Ruslan Labazanov
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Ruslan Labazanov (1967 – disappeared 1 June 1996) was a Chechen mob boss and warlord who led the Russian-supported Chechen anti-Dudayev faction in the
First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда ...
.Sebastian Smith, ''Allah's Mountains: The Battle for Chechnya'', 2006, p. 15


Early life

Labazanov was born in internal exile in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
in 1967 in the Chechen family of a teyp Nohch-Keloy (clan). He became an Eastern
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
expert and served in the Soviet
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
as a
physical training instructor Physical training instructor (PTI) is a term used primarily in the British Armed Forces and British police, as well as some other Commonwealth countries, for an instructor in physical fitness. United Kingdom In the British Army, specialist Phys ...
. After leaving the army, he became known as a flamboyant, charismatic and extremely violent gangster.
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade as well a ...
and
United Nations Research Institute for Social Development The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is "an autonomous research institute within the United Nations that undertakes multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on the social dimensions of contemporary develo ...
, ''Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in and after the Soviet Union'', 1997
In 1990, he was convicted of
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
in
Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...
and sentenced to death before escaping from prison in 1991. According to himself, he actually escaped from
Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2010 census, it had a pop ...
pretrial detention center: "During the 1991 coup, I freed the whole prison, nearly 600 men, ahead of time. They obeyed me."


Biography

Since 1992, Labazanov aligned closely with the Chechen President
Dzhokhar Dudayev Dzhokhar Musayevich Dudayev (, ; russian: Джохар Мусаевич Дудаев; ; 15 February 1944 – 21 April 1996) was a Soviet Air Force general and Chechen separatist leader who was the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichke ...
, eventually becoming the chief of Dudayev's personal Presidential Guard and holding a rank of
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the Chechen National Guard (in 1992–1993 he had also been engaged in illegal arms trade) before failing out with him after a year-and-half during the 1993 Chechen constitutional crisis. After a bloody two-day clash between his followers and allies, including Chechen mafia boss Nikolay Suleimanov, and Dudayev's loyalists in the centre of the Chechen capital Grozny on June 13–14, Labazanov fled the city and promptly declared a
blood feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
against Dudayev for the death of his relative (either a brother or a cousin), whose head was publicly displayed among the heads of three other Labazanov's henchmen.Tracey C. German, ''Russia's Chechen War'', 2003 Labazanov then joined Umar Avturkhanov and the other criminal leader and one-time Dudayev supporter
Beslan Gantamirov Beslan (russian: Бесла́н; os, Беслӕн, ''Beslæn'', ) is a town and the administrative center of Pravoberezhny District of the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, Russia, located about north of the republic's capital city, capital ...
(the ex-mayor of Grozny) in the anti-Dudayev opposition, called the Chechen Provisional Council, operating as commander of his own
paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
outfit, the Niiso (Justice) movement, partially controlling the Shalinsky and Vedensky districts of southern Chechnya. Labazanov assumed a role of a "Chechen
Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...
", a self-styled defender of the people against the oppressive authorities. His private army of about 200 men, mostly former convicts like himself,Svante E. Cornell,''Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus'', 2001 was based in and around the town of Argun and supplied with
T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks ha ...
tanks and other heavy weapons provided by the Russian special services. They also provided personal security and other armed men for
Ruslan Khasbulatov Ruslan Imranovich Khasbulatov (russian: link=no, Русла́н Имранович Хасбула́тов, ce, Хасбола́ти Имра́ни кIант Руслан) (born November 22, 1942) is a Russian economist and politician and the ...
(freshly released from Russian prison following his defeat in the
1993 Russian constitutional crisis The 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, also known as the 1993 October Coup, Black October, the Shooting of the White House or Ukaz 1400, was a political stand-off and a constitutional crisis between the Russian president Boris Yeltsin and t ...
), and his abortive "peacemaking" initiative. In the summer of 1994, Chechnya descended into a fierce civil war-style conflict between the Chechen government and the opposition forces. For the first two months the clashes were sporadic, but on September 4, Dudayev's forces attacked Labazanov's stronghold of Argun and after a fierce all-night battle during which dozens of fighters were killed on both sides succeeded in dislodging him out of the city. The fighting culminated in the November 26 attempted raid on Grozny by the Chechen opposition supported by the covert Russian federal forces, which resulted in the final defeat for the Provisional Council and the open intervention by
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. During the subsequent
First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also known as the First Chechen Campaign,, rmed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian FederationФедеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 1995 (в реда ...
of 1994-1996, Labazanov sided with the invading Russian federal forces and promptly was given the rank of
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
in the Russian internal security service
FSK FSK may refer to: * FSK (band), a German band * Federal Counterintelligence Service, (Russian ') of Russia * Fiskerton railway station, in England * Forskolin, a diterpene * Forsvarets Spesialkommando, a Norwegian special forces unit * Fort Scott M ...
(soon to be reorganized into the FSB).Robert Seely, ''Russo-Chechen conflict, 1800-2000: A Deadly Embrace'', 2001 On June 1, 1996, it was reported that Labazanov was slain together with a bodyguard at the village of
Tolstoy-Yurt Tolstoy-Yurt (russian: Толстой-Юрт, ce, Девкар-Эвла, ''Devkar-Evla'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Groznensky District, the Chechen Republic, Russia. Population: The town is named after ...
, 15 kilometres north of Grozny.Labazanov Killed, Basayev Implicated,
ITAR-TASS The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...
, 06-01-1996
He was reportedly gunned down at point-blank range in his fortified castle-like house, where he has been living with his three wives, apparently killed by one of his own men. The Russians quickly implicated the Chechen separatist field commander
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 ...
in the killing. According to another version, Labazanov fell victim to
blood vengeance A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
by the relatives of a killed Chechen police officer.Joseph Laurence Black, ''The Russian Federation'', 1998


See also

*
List of unsolved murders These lists of unsolved murders include notable cases where victims were murdered in unknown circumstances. * List of unsolved murders (before 1900) * List of unsolved murders (1900–1979) * List of unsolved murders (1980–1999) * List of unsol ...


References


External links


Ruslan Labazanov
RIA Novosti RIA Novosti (russian: РИА Новости), sometimes referred to as RIAN () or RIA (russian: РИА, label=none) is a Russian state-owned domestic news agency. On 9 December 2013 by a decree of Vladimir Putin it was liquidated and its asse ...
image library {{DEFAULTSORT:Labazanov Ruslan 1967 births 1996 deaths Assassinated Chechen people Chechen gangsters Chechen warlords Deaths by firearm in Russia Escapees from Soviet detention Federal Security Service officers Kazakhstani escapees Male murder victims Murdered gangsters People convicted of murder by the Soviet Union People murdered in Russia People of the Chechen wars Soviet military personnel Soviet people convicted of murder Unsolved murders in Russia