Aslan Maskhadov

Aslan Aliyevich Maskhadov (Russian: ????? ??????? ????????) (September 21, 1951 ? March 8, 2005) was a leader of the separatist movement in the southern Russian republic of Chechnya. He was credited by many with the Chechen victory in the First Chechen War, which allowed for the de facto establishment of an independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. Maskhadov became President of the nation in January of 1997 with heavy backup from Moscow. Following the start of the Second Chechen War, he returned to leading the guerrilla movement against the Russian army. He was reported killed in a village in northern Chechnya in March 2005.

Second Chechen War

An attack by Basayev's forces on the neighboring Republic of Dagestan in September 1999 proved the final straw for Russia, where opinion saw Maskhadov as either being incompetent and incapable of controlling his country, or else in league with the terrorists. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent Russian forces back into Chechnya in October 1999, rapidly overrunning the republic and propelling Putin into the Russian Presidency.

Related Topics:
Dagestan - 1999 - Vladimir Putin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Maskhadov returned to life as a guerrilla leader, living in hiding as Russia's second most wanted man after Basayev, with Russia placing a $10 million bounty on his capture. He was seen as the political leader of the separatist forces during the Second Chechen War. It is unclear what kind of a military role he played. Maskhadov advocated armed resistance to what he saw as a Russian occupation but condemned attacks on civilians, although he apparently supported the separatist assassination of pro-Russian Chechen President Kadyrov whilst condemning the Russian assassination of Chechen separatist President Dudayev in Chechnya in 1996, and the assassination of Dudayev's successor ex-President Yandarbiyev in Qatar in 2004.

Related Topics:
Kadyrov - 1996 - Yandarbiyev - Qatar - 2004

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He consistently denied being responsible for the increasingly brutal terrorist acts carried out against civilians by Basayev's followers since 1999, and often denounced them through spokesmen abroad, such as Akhmed Zakayev, presently in exile in London. While some Western observers considered these denunciations plausible, Russian officials considered them insincere and have always accused both Basayev and Maskhadov of colluding to perpetrate terrorism. Western leaders have not given much public reaction to his death, in marked contrast to the death of Palestinian President and guerrilla leader Yasser Arafat.

Related Topics:
Akhmed Zakayev - London - Yasser Arafat

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~