In early 1999, Raduyev vanished from public again while undergoing a major plastic surgery operation in Germany, in effect acquiring a new face. The alleged implants of titanium earned him the nickname of "Titanic" in Russia, while in Chechnya he became popularly known as "Michael Jackson", a reference to his plastic surgery. Still seriously ill and recovering from surgery, Raduyev vowed "reprisals" against Russia for the March 1999 sentencing of two Chechen women. In September 1999, at the start of the Second Chechen War, Raduyev organized a rally in Grozny attended by 12,000 people where he urged residents to stay home and prepare to defend the city. His militia was reported to be virtually destroyed by a series of serious setbacks during the early fighting in late 1999, and he stopped talking about planning and organizing new attacks afterward.