Vladimir Anatolievich Khodov (russian: Владимир Анатольевич Ходов; October 9, 1976 – September 3, 2004) was one of the leaders of the hostage-takers in the 2004

Beslan school hostage crisis The Beslan school siege (also referred to as the Beslan school hostage crisis or the Beslan massacre) was a terrorist attack that started on 1 September 2004, lasted three days, involved the imprisonment of more than 1,100 people as hostages ( ...

Early life

Vladimir was born in the

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

town of

Berdyansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of ...

. His mother Alexandra Samoshkina was a nurse, and his father's identity is unknown.Vladimir Hodov
collection of materials by

Lenta.ru ''Lenta.ru'' (russian: Лента.Ру; stylised as LƐNTA.RU) is a Russian-language online newspaper. Based in Moscow, it is owned by Rambler Media Group. In 2013, the Alexander Mamut-owned companies "SUP Media" and "Rambler-Afisha" merged to ...

When he was three years old, Vladimir's mother married a North Ossetian military engineer, Anatoly Khodov, and moved to Elkhotovo, 40 km from

Beslan 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 Vladikavkaz, ...

, where she worked in the

maternity ward Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births global ...

of a hospital. After separating from her husband, Alexandra moved with her sons to Beslan. According to some sources both sons attended the Beslan ''School Number One'' that was later the subject of the attack (Vladimir was known as Samoshkin there). Other sources do not confirm this information.Vladimir Hodov
collection of materials by

In 1996 his brother Borik was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in

Maykop Maykop (russian: Майкоп, p=mɐjˈkop Help:IPA/Russian, mɐj'kop); ady, Мыекъуапэ, Mıéquapə ) is the capital city of the Republic of Adygea in Russia, located on the right bank of the Belaya River (Kuban), Belaya River (a tribut ...

for murder, following a stabbing incident in the village. While in prison, he converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. On one of his visits to his brother in Maykop, Vladimir was accused of a

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

, and left Russia to live with his grandfather in Berdyansk.

Later life

According to police records made public after the Beslan incident, after his return from Ukraine, Vladimir got involved in Islam in

Adygea The Republic of Adygea (; russian: Республика Адыгея, Respublika Adygeya, p=ɐdɨˈɡʲejə; ady, Адыгэ Республик, ''Adıgə Respublik''), also known as the Adyghe Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated ...

, went to a

madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

Cherkessia Circassia (; also known as Cherkessia in some sources; ady, Адыгэ Хэку, Адыгей, lit=, translit=Adıgə Xəku, Adıgey; ; ota, چرکسستان, Çerkezistan; ) was a country and a historical region in the along the northeast ...

and even joined the Chechen insurgence (serving mostly as a cook). He served under

Ruslan Gelayev Ruslan (Hamzat) Gelayev (russian: Руслан (Хамзат) Гелаев; was a prominent commander in the Chechen people, Chechen separatist movement against Russia, in which he played a significant, yet controversial, military and political ...

and later Iles Gorchikhanov. Vladimir again moved out at the end of 2002, asking his parents to care for his cat ''Dima'' while he was absent. In 2003, Borik was released from prison a year before his sentence was completed. Borik returned to Elkhotovo, and on July 1 he abducted Sveta Gabisova, a girl he had known earlier, claiming he was in love and wanted to marry her, despite her protests. Relatives rescued Sveta, and her brother Iriston visited Borik to complain about his behaviour - during the resulting fight, Borik was shot and killed. Vladimir returned for the funeral on July 22, but interrupted the funeral to take the body away for a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

. Vladimir's disturbance caught the attention of the authorities, and after hiding in a local

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

's basement, he was arrested. Despite being a wanted criminal, Vladimir was released by the police shortly after.

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 ...

has claimed that this was when Vladimir was given the choice of prison or helping to infiltrate the Chechen warlord's movement. According to police records, Vladimir had already joined the "Taliban" training camp in

Galashki Galashki (russian: Галашки; inh, Галашкe, ''Galaške'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') in Sunzhensky District of the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia, located on the left bank of the Sunzha River near the border with the Republic ...

(

Ingushetia Ingushetia (; russian: Ингуше́тия; inh, ГӀалгӏайче, Ghalghayče), officially the Republic of Ingushetia,; inh, Гӏалгӏай Мохк, Ghalghay Moxk is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. ...

), and returned to it after his release. On February 3, 2004 an exploding 122mm

artillery shell A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Modern usage ...

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the North Ossetia-Alania, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Ru ...

killed an army cadet and a nearby female. By February 21 Vladimir had been declared the prime suspect, after being caught on videotape. In Elkhotovo, an arsenal of weapons was found at the home of another convert and Vladimir's picture and code name (Abdullah) appeared on the FSB "Wanted" Internet Pages. A failed (and victimless) bomb attack on the Moscow to Vladikavkaz train near the Elkhotovo railway station in May 2004 was also blamed on Vladimir Khodov.

Siege

On the second day of the Beslan siege, Khodov reportedly stopped one of the other hostage-takers from killing a hostage named Larisa Kudzieva, and offered to free her two children if she agreed to wear an

explosive belt An explosive belt (also called suicide belt or a suicide vest) is an improvised explosive device, a belt or a vest packed with explosives and armed with a detonator, worn by suicide bombers. Explosive belts are usually packed with ball bearings, ...

and

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

in exchange; an offer which Kudzieva refused. During the siege, authorities got Aleksandra to phone her son, hoping she could convince him to let the children go free.

After the attack

After the siege, there were rumours that he had survived and had been captured, died in custody, or had committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

in prison. After the attacks, his mother Aleksandra was taken into custody by the FSB though released from wrongdoing. She was evicted from

''in absentia'' and went to live in Vladikavkaz.

References

External links

Beslan terrorist mother evicted from her home - family history in Berdyansk

* ttps://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,3604,1315871,00.html Outraged at the Orthodox Christian funeral, Vladimir carried away the corpse. Mention of Vladikavkaz
Basayev's words cause controversy

Wild rumours after the siege
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khodov, Vladimir 1976 births 2004 deaths Beslan hostagetakers Bombers (people) Converts to Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Russian Orthodox Christians People from Berdiansk Russian Islamists Russian mass murderers