Akhmad Kadyrov
Encyclopedia
Hajji
Akhmad Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov (August 23, 1951 – May 9, 2004), also spelled Akhmat, was the Chief Mufti
of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War
. At the outbreak of the Second Chechen War
he switched sides, offering his service to the Russian government, and later became the President of the Chechen Republic
from October 5, 2003, acting as head of administration since July 2000.
On May 9, 2004, he was assassinated by Chechen Islamists in Grozny
, using a bomb blast during a World War II
memorial victory parade
. His son, Ramzan Kadyrov
, who led his father's militia
, became one of his successors in March 2007 as the President of the Chechen Republic
.
in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, to a Chechen family that had been expelled from Chechnya during the Stalinist repressions
. In April 1957, his family returned to Shalinsky District
of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR
. In 1980, he started studying Islam at Mir-i Arab Madrasah in Bukhara
, and followed by studying at Tashkent Islamic University in Tashkent
, Uzbekistan
, from 1982–86. In the early 1990s, he returned to Chechnya, and founded the Islam Institute in the village of Kurchaloy.
, he became a supporter of separatist president Dzhokhar Dudayev. Kadyrov fought prominently in the First Chechen War
on the Chechen side as a militia
commander. In 1995 he was appointed Chief Mufti
of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
. Following the outbreak of violence between Moscow
and Chechen separatists, Kadyrov famously declared that "Russians outnumber Chechens in many times, thus every Chechen would have to kill 150 Russians
."
While the first war was mainly fought for nationalism
, after the de facto independence of Ichkeria
, much of the Chechen forces were compromised of jihad
is, such as the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya
.
Kadyrov, as Chief Mufti, was critical of Wahhabism, to which many of the foreign fighters were adherent to. Kadyrov – a leading figure in the resistance movement – decided to abandon the insurgency in 1999 and offered his support to Russian federal forces in Second Chechen War
. Maskhadov
immediately fired him from the Chief Mufti chair, although this decree was never accepted by Kadyrov, who abdicated himself a few months later due to his civilian chairman career. According to James Hughes, Kadyrov's U-turn may have been motivated partly by personal ambition and partly by a concern with the desperate condition of the Chechen population, and was also driven by a fear of the growing sectarian Wahhabi influence on the insurgency.
After the Russian forces seized control over Chechnya in July 2000, Kadyrov was appointed acting Head of the Administration by the Russian president Vladimir Putin
. On October 5, 2003, he was elected the first President of Chechnya. In this position, he remained mainly pro-Moscow. He also advocated numerous amnesty
campaigns for former rebel fighters, who were allowed to join Chechen police and loyalist militia
forces if they surrender. His chief personal bodyguard
was Movladi Baisarov
. Reportedly, there were at least a dozen assassination attempts against him before the final one.
parade
in the capital city of Grozny
, instantly killing Akhmad Kadyrov. Two of Kadyrov's bodyguards, the Chairman of the Chechen State Council, a Reuters
journalist, and as many as a dozen others were also killed (a later report stated that more than 30 people had died). Some 56 others were wounded, including Colonel General
Valery Baranov
, the commander of Russian forces in Chechnya, who lost his leg in the explosion. The bomb was said to have been built into the concrete of a supporting column during recent repairs.
Akhmad Kadyrov had four children, three sons and a daughter. As of 2009, only one son is still alive, Ramzan Kadyrov
, who led his father's militia
(the eldest son, Zelimkhan Kadyrov, died later in May 2004). Ramzan was later appointed as Prime Minister
of Chechnya and President of Chechnya in March 2007.
As of today, Akhmad is buried in the Grozny Central Dome Mosque
.
Hajji
Hajji or El-Hajj, is an honorific title given to a Muslim person who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca, and is often used to refer to an elder, since it can take time to accumulate the wealth to fund the travel. The title is placed before a person's name...
