Movladi Baisarov
Encyclopedia
Movladi Baisarov was a Chechen warlord
and former Federal Security Service (FSB) 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.
of Aslan Maskhadov
, Baisarov was a minor field commander whose forces operated in the Grozny
area, described by the Russian Grani.ru website as a "prominent 'Wahhabi
'". When the Second Chechen War
began, he became attached to Akhmad Kadyrov
, who was mufti
of Chechnya
at the time. Baisarov's former rebels turned into Kadyrov's bodyguards and Baisarov became the commander of the Chechen Presidential Security Service
.
In 2004 when Akhmad Kadyrov, the president of Chechnya at the time, was assassinated in a bomb attack, his security force was disbanded. Baisarov's people turned into the secretive Gorets
('Highlander') paramilitary
unit, subordinate to the tactical department
of the North Caucasus
FSB and based in the halmet of Pobedinskoye (Pobedinskoe), north-west of Grozny. According to Chechen human rights
activists, its main function was kidnapping
operations and summary execution
s. In Chechnya it had a reputation of a death squad
and Baisarov was believed to maintain a prison
and torture chamber
in the village.
Ramzan Kadyrov
decided to dissolve Gorets unit as well and reassign its members to various law enforcement structures under his control. Baisarov was counting on support from his former FSB managers to let him maintain the unit, perhaps by making its members a special unit of Chechen MVD's extra-agency guard department, which he would lead.
When Baisarov refused to be subordinate to Ramzan Kadyrov, his forces were blockade
d at their base in Pobedinskoye and the Chechen prosecutor
brought back the 2004 criminal case against Baisarov. At that time, ten members of the local Musaev (Musayev) family were kidnapped and killed in Grozny; they were later found in a mass grave
. The prosecutor and Chechen UBOP established that members of the Gorets unit kidnapped them and that Baisarov personally shot some of them with a noiseless VSS Vintorez
sniper rifle
. According to investigators, Baisarov thus avenged the death of his brother Sharani, who also served in Akhmad Kadyrov's personal security service and died with him in the bomb blast.
Baisarov denied his involvement in the murder of the Musaev family members and was eventually declared wanted on those charge but only as a witness
. Chechen prosecutors did not place Baisarov on a federal
wanted list, and the Chechen MVD only did so three days before Baisarov died but he was also formally not charged with anything. There are also questions about the jurisdiction
: if Baisarov was really a senior officer in the FSB (he had identification in his pocket showing him to be a Lieutenant Colonel
of the FSB), the military prosecutor or the FSB itself should have summoned him for questioning, not the civil prosecutor.
that he was not hiding from anyone in Moscow and was expecting to return to Chechnya soon to become the deputy prime minister
in charge of law enforcement.
The situation changed a few days before the death of Baisarov, as many as 50 Chechen police officers formed two groups specially to eliminate him arrived in Moscow from Chechnya. Some information indicates that the group was being overseen personally by Adam Delimkhanov
, the first deputy prime minister of Chechnya. The arrival of the Chechen group in Moscow had been preceded by negotiations with the top leaders of Russian law enforcement agencies. Baisarov's FSB guard was suddenly removed, and several of his comrades were taken into custody and sent back to Chechnya. On November 14, some 33 last Gorets fighters in the republic were disarmed. Three days later unknown persons destroyed two of three oil well
s controlled by Baisarov outside Pobedinskoye just one day before his death. People close to Baisarov say that he spent last week calling his former managers from the dissolved regional FSB. Allegedly, Baisarov intended to give evidence that would prove his innocence and, at the same time, show his political opponents' guilt of kidnappings and murders, and give testimony
about his knowledge in the Anna Politkovskaya assassination
; however, the last contact he had with the Lubyanka
ended with him being told: "The program is closed. Don't call anymore."
