Zelimkhan "Kharachoevsky" Gushmazukayev (January 1872;

Kharachoy Kharachoy (russian: Харачой, ce, Хорача, ''Xoraça'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, rural locality (a ''village#Russia, selo'') in Vedensky District, Chechnya. Administrative and municipal status Municipally, Khar ...

Terek Oblast The Terek Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, roughly corresponding to the central part of Russia's North Caucasian Federal District. Тhe ''оblast'' was created out of the former territories of t ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

– 26 September 1913; Shali,

) ( ce, Харачойн Зеламха, ''Kharachoyn Zelamkha'') and better known simply as Zelimkhan, was a Chechen

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

(known locally as an abrek) who gained fame in the late

due to his spectacular bank and train robberies as part of a violent struggle with the Russian authorities. Since the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

he has been mythologized as a version of a Chechen Robin Hood, first by the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

(for fighting against the Tsarist regime) and later by Chechen nationalists. Today the name Zelimkhan is given to Chechen and Ingush children. Together with Zelimkhan was his colleague and comrade, the Ingush abrek Sulom-Beck Sagopshinski, who participated in the most high-profile events associated with Zelimkhan. During the early 20th century, after the events of 1905, Zelimkhan was a particular problem for the Russian governors of the restive region, and enjoyed the support of the local population. He would ultimately become a symbol of triumph over the Russian administration, committing brazen feats such as the robbery of the Kizlyar treasury, carried out in broad daylight on March 27, 1910 and distributing the money to poor people; he became varyingly seen as a fighter for "justice" or as one who continued the fight of the Muslim population for independence from Russia, being compared to Imam Shamil. In September 1913, Zelimkhan was killed in a short battle with tsarist forces near the village of Shali. There was a statue of Zelimkhan outside the site of the village of Serzhen Yurt, which was destroyed during 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� ...

Folk songs about Zelimkhan

There is a popular folk song about Zelimkhan. Excerpt from a Khevsurian folk song about Zelimkhan:

References

* Rebecca Ruth Gould, "Transgressive Sanctity: The Abrek in Chechen Culture," Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 8.2 (2007): 271–306. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zelimxan 1872 births 1913 deaths People from Vedensky District People from Terek Oblast Chechen nationalists Chechen warlords Chechen people People from the Russian Empire