Sulim Yamadayev
Encyclopedia
Sulim Bekmirzayevich Yamadayev was a Chechen
rebel commander from the First Chechen War
who had switched sides together with his brothers Dzhabrail
, Badrudi, Isa and Ruslan in 1999 during the outbreak of the Second Chechen War
. He was de facto commander of the Russian military Special Battalion Vostok unit belonging to the GRU
. As such, until 2008, he was officially in command of the biggest pro-Moscow
militia
outside the control of the current Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov
. From August 1 to August 22, 2008 Yamadayev was wanted in Russia
on a federal warrant. Nevertheless, he served as one of the Russian military commanders in Russia's war with Georgia
during the same period.
On March 5, 2003, Sulim's brother Dzhabrail Yamadayev
was assassinated by a bomb. On September 24, 2008 Sulim's brother, Ruslan Yamadayev, was shot dead on Smolenskaya Embankment in Moscow
. Initial press responses reported name of the victim as Sulim Yamadayev; the name was corrected later. Sulim Yamadayev was shot in Dubai
on 28 March 2009, and died in hospital on 30 March 2009.
before returning to Chechnya. He once said that his dream was to become a fighter and that during a time he decided to go to Afghanistan
to train. Yamadayev's political interests were tightly tied with those of his teip
(clan) Benoi, which has long-standing claims to the town of Gudermes
. Under the Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov
, he served as a field commander and commanded a special forces
detachment which routed a radical Wahhabi
militia at Gudermes in 1998.
During the Second Chechen War, the Yamadayevs and Akhmad Kadyrov
arranged for their stronghold of Gudermes to be taken over by federal forces without a fight. Later, Sulim became leader of the GRU
Spetsnaz
unit called the Special Battalion Vostok ("East") of nearly 600 men, succeeding his brother Dzhabrail Yamadayev
following his assassination in 2003. While working closely with the General of the Army
Alexey Maslov
, Sulim Yamadayev received the medal and title of Hero of the Russian Federation
after his Vostok battalion killed the commander of the Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya
, Abu al-Walid
, in April of 2004. Together with his paramilitary
soldiers known within Chechnya as Yamadayevtsy, which are alleged to be unruly and prone to mix warfare with crime, Yamadayev often conflicted with Ramzan Kadyrov
(the son of Akhmad) and Said-Magomed Kakiyev over who controls overall military authority in Chechnya. Isa and Badrudi, the younger brothers of Sulim, became the company commanding officer
s in the battalion.
On April 14, 2008, the forces loyal to Yamadayev and Ramzan Kadyrov engaged in one of the biggest battles between rival Chechen factions. The clash occurred when convoys from each group ran into each other in Gudermes and reportedly resulted in around 18 dead. A bitter conflict
between the men loyal to Yamadayev and forces of Kadyrov followed. In this conflict, Kadyrov prevailed and eventually Yamadayev was sacked from his post and declared a wanted "criminal" in Chechnya. On August 6, the previous 'Hero of Russia' Yamadayev and some of his commandos were put on a federal wanted list. According to his brother and Duma
deputy Ruslan Yamadayev, Sulim still allegedly lived in Moscow and did not hide at the time of the warrant being issued. The other Yamadayev brother, Badrudi was placed on the federal wanted list earlier in 2008. According to Moscow-based defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer
, "It's important because this had been a rare challenge to Kadyrov in Chechnya. Now, it's clear that Yamadayev has been quashed and Kadyrov controls Chechnya."
A few days after he was declared wanted in Russia, Gazeta.ru reported that Yamadayev was participating in military actions in the outskirts of Tskhinvali
in the Georgia
's breakway Republic of South Ossetia. Novaya Gazeta
military correspondent Arkady Babchenko accompanied Yamadayev and his remaining loyal men in Georgia. Following the war, on August 22, RIA Novosti reported Yamadayev was officially dismissed from his post as commander of the Vostok battalion in Chechnya. On the same day, the search for Yamadayev was stopped, officially because the Chechen MVD had established his whereabouts (according to investigatory bodies, Yamadayev was in Moscow).
