the Chechen wars, the 2008 Georgia war, interventions in Transnistria/Abkhazia/South Ossetia, Syria (from 2015) and the Russo‑Ukrainian war (2014→2022→present) as Russia’s principal post‑1991 wars [1] [2] [4] [3]. Sources do not provide a single, authoritative checklist that defines “wars started by Russia” in legal or causal terms; they differ on whether events were initiated by Moscow directly or grew from local separatism with Russian support [3] [8].
If you want, I can produce a concise timeline listing dates, short descriptions and the specific source that name each conflict so you can compare how different outlets classify them.