Ruslan (Khalid or Halid) Bekmirzayevich Yamadayev () (10 December 1961 – 24 September 2008) was a Chechen military leader and politician. A member of the high-profile Yamadayev family, he was assassinated in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 2008. He was one of Kremlin's most loyal allies.

Biography

Ruslan Yamadayev belonged to the

Gudermes Gudermes (; , ''Gümse'' or , ''Guthermajas'') is a town in the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Sunzha River east of Grozny, the republic's capital. Population: 32,000 (1970). History Gudermes had rural locality status until 1941. ...

-based Chechen Benoi

teip A ''teip'' (also ''taip'', ''tayp'', ''teyp''; Chechen language, Chechen and Ingush language, Ingush: тайпа, romanized: ''taypa'' , ''family'', ''kin'', ''clan'', ''tribe''Нохчийн-Оьрсийн словарь (Chechen-Russian Dict ...

. Along with his brothers

Sulim Yamadayev Suleiman Bekmirzayevich Yamadayev (; 21 June 1973 – 30 March 2009), or simply Sulim Yamadayev (), was a Chechen military commander. The fourth of six Yamadayev brothers, he fought for the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria during the First Cheche ...

and Dzhabrail Yamadayev, he fought against the Russian forces during the

First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the invading Russia, Russian Federation from 1994 to 1996. After a mutually agreed on treaty ...

before turning to Russia's side in 1999. For his struggle against the separatists in the

Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

, Yamadayev was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

and granted the title of

Hero of the Russian Federation Hero of the Russian Federation ( rus, Герой Российской Федерации, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲijskəj fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨɪ), also unofficially called Hero of Russia ( rus, Герой России, p=ɡʲɪˈroj rɐˈsʲiɪ), is ...

. From 2003 to 2007, he was a deputy to the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

from Chechnya. In 2004, he was nominated for the Chechen presidency. He and his brothers ran several businesses, including a car market, a construction company, and a concrete factory, in Chechnya.

Murder

On 24 September 2008, Ruslan Yamadayev was assassinated on Smolenskaya Embankment in central Moscow near the

Russian White House The White House (, ), officially the House of the Government of the Russian Federation (), also known as the Russian White House and previously as the House of Soviets of Russia, is a government building in Moscow. It stands on the Krasnopresne ...

when returning from a meeting in

the Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

. He was shot ten times while sitting in a car owned by his brother Sulim Yamadayev. Initially, it was reported the name of the victim as Sulim, which was corrected later. The other victim of the shooting, the former military commandant of Chechnya and retired

Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

Sergei Kizyun, was hospitalized in grave condition. The Russian police launched a criminal case on charges of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

and

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

. The pro-Moscow president of Chechnya

Ramzan Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician and current head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the ...

who had, in the months prior to the assassination, engaged in a bitter rivalry with the Yamadayevs denied accusations of being behind the killing, and suggested that he fell victim of a

blood feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

. Sulim Yamadayev also accused Kadyrov and promised to take revenge. He also denied the Kadyrov's claims, saying that his brother did not have any blood feud or business clashes that could have caused his assassination.

Aftermath

Sulim himself was reported killed on 29 March 2009 in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

. In April 2009, a court in Moscow convicted two Chechens of the assassination of Yamadayev. Aslanbek Dadayev, Yamadayev's murderer, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment and Elimpasha Khatsuev, who drove the car, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yamadayev, Ruslan 1961 births 2008 deaths Assassinated Chechen military personnel Assassinated Russian politicians Chechen businesspeople Chechen warlords Deaths by firearm in Russia Heroes of the Russian Federation Fourth convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) People of the Chechen wars People murdered in Moscow 20th-century Russian businesspeople Russian military personnel 2008 murders in Russia Asian politicians assassinated in the 2000s Politicians assassinated in 2008

Biography

Murder

Aftermath

See also

References