Twenty-six years ago today, on August 27th, 1999 (July 17th, 1999 in the lunar calendar), the Russian army eliminated illegal armed forces in Chechnya. At the end of August and early September, 1999, illegal armed forces in Chechnya, Russia, sneaked into the neighboring Republic of Dagestan and launched anti-government riots with local separatists. Chechen illegal militants also caused many explosions in Moscow and other big Russian cities, killing more than 300 residents. In order to stabilize the situation in the North Caucasus and completely solve the Chechen issue, the Russian Federation troops took advantage of the situation to enter Chechnya after quelling the rebellion in Dagestan to eliminate illegal armed forces and terrorists. At present, the Russian Federation troops have controlled most of Chechnya, and Grozny, the capital, is surrounded by Russian troops. In Chechnya and previous military operations in Dagestan, the Russian army killed more than 6,500 illegal militants, killing 305 and wounding 863 others. Western countries led by the United States have criticized the Russian army for clearing up illegal armed forces in Chechnya, but Russia stressed that the Chechnya issue is Russia's internal affair and cannot be interfered by other countries.