Akhmad Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov (August 23, 1951 – May 9, 2004), also spelled Akhmat, was the Chief Mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War
First Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
. At the outbreak of the Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
he switched sides, offering his service to the Russian government, and later became the President of the Chechen Republic
President of the Chechen Republic
The President of the Chechen Republic, known commonly as the President of Chechnya, is the highest office within the Government of Chechnya. The office was instituted in 2003 during the course of the Second Chechen War, when the Russian federal government regained control over the...
from October 5, 2003, acting as head of administration since July 2000.
On May 9, 2004, he was assassinated by Chechen Islamists in Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
, using a bomb blast during a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
memorial victory parade
Victory parade
A victory parade is a type of parade held in order to celebrate a victory. Because of that, victory parades can be divided into military victory parades and more frequent sport victory parades....
. His son, Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
, who led his father's militia
Kadyrovtsy
Kadyrovtsy also Kadyrovites, is a term used by the population of Chechnya, as well as members of the groups themselves, for former members of the paramilitary units of the former pro-Moscow President of the Chechen Republic Akhmad Kadyrov, headed by his son and the current President Ramzan...
, became one of his successors in March 2007 as the President of the Chechen Republic
President of the Chechen Republic
The President of the Chechen Republic, known commonly as the President of Chechnya, is the highest office within the Government of Chechnya. The office was instituted in 2003 during the course of the Second Chechen War, when the Russian federal government regained control over the...
.
Life
Akhmad (or Akhmat) Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov was born in KaragandaKaraganda
Karagandy , more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty , Astana and Shymkent, with a population of 471,800 . In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic...
in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, to a Chechen family that had been expelled from Chechnya during the Stalinist repressions
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
. In April 1957, his family returned to Shalinsky District
Shalinsky District, Chechen Republic
Shalinsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the fifteen in the Chechen Republic, Russia. Its administrative center is the town of Shali...
of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR
History of Chechnya
The History of Chechnya refers to the history of Chechens, Chechnya, and the land of Ichkeria.Chechen society has traditionally been organized around many autonomous local clans, called taips...
. In 1980, he started studying Islam at Mir-i Arab Madrasah in Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
, and followed by studying at Tashkent Islamic University in Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, from 1982–86. In the early 1990s, he returned to Chechnya, and founded the Islam Institute in the village of Kurchaloy.
First Chechen War
Following the Chechen declaration of independenceDeclaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
, he became a supporter of separatist president Dzhokhar Dudayev. Kadyrov fought prominently in the First Chechen War
First Chechen War
The First Chechen War, also known as the War in Chechnya, was a conflict between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, fought from December 1994 to August 1996...
on the Chechen side as a militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
commander. In 1995 he was appointed Chief Mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
. Following the outbreak of violence between Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Chechen separatists, Kadyrov famously declared that "Russians outnumber Chechens in many times, thus every Chechen would have to kill 150 Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
."
Second Chechen War
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, after the de facto independence of Ichkeria
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the unrecognized secessionist government of Chechnya. The republic was proclaimed in late 1991 by Dzokhar Dudayev, and fought two devastating wars between separatists and the Russian Federation which denounced secession...
, much of the Chechen forces were compromised of jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
is, such as the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya
Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya
The Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya is an international unit of Islamist Mujahideen fighting in Chechnya and other parts of the North Caucasus....
.
Kadyrov, as Chief Mufti, was critical of Wahhabism, to which many of the foreign fighters were adherent to. Kadyrov – a leading figure in the resistance movement – decided to abandon the insurgency in 1999 and offered his support to Russian federal forces in Second Chechen War
Second Chechen War
The Second Chechen War, in a later phase better known as the War in the North Caucasus, was launched by the Russian Federation starting 26 August 1999, in response to the Invasion of Dagestan by the Islamic International Peacekeeping Brigade ....
