Chechen separatists financed the first war against Russia (1994-1996) with proceeds from criminal activities and oil theft (bunkering). The interwar years, before the launch of the second Chechen conflict in 1999, saw more outside support from Muslims in the Persian Gulf and nearby countries such as Georgia, Turkey and Jordan.

The RSRBCM is suspected of having links to Al-Qaida and other foreign groups. According to a former aide to Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaida established an organization in Chechnya to assist with logistics, including moving personnel into Chechnya. This network established links between Osama bin Laden and Samir Saleh Abdullah Al-Suwailem (Khattab), who held considerable political power in Chechnya until his assassination in 2002. Khattab received the bulk of funding from Islamist militants in the Persian Gulf states from 1999 to 2002. It is unclear if any aid from those donors made its way directly into RSRBCM coffers during the second Chechen war.

The RSRBCM is a relatively new terrorist organization. The group seems to have emerged in 2002, well after Moscow launched the second Chechen war in 1999. The group is primarily dedicated to an independent Islamic republic in Chechnya. Long-term goals include the creation of a trans-Caucasus caliphate-type state.

The U.S. State Dept. placed RSRBCM on its terrorist exclusion list in late April 2004.

The RSRBCM may be related to two other Chechen terrorist organizations: the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR) and the International Islamic Brigade (IIB). All of these groups were led at one time by Chechen militant Shamil Basayev.

Assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, mines, mortars and explosives are readily accessible to would-be terrorists in the region. Old Soviet stores and porous borders helped supply Chechen militants. When the first Chechen war broke out, Chechen rebel fighters had access to tanks and aircraft, though most of those weapons were quickly destroyed by the Russians. However, as the conflict continued, some corrupt or impoverished Russian soldiers sold the rebels their own weapons.

The group has used female bombers, commonly referred to as "Black Widows," in several of its attacks. These women have typically lost family members in Russian-Chechen conflicts. The perpetrators of the group's first suicide attack were an ordinary Chechen father and his two teenage children, according to Basayev.

The RSRBCM suffered a serious setback in July of 2006 when Basayev died after a truck carrying explosives detonated near his vehicle.

2002
Oct. 23-26: Between 40 and 50 Chechen rebels, from the SPIR and the IIB, took more than 700 people hostage at the Dubrovka theater in Moscow. After a three-day standoff, Russian special operations forces released fentanyl -- a morphine-like anesthetic -- which was responsible for the death of most of the victims. Most or all of the hostage-takers were killed as the special operations forces stormed the building. RSRBCM is suspected to have been born out of this failure.

Dec. 27: Three suicide bombers drove two vehicles packed with explosives into the headquarters of pro-Russian government in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. The blast left a 20-ft. crater, killing 72 and injuring 280. The attack was reportedly ordered by Basayev.

2003
Aug. 1: A Chechen suicide bomber drove a truck packed with ammonium nitrate and detonated it in front of a military hospital in Mozdok, southern Russia. The explosion killed 52 people and wounded 72 others. The hospital building completely collapsed in the attack. Shamil Basayev and the RSRBCM later claimed responsibility for the bombing.

2004
Feb. 12-March 15: Chechen rebels linked to the RSRBCM conducted several attacks on energy infrastructure. The terrorist attacks included the sabotage of gas pipelines near Altukhovo and Mosoblgaz; two gas pipelines and a power station that service Moscow; and three power-line pylons in Moscow's Leninsky district. Several other sabotage attempts were thwarted.

April 6: A suicide bomber exploded a car on the Nazran-Magas highway in an attempted assassination of Ingushetia's President Murat Zyazikiv. The explosive device was about the equivalent of 220 lb (100 kg) of TNT. The president and four of his bodyguards were injured in the attack.

Aug. 24: A Tu-154 bound for Sochi and a Tu-134 headed for Volgograd crashed within minutes of each other, in what seemed to have been two nearly simultaneous terrorist attacks. All 41 people aboard the Tu-134 died, as did all 46 aboard the Tu-154. On Aug. 29, investigators said they found traces of the explosive hexogen in the wreckage of both aircraft. The investigation into the crashes led to two suspected bombers: women with Chechen surnames, Amanata Nagayeva and Satsita Dzhebirkhanova. The women fit the "black widow" terrorist profile, having lost relatives during the conflict with Russia. Chechen sources initially disavowed responsibility for the downing of these two aircraft, but Basayev later acknowledged the attacks.

Aug. 31: A female suicide bomber blew herself up outside the entrance to the Rizhshkaya subway station in Moscow, with the equivalent to 4.4 lb (2 kg) of TNT. Security checks forced a premature detonation before the attacker could enter the station. The bombing killed 11 people and wounded 50. The suicide bomber was identified as Roza Nagayeva, the sister of an alleged bomber aboard one of the two airliners that crashed earlier in August. A terrorist wanted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) also died in this attack.

Sep. 1: Almost three dozen members of RSRBCM's Second Group stormed the town of Beslan in southern Russia and took hostage about 1,200 children, parents and teachers, holding them in a school gym. The group was believed to have been led by Magomet Yevloyev, who headed attacks against Ingushetia several months earlier. The terrorists apparently hid weapons under the school's gym floor during construction work earlier in the year in preparation for the attack.

Russian forces stormed the school after a three-day standoff. Witnesses said troops fired at the school using tanks and flame-throwers, sparking a fire that collapsed the gym roof, causing a significant number of casualties. According to Russian authorities, security forces employed grenade launchers and tanks against the militants only after all the surviving victims had been evacuated. Most accounts agree that fighting erupted on Sept. 3 after at least one explosion inside the gym – while hundreds of captives were still inside the building.

Hostage-takers identified in Beslan included: Vladimir Khodov, Arsen Merzhoyev, Mayrvek Shibikhanov, Bey-Alla Tsechoyev, Magomed Khochbarov, Issa Torshkhoyev, Khirir-Ali Akhmedov, Abdul-Azim Labazanov and Nur-Pahi Kulayev (the only one taken alive).

2006
May 26: Nur-Pahi Kulayev, the lone surviving terrorist from the Beslan school siege, was convicted of murder, hostage-taking and terrorism.

July 10: Basayev was killed when his vehicle blew up as militants were loading his truck with explosives. Responsibility for his death has been disputed. Russia said the Federal Security Service assassinated him. Others maintain it was an accident.

Aug. 30: An amnesty program for Chechen militants not suspected of major crimes was announced. More than 50 Chechen militants surrendered their weapons to authorities.

2007
July 21: A Web site known for posting Chechen separatist announcements reported that Akhmed Yevloyev, also known as Amir Magas, would take the position of top military commander of the Caucasian insurgency. The position was previously held by Basayev.