Movsar Buharovich Barayev (Suleimanov) (russian: Мовсар Бухарович Бараев; October 26, 1979 – October 26, 2002), earlier known as Suleimanov, was a Chechen Islamist

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

leader during the

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 Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 ...

, who led the seizure of a Moscow theater that led to the deaths of over 170 people by Russian special forces.

Life

Movsar Barayev, born 1979, was the nephew of the notorious Chechen

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

Arbi Barayev who allegedly worked under FSB guidance.The Security Organs of the Russian Federation. A Brief History 1991-2004
by

Jonathan Littell Jonathan Littell (born October 10, 1967) is a writer living in Barcelona. He grew up in France and the United States and is a citizen of both countries. After acquiring his bachelor's degree he worked for a humanitarian organisation for nine year ...

, Psan Publishing House 2006. After his uncle's death in June 2001 until his own, Movsar was the leader of a Chechen terrorist militia known as the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR). Mosvar Barayev was said to be a sworn enemy of the Chechen leader and elected

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Aslan Maskhadov Aslan (Khalid) Aliyevich Maskhadov (russian: Асла́н (Хали́д) Али́евич Масха́дов; ce, Масхадан Али-воӀ Аслан (Халид), Masxadan Ali-voj Aslan (Xalid); 21 September 1951 – 8 March 2005) was ...

. He used the ''

nom-de-guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

'' of "Yassir". He was incorrectly reported by the command of the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n forces in Chechnya to have been killed on August 21, 2001, and again on October 12, 2002, eleven days prior to the Moscow theater crisis (this report of Barayev's death came from Colonel Boris Podoprigora, deputy commander of Russia's Joint Group Forces). It was also claimed that two months before the hostage-taking, the Russian

GRU The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ци ...

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

had arrested Barayev and contained him ''"until his release had provided leads to the hostage taking at the Dubrovka theatre"''.

Death

On October 23, 2002, Barayev and a mysterious man known as "Abu Bakar" led a group of some forty SPIR militants and their family members (who had dubbed themselves "the suicide squad from the 29th Division") to seize the theater in the Russian capital Moscow, demanding

negotiations Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties to reach the desired outcome regarding one or more issues of conflict. It is an interaction between entities who aspire to agree on matters of mutual interest. The agreement ...

with Russian authorities for an end to the second war in Chechnya, withdrawal of Russian forces and Chechen

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

,The Moscow Hostage Crisis: An Analysis of Chechen Terrorist Goals
threatening to execute his hostages. Movsar Barayev was killed on the third day of the crisis, when the Russian FSB special forces stormed the theater. He died on his 23rd birthday. Barayev's bloodied corpse was shown by the Russian TV lying on the ground of the theater amid broken glass with an intact bottle of

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

near his hand. Later, the Russian authorities said his body was secretly buried in an undisclosed location.

References

External links

Who is Movsar Barayev?
, Gazeta.ru, 24 October 2002
Chechen rebel an unlikely leader
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

'', October 25, 2002
Barayev Known More for Gun Exploits Than Religious Devotion
''

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...

'', October 26, 2002
The Man Who Would Be Martyred
''

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'', Oct. 27, 2002
A Son of Perestroika
'' Moscow News'', October 30, 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Barayev, Movsar 1979 births 2002 deaths Chechen field commanders Islamic terrorism in Russia Moscow theater hostage crisis People of the Chechen wars Russian Sunni Muslims Chechen warlords Russian people of Chechen descent Chechen people Leaders of Islamic terror groups Russian mass murderers