Life in Grozny During Wartime

The city of Grozny, capital of Chechnya, became one of the most devastated urban areas in Europe during the two Chechen Wars (1994–1996 and 1999–2000). For civilians caught in the crossfire, daily life became a struggle for survival under constant bombardment, siege conditions, lawlessness, and psychological trauma.

While much of the world saw images of the war through news headlines and distant reporting, for Grozny’s residents, the war was a grim, intimate reality that reshaped every aspect of life — from shelter and food to fear and identity.

Chechen men perform dhikr in the square at the presidential palace, December 1994.

The Fall of a Capital

Before the wars, Grozny was a relatively modern city, with a population of nearly 400,000 people, many of them ethnic Chechens and Russians. It featured Soviet-era infrastructure, industry, schools, and public services. However, the onset of war transformed the capital into a frontline battlefield and later a symbol of destruction.

During the First Chechen War, Russian forces launched heavy assaults on Grozny in an attempt to retake the city from separatist control. The bombardment was indiscriminate: artillery, air strikes, and tanks pounded residential neighborhoods. Apartment blocks collapsed. Fires spread through entire districts. Civilians often had no warning and no escape routes.

By the end of the war, tens of thousands of civilians had been killed or displaced, and much of the city was reduced to ruins.

Chechen women on the square near the presidential palace, December 1994

Daily Struggles for Survival

Life during wartime Grozny revolved around a few basic needs: food, water, shelter, and safety. All were in short supply.

• Food: Supermarkets and supply chains collapsed early. People relied on barter, smuggling, or aid deliveries from humanitarian organizations. Many residents grew food in gardens or scavenged from abandoned stores and military convoys.

• Water and electricity: These were often completely cut off. People collected rainwater or melted snow, and some accessed wells in courtyards or on the outskirts of the city.

• Shelter: As buildings were destroyed, families crammed into basements, bunkers, and partially destroyed homes. Children grew up underground, rarely seeing sunlight for weeks.

• Medicine and health: Hospitals were either destroyed or overwhelmed. Doctors operated in makeshift clinics, often without anesthesia or equipment. Wounds from shrapnel, burns, and untreated infections were common.

The psychological burden was enormous. Residents lived under constant fear of shelling, snipers, or sudden “cleansing” operations (known as “zachistkas”), where Russian troops or allied forces would raid neighborhoods, sometimes abducting or killing civilians.

A wounded man is loaded into a car on the outskirts of Grozny

Displacement and Refugee Life

Hundreds of thousands fled Grozny during both wars, either to the Caucasus mountains, neighboring Ingushetia, or elsewhere in Russia. Many became internally displaced persons (IDPs), living in tents, overcrowded shelters, or with relatives. Conditions in refugee camps were often dire, with poor sanitation, limited aid, and exposure to winter weather.

Some civilians returned to Grozny even while fighting continued, unable to survive as refugees. They faced bombed-out infrastructure, lack of employment, and lingering danger from unexploded ordnance and landmines.

Due to the intensifying shelling of Grozny, residents are leaving the Chechen capital and moving to Dagestan or Ingushetia

Civil Society and Survival Networks

Despite chaos, resilience emerged in the form of informal support networks. Families, neighbors, and entire communities banded together to:

• Share food and information

• Care for elderly or orphaned children

• Organize makeshift schools or prayer gatherings

• Protect one another from looters or violence

Women often became central figures in community survival, while men were at higher risk of detention or death during sweeps. Many civilians turned to Islamic faith, Chechen identity, or local traditions to make sense of the suffering and maintain dignity.

Queue for bread. After troops began blocking roads leading to the capital, food shortages began in Grozny

Fear, Resistance, and Life Under Occupation

During the Second Chechen War, after Grozny was recaptured by Russian forces, the city was placed under strict military control. Curfews were enforced, and residents were subject to ID checks, raids, and arbitrary detentions. Reports of torture, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings created an atmosphere of fear.

Yet even in this environment, some residents tried to rebuild daily life: opening small markets, repairing homes, and seeking lost relatives. Others joined resistance movements, risking further violence. The moral and emotional toll of daily occupation blurred the line between survivor and victim.

Fighting on the streets of Grozny, January 1, 1995

Aftermath and Long-Term Impact

By 2003, Grozny was officially declared “peaceful,” but the scars remained. The United Nations once called Grozny "the most destroyed city on Earth."

• Large sections of the population were killed, traumatized, or displaced.

• Entire generations grew up in the shadow of war, with post-traumatic stress, broken education, and mistrust of authorities.

• Rebuilding efforts in later years, under Ramzan Kadyrov, restored infrastructure but were accompanied by tight political control, widespread surveillance, and repression.

Today, Grozny looks physically reborn, with new buildings and modern facades — but beneath the surface lies a complex history of violence, endurance, and memory.

Conclusion

Life in wartime Grozny was not just a story of destruction, but also of survival. Despite living through siege, starvation, violence, and fear, civilians found ways to adapt, protect one another, and retain their humanity. Their experience is a powerful reminder that the cost of war is borne not just on the battlefield, but in kitchens, shelters, and broken families, long after the bombs have fallen silent.