General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev (12 April 1962 – 26 August 2002) was a Chechen field commander during the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second Chechen War The Second Chechen War (russian: Втора́я чече́нская война́, ) took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russia, Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from Augus ...

s. He was a deputy of

Shamil Basayev Shamil Salmanovich Basayev ( ce, Салман ВоӀ Шамиль ; russian: Шамиль Салманович Басаев; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his kunya "Abu Idris", was a senior military commander in the Cheche ...

, and

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of Shalinsky and

Vedensky District Vedensky District (russian: Веде́нский райо́н; ce, Веданан кӏошт, ''Vedanan khoşt'') is an administrativeDecree #500 and municipalLaw #14-RZ district (raion), one of the fifteen in the Chechen Republic, Russia. It is ...

s after being appointed by Dzhokhar Dudayev in 1994. Abdulkhadzhiev took part in the Basayev led

Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis The Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis took place from 14 to 19 June 1995, when a group of 80 to 200 Chechen separatists led by Shamil Basayev attacked the southern Russian city of Budyonnovsk (pop. 60,000, often spelled Budennovsk), some ...

in June 1995. Shamil's fighters seized the

Budyonnovsk Budyonnovsk (russian: Будённовск) is a town in Stavropol Krai, Russia. Population: History The town was founded in 1799 by Armenian settlers from Derbent. During World War II, Budyonnovsk was occupied by German troops from August ...

hospital and the 1,600 people inside for a period of several days. At least 147

civilians Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

died and 415 were wounded. They then successfully retreated to

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

under cover of

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

s. The

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass el ...

coverage surrounding the events propelled Basayev into the international spotlight, and made him Chechnya's most famed

national hero The title of Hero is presented by various governments in recognition of acts of self-sacrifice to the state, and great achievements in combat or labor. It is originally a Soviet-type honor, and is continued by several nations including Belarus, Ru ...

overnight. In a ''Prism'' interview, Abdulkhadzhiev gave his opinion of the Budyonnovsk tragedy:

AA: Here I must say we do not plan anything like Budennovsk. The Budennovsk tragedy will never be repeated. Moreover, we did not make these plans except as a last resort. Why was the world was silent when Shali was bombed, when some 400 people were killed or wounded? In fact, the evil we did in Budennovsk was not even 30 percent of what they did in Shali. And what was world community's reaction when they wiped out Samashki and Serzhen-Yurt?
PRISM: You are saying Budennovsk will never be repeated. Then what will happen?
AA: I want peace. Budennovsk is the way for all small people to save themselves. Today it is possible to have all the might of a big state turned against this state. Therefore, this war is senseless and it must be stopped no matter how much certain politicians would wish it to continue.

Despite being wanted by Russian authorities, Abdulkhadzhiev continued to be a significant force of influence in southern Chechnya until he was assassinated on 26 August 2002 in Shali by Russian Spetsnaz.ORT Review, Compiled by Luba Schwartzman, 26 August 2002

References

1962 births 2002 deaths Chechen field commanders Islamic terrorism in Russia People of the Chechen wars Chechen warlords Russian people of Chechen descent North Caucasian independence activists {{Chechnya-bio-stub