Dudayev was assassinated during the war, and after the fighting new elections were held, and Aslan Maskhadov was elected president (UNPO Chechen). The more extremist Chechen rebels have resorted to terrorist activities to get noticed, and for their cause to be heard. The Chechens have lived in a constant aura of fear, war, and domination by their Russian oppressors.
As costly as this war is for Russia, why is it that they care so much about this small territory? There are two main reasons for their continuous fight to keep control of Chechnya: economic and political. The Caucasus are estimated to have over twenty-five billion barrels of oil underneath their land, and Chechnya is one of the areas that can tap in to this huge oil reserve. The reserve is "similar to those in Kuwait and larger than those in Alaska's Northern Slope and the North Sea combined- (Cohen 1). Clearly Russia has a huge interest in keeping the Caucasus under their control, and that starts with Chechnya because they are the center of the revolt. Russia depended on Chechnya in the past for their oil, but "oil production fell steadily from 21.5 million tons in 1971 to less than 2 million tons in 1993, or less than 1 percent of Russia's total production- (Blagov). Russia desperately needs to bring Chechnya's production levels back up to their previous states, because their economy needs every dime they can make. Not only does Chechnya have the vast oil reserves but they also have pipelines that cross through their territory, and Russia would have to pay for their use if Chechnya became an independent state. Russia's political motives are just as important and they link in with the economic motivation as well. If one territory successfully secedes from Russia then that gives the appearance that Moscow is weak against terrorism, and they will give in to terrorist demands. If Chechnya is allowed to become their own sovereign state, there is no telling how many other territories will rise up to attempt the same tactics to become independent as well.