. Maskhadov
Aslan Maskhadov
Aslan Aliyevich Maskhadov was a leader of the Chechen separatist movement and the third President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.He was credited by many with the Chechen victory in the First Chechen War, which allowed for the...
immediately fired him from the Chief Mufti chair, although this decree was never accepted by Kadyrov, who abdicated himself a few months later due to his civilian chairman career. According to James Hughes, Kadyrov's U-turn may have been motivated partly by personal ambition and partly by a concern with the desperate condition of the Chechen population, and was also driven by a fear of the growing sectarian Wahhabi influence on the insurgency.
After the Russian forces seized control over Chechnya in July 2000, Kadyrov was appointed acting Head of the Administration by the Russian president Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
. On October 5, 2003, he was elected the first President of Chechnya. In this position, he remained mainly pro-Moscow. He also advocated numerous amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
campaigns for former rebel fighters, who were allowed to join Chechen police and loyalist militia
Kadyrovtsy
Kadyrovtsy also Kadyrovites, is a term used by the population of Chechnya, as well as members of the groups themselves, for former members of the paramilitary units of the former pro-Moscow President of the Chechen Republic Akhmad Kadyrov, headed by his son and the current President Ramzan...
forces if they surrender. His chief personal bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
was Movladi Baisarov
Movladi Baisarov
Movladi Baisarov was a Chechen warlord and former Federal Security Service special-task unit commander. Baisarov was shot dead on the street in central Moscow by members of the Chechen extra-agency guard on November 18, 2006.-Career:...
. Reportedly, there were at least a dozen assassination attempts against him before the final one.
Death and legacy
On May 9, 2004, an explosion ripped through the VIP seating at the Dinamo football stadium during a mid-morning Soviet Victory DayVictory Day (Eastern Europe)
Victory Day or 9 May marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War...
parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
in the capital city of Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
, instantly killing Akhmad Kadyrov. Two of Kadyrov's bodyguards, the Chairman of the Chechen State Council, a Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
journalist, and as many as a dozen others were also killed (a later report stated that more than 30 people had died). Some 56 others were wounded, including Colonel General
Colonel General
Colonel General is a senior rank of General. North Korea and Russia are two countries which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories...
Valery Baranov
Valery Baranov
Valery Baranov Born on November 16, 1948 in Orenburg region. He graduated from the Kazan' tank college , the academy armored troops , the academy of General Staff , the academy of civil service with the President RF ....
, the commander of Russian forces in Chechnya, who lost his leg in the explosion. The bomb was said to have been built into the concrete of a supporting column during recent repairs.
Akhmad Kadyrov had four children, three sons and a daughter. As of 2009, only one son is still alive, Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004. In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post...
, who led his father's militia
Kadyrovtsy
Kadyrovtsy also Kadyrovites, is a term used by the population of Chechnya, as well as members of the groups themselves, for former members of the paramilitary units of the former pro-Moscow President of the Chechen Republic Akhmad Kadyrov, headed by his son and the current President Ramzan...
(the eldest son, Zelimkhan Kadyrov, died later in May 2004). Ramzan was later appointed as Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of Chechnya and President of Chechnya in March 2007.
As of today, Akhmad is buried in the Grozny Central Dome Mosque
Grozny Central Dome Mosque
Akhmad Kadyrov Grozny Central Dome Mosque is located in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, and bears the name of Akhmad Kadyrov.The mosque design is based on the Blue Mosque in İstanbul. On October 16, 2008, the mosque was officially opened in a ceremony in which Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov spoke...
.
External links
- Akhmad Kadyrov: Had I been the dictator of Chechnya by Anna PolitkovskayaAnna PolitkovskayaAnna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian journalist, author, and human rights activist known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and then-President of Russia Vladimir Putin...
, Novaya GazetaNovaya GazetaNovaya Gazeta is a Russian newspaper well known in the country for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs....
, March 22, 2002 - Obituary: Akhmad Kadyrov, BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 9 May 2004 - Obituary Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen president widely seen as Moscow puppet, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, May 10, 2004 - Obituaries: Akhmad Kadyrov, Russian-backed President of Chechnya, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 11 May 2004 - Obituary in brief: Akhmad Kadyrov, president of Chechnya, The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, May 19, 2004