ethnic region in the N Caucasus, Russia: since 1991 its status as a political subdivision of the Russian Federation has been disputed by the Chechens
See Chechnya in American Heritage Dictionary 4
A region of southwest Russia in the northern Caucasus bordering on Georgia. Conquered by Russia in the 19th century, it later formed part of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Chechnya declared its independence from the USSR in 1991. Russian troops invaded in late 1994, and fighting stopped in 1996 with the withdrawal of Russian troops, but it resumed in 1999.