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The Chechen militancy appears to have cracked under the pressure of Russia's two-year crackdown in Chechnya and Moscow's installation of an iron-fisted president in Chechnya who is very familiar with the militants' brutal tactics. This does not mean the Chechen militants are not still active; it just means they have been run out of Chechnya for now.
The Chechen militancy tried to move operations to neighboring republics such as Dagestan and Ingushetia, but that has not worked, either. Any militants among Russia's large Chechen population centered in Moscow could still launch large attacks, though Moscow has cracked down on everything from dissidence to more serious terrorist threats. Thus, it is pretty dangerous for Chechen militants to operate anywhere in Russia, and the militants who are still alive and not in prison are marketing their skills to jihadists around the world.
Chechen militants are highly skilled and ambitious. Most have experience in the Soviet or Russian military and have used some pretty serious weaponry. They can pull off impressive operations against unprepared security forces and choose targets that will create the fiercest reactions. Chechen militants are responsible for the Moscow theater hostage crisis in 2003, the Beslan school siege and twin airliner bombings in 2004, and the Nalchik attacks in 2005.
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