After winning de facto independence in 1996 from the Russian Federation in the wake of the First Chechen War, it was invaded by Russia in the Second Chechen War, with direct rule of Chechnya being established in May 2000. After losing territorial control to Russia, the CRI continued to exist in the form of an insurgent group fighting a guerrilla war against the Russian Military, while some Chechen separatists also carried out attacks against civilians in Russia. The CRI was severely weakened by the conflict with the Russians in the years following, suffering many casualties and defections including the deaths of its successive Presidents, Aslan Maskhadov and Abdul Halim Sadulayev.