"Compared to 2000, when over 50,000 troops were deployed in the Chechen Republic, the [federal] force is currently fewer than 20,000 troops," Sergei Ivanov, who is also deputy prime minister, said, adding the number of commandos was also reduced.
Ivanov said life in the republic is returning to normal, and local police and other security forces are increasingly taking over law enforcement functions from troops.
The minister said only a permanently stationed motorized division, the 42nd, and several special task units are still in the republic.
The active phase of the anti-terrorism campaign has been declared over, but sporadic fighting still breaks out in the republic as surviving separatist groups stage terrorist attacks or clash with troops, which has hampered efforts to rebuild Chechnya.
In a bid to end the fighting and bring peace to the republic, which has been torn by over a decade of warfare, Moscow called on gunmen in mid-July to lay down their arms and return to normal life, promising them an objective investigation and a possible pardon if they did so by September 30.
A total of 124 fighters have surrendered to authorities since the amnesty was declared.