On September 24, 2008, Ruslan Yamadayev and a retired Russian army General Sergey Kizyun (protector of the Yamadayev clan) were shot in Sulim's car in the central Moscow while driving from the Kremlin; Ruslan Yamadayev was fatally wounded. Initial press responses reported the name of the victim as "Sulim Yamadayev"; this was corrected later. Sulim Yamadayev blamed Kadyrov and vowed to avenge the death of his brother.
, where he lived for several months as Suleiman Yamadayev and/or Suleyman Madov; his two bodyguards said he was shot in the back of the neck in an underground garage. The police attempted to detain a Russian citizen in connection with the attack, but the suspect was able to flee. However, despite the early reports of death, according to his younger brother, Isa, Yamadayev survived at least three gunshot wounds and was hospitalized in critical condition. According to RIAN, Yamadayev was placed in a military hospital after surviving an assassination attempt: he reportedly returned fire on his attackers, which "saved his life". Dubai police have dismissed this, reporting that Yamadayev died instantly from wounds sustained during the shooting. The Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov confirmed, on April 1, that Yamadayev had been buried in the Gulf state.
On April 5, 2009, the Dubai police accused Adam Delimkhanov
of ordering the assassination. Delimkhanov is a member of the Russian State Duma
for the United Russia
party and Kadyrov's cousin and a close associate. He denied the accusation, saying it was "a provocation and an attempt to destabilize conditions in the Chechen Republic." Later, the Interpol
has issued arrest warrants for seven Russian citizens in connection with the killing. Besides Delimkhanov, Zelimkhan Mazayev, Elimpasha Khatsuyev, Salman Kimayev, Tirpal Kimayev, Ramazan Musiev and Marvan Kimayev were named as being wanted for "crimes against life and health".
On May 13, 2009, Sulim's brother Isa Yamadayev claimed he was alive. Isa claimed Sulim was only injured and is now in a Dubai hospital under police guard, adding that they were in contact via the Internet. Russian diplomats had earlier admitted that they had not received documentary evidence
of his body and that only Dubai Police had repeatedly informed them that he was buried in a local cemetery.
According to the Russian human rights organization Memorial
in August 2008, "Now we know from evidences of eyewitnesses that during the war in Georgia the fighters of the Vostok battalion were humanely treating the prisoners of war. As far as I understand, the Chechen battalion didn't take part in pogrom
s [of Georgians in Gori District], and everything incriminated to Yamadayev refers to the past."
Chechen people
Chechens constitute the largest native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus region. They refer to themselves as Noxçi . Also known as Sadiks , Gargareans, Malkhs...
rebel commander from 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...
who had switched sides together with his brothers Dzhabrail
Dzhabrail Yamadayev
Dzhabrail Yamadayev was a Chechen rebel field commander during the First Chechen War. He switched sides together with his brothers, Ruslan and Sulim in 1999 during the outbreak of the Second Chechen War and then became the commander of the Russian special forces unit Vostok...
, Badrudi, Isa and Ruslan in 1999 during 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 was de facto commander of the Russian military Special Battalion Vostok unit belonging to the GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
. As such, until 2008, he was officially in command of the biggest pro-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...
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...
outside the control of the current Chechen president 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...
. From August 1 to August 22, 2008 Yamadayev was wanted in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
on a federal warrant. Nevertheless, he served as one of the Russian military commanders in Russia's war with Georgia
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
during the same period.
On March 5, 2003, Sulim's brother Dzhabrail Yamadayev
Dzhabrail Yamadayev
Dzhabrail Yamadayev was a Chechen rebel field commander during the First Chechen War. He switched sides together with his brothers, Ruslan and Sulim in 1999 during the outbreak of the Second Chechen War and then became the commander of the