Movladi Baisarov was killed at about 6:00 p.m, when he arrived in a Russian VAZ-1111 car at 30 Leninsky Prospekt apparently for a prearranged meeting. Witnesses say that Baisarov got out of his car and approached a group of plainclothed Chechens standing nearby. When they recognized Baisarov, who was unshaven and wearing a black jacket, they shouted at him and then fired on him with automatic weapons. Most of the bullets struck him in the head. The assailants then fled by car in the direction away from the city center.
The circumstances surrounding the "special operation" on Leninsky Prospekt were so strange that the Prosecutor's Office in Moscow was compelled to initiate a criminal investigation of Baisarov's death. A prosecutor's spokesman told Kommersant that the investigation was looking for the reason the operation was carried out by Chechen police, using the "methods of their republic", instead of Moscow police. The prosecutor's office has classified Baisarov's killing as murder
and determined that he suffered 11 bullet wounds. The investigation has determined that seven of those wounds were made by the AKS-74U assault rifle
belonging to Sultan Rashayev, lieutenant in the extra-agency guard service. It was not known who else shot at Baisarov, but shells from both assault rifles and standard-issue police pistols were also found at the scene of the crime, as were shells from a Stechkin APS
machine pistol
. Most of the shots were fired at point blank range.
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
and former Federal Security Service (FSB) special-task unit commander. Baisarov was shot dead on the street in central 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...
by members of the Chechen extra-agency guard on November 18, 2006.
Career
During the separatist regimeRegime
The word regime refers to a set of conditions, most often of a political nature.-Politics:...
of Aslan 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...
, Baisarov was a minor field commander whose forces operated in the 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...
area, described by the Russian Grani.ru website as a "prominent 'Wahhabi
Wahhabism
Wahhabism is a religious movement or a branch of Islam. It was developed by an 18th century Muslim theologian from Najd, Saudi Arabia. Ibn Abdul Al-Wahhab advocated purging Islam of what he considered to be impurities and innovations...
'". When 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 ....
began, he became attached to Akhmad Kadyrov
Akhmad Kadyrov
Hajji Akhmad Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov , also spelled Akhmat, was the Chief Mufti of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War...
, who was 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 Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
at the time. Baisarov's former rebels turned into Kadyrov's bodyguards and Baisarov became the commander of the Chechen Presidential Security Service
Presidential Security Service
Presidential Security Service , or PSS for short, is a South Korean close protection agency. Based on the United States Secret Service, the South Korean PSS is an independent agency responsible for the protection of the President of South Korea and the Blue House.The unit is currently being...
.
In 2004 when Akhmad Kadyrov, the president of Chechnya at the time, was assassinated in a bomb attack, his security force was disbanded. Baisarov's people turned into the secretive Gorets
Gorets mutiny
Gorets mutiny took place in Chechnya in 2006.The Goretz detachment, once spetsnaz unit of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation , was formally disbanded and its servicemen were to be reassigned to Chechen Interior Ministry but refused...
('Highlander') paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
unit, subordinate to the tactical department
Departmentalization
Departmentalization refers to the process of grouping activities into departments.Division of labour creates specialists who need coordination. This coordination is facilitated by grouping specialists together in departments....
of the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
FSB and based in the halmet of Pobedinskoye (Pobedinskoe), north-west of Grozny. According to Chechen human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activists, its main function was kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
operations and summary execution
Summary execution
A summary execution is a variety of execution in which a person is killed on the spot without trial or after a show trial. Summary executions have been practiced by the police, military, and paramilitary organizations and are associated with guerrilla warfare, counter-insurgency, terrorism, and...
s. In Chechnya it had a reputation of a death squad
Death squad
A death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign...
and Baisarov was believed to maintain a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
and torture chamber
Torture chamber
A torture chamber is a room where torture is inflicted.- Methods of coercion :According to Frederick Howard Wines in his book Punishment and Reformation: A Study Of The Penitentiary System there were three main types of coercion employed in the torture chamber: Coercion by the cord, by water and...
in the village.
Conflict with Ramzan Kadyrov
At the end of 2005, the regional FSB was closed down under pressure from Chechen authorities. At that time, Chechen Prime MinisterPrime 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...
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...
decided to dissolve Gorets unit as well and reassign its members to various law enforcement structures under his control. Baisarov was counting on support from his former FSB managers to let him maintain the unit, perhaps by making its members a special unit of Chechen MVD's extra-agency guard department, which he would lead.
When Baisarov refused to be subordinate to Ramzan Kadyrov, his forces were blockade
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
d at their base in Pobedinskoye and the Chechen prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
brought back the 2004 criminal case against Baisarov. At that time, ten members of the local Musaev (Musayev) family were kidnapped and killed in Grozny; they were later found in a mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
. The prosecutor and Chechen UBOP established that members of the Gorets unit kidnapped them and that Baisarov personally shot some of them with a noiseless VSS Vintorez
VSS Vintorez
The VSS , also called the Vintorez , is a silent sniper rifle developed in the late 1980s by TsNIITochMash and manufactured by the Tula Arsenal...
sniper rifle
Sniper rifle
In military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
. According to investigators, Baisarov thus avenged the death of his brother Sharani, who also served in Akhmad Kadyrov's personal security service and died with him in the bomb blast.
Baisarov denied his involvement in the murder of the Musaev family members and was eventually declared wanted on those charge but only as a witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
. Chechen prosecutors did not place Baisarov on a federal
Government of Russia
The Government of the Russian Federation exercises executive power in the Russian Federation. The members of the government are the prime minister , the deputy prime ministers, and the federal ministers...
wanted list, and the Chechen MVD only did so three days before Baisarov died but he was also formally not charged with anything. There are also questions about the jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
: if Baisarov was really a senior officer in the FSB (he had identification in his pocket showing him to be a Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
of the FSB), the military prosecutor or the FSB itself should have summoned him for questioning, not the civil prosecutor.
Death in Moscow
Baisarov went to Moscow and appeared in the Russian media saying that Ramzan Kadyrov was trying to hunt him down to get rid of possible competition. He accused the young Kadyrov of directing numerous political murders and kidnappings. At the same time, he told KommersantKommersant
Kommersant is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Russia. , the circulation was 131,000.- History :The newspaper was initially published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power and the introduction of censorship in 1917.In 1989, with the onset of press...
that he was not hiding from anyone in Moscow and was expecting to return to Chechnya soon to become the deputy prime minister
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some counties, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, but is significantly different, though both...
in charge of law enforcement.
The situation changed a few days before the death of Baisarov, as many as 50 Chechen police officers formed two groups specially to eliminate him arrived in Moscow from Chechnya. Some information indicates that the group was being overseen personally by Adam Delimkhanov
Adam Delimkhanov
Adam Sultanovich Delimkhanov is a Chechen politician who has been member of the Russian State Duma for the United Russia party since 2007....
, the first deputy prime minister of Chechnya. The arrival of the Chechen group in Moscow had been preceded by negotiations with the top leaders of Russian law enforcement agencies. Baisarov's FSB guard was suddenly removed, and several of his comrades were taken into custody and sent back to Chechnya. On November 14, some 33 last Gorets fighters in the republic were disarmed. Three days later unknown persons destroyed two of three oil well
Oil well
An oil well is a general term for any boring through the earth's surface that is designed to find and acquire petroleum oil hydrocarbons. Usually some natural gas is produced along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce mainly or only gas may be termed a gas well.-History:The earliest...
s controlled by Baisarov outside Pobedinskoye just one day before his death. People close to Baisarov say that he spent last week calling his former managers from the dissolved regional FSB. Allegedly, Baisarov intended to give evidence that would prove his innocence and, at the same time, show his political opponents' guilt of kidnappings and murders, and give testimony
Testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. All testimonies should be well thought out and truthful. It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on a Bible when taking an oath...
about his knowledge in the Anna Politkovskaya assassination
Anna Politkovskaya assassination
The assassination of Anna Politkovskaya , the Russian journalist, writer and human rights activist, took place on Saturday, 7 October 2006. She was well known for her opposition to the Chechen conflict and criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin...
; however, the last contact he had with the Lubyanka
Lubyanka (KGB)
The Lubyanka is the popular name for the headquarters of the KGB and affiliated prison on Lubyanka Square in Moscow. It is a large building with a facade of yellow brick, designed by Alexander V...
ended with him being told: "The program is closed. Don't call anymore."
Movladi Baisarov was killed at about 6:00 p.m, when he arrived in a Russian VAZ-1111 car at 30 Leninsky Prospekt apparently for a prearranged meeting. Witnesses say that Baisarov got out of his car and approached a group of plainclothed Chechens standing nearby. When they recognized Baisarov, who was unshaven and wearing a black jacket, they shouted at him and then fired on him with automatic weapons. Most of the bullets struck him in the head. The assailants then fled by car in the direction away from the city center.
The circumstances surrounding the "special operation" on Leninsky Prospekt were so strange that the Prosecutor's Office in Moscow was compelled to initiate a criminal investigation of Baisarov's death. A prosecutor's spokesman told Kommersant that the investigation was looking for the reason the operation was carried out by Chechen police, using the "methods of their republic", instead of Moscow police. The prosecutor's office has classified Baisarov's killing as murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and determined that he suffered 11 bullet wounds. The investigation has determined that seven of those wounds were made by the AKS-74U assault rifle
Assault rifle
An assault rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. Assault rifles are the standard infantry weapons in most modern armies...
belonging to Sultan Rashayev, lieutenant in the extra-agency guard service. It was not known who else shot at Baisarov, but shells from both assault rifles and standard-issue police pistols were also found at the scene of the crime, as were shells from a Stechkin APS
Stechkin APS
The Stechkin APS is a Russian selective fire machine pistol. It bears the name of its developer, Igor Stechkin.-Adoption:The Stechkin pistol was originally chambered for 7.62x25mm Tokarev...
machine pistol
Machine pistol
A machine pistol is a handgun-style, often magazine-fed and self-loading firearm, capable of fully automatic or burst fire, and normally chambered for pistol cartridges. The term is a literal translation of Maschinenpistole, the German term for a hand-held automatic weapon...
. Most of the shots were fired at point blank range.
External links
- Land of the warlords, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, June 13, 2006 - Movladi Baysarov accused of destabilization of situation in Chechen Republic, AIA, October 23, 2006
- "GORETS" UNIT SPLIT UP, The Jamestown FoundationThe Jamestown FoundationThe Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based institute for research and analysis, founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet dissidents. Today its stated mission is to "inform and educate" policy makers about events and trends, which it regards as being of current "strategic"...
, November 02, 2006 - Chechen President's Men a Law Unto Themselves, Institute for War and Peace ReportingInstitute for War and Peace ReportingInstitute for War & Peace Reporting is an international media development charity, established in 1991. It runs major programmes in Afghanistan, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, Iraq, the Balkans, Congo DRC, Tunisia and Uganda...
, November 05, 2004 - Former FSB special-task unit head claims Kadyrov's confidents pursued him armed with grenade launcher, AIA, November 14, 2006
- Chechen police killed former FSB special-task unit's commander in Moscow, AIA, November 18, 2006 Враг до гроба, KommersantKommersantKommersant is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Russia. , the circulation was 131,000.- History :The newspaper was initially published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power and the introduction of censorship in 1917.In 1989, with the onset of press...
, November 20, 2006 - The Chechens Remove a Witness, KommersantKommersantKommersant is a commerce-oriented newspaper published in Russia. , the circulation was 131,000.- History :The newspaper was initially published in 1909, and it was closed down following the Bolshevik seizure of power and the introduction of censorship in 1917.In 1989, with the onset of press...
, November 22, 2006 - New Details Emerging About Baisarov's Killing, The Moscow TimesThe Moscow TimesThe Moscow Times is an English-language daily newspaper published in Moscow, Russia since 1992. The circulation in 2008 stood at 35,000 copies and the newspaper is typically given out for free at places English-language "expats" attend, including hotels, cafés and restaurants, as well as by...
, November 24, 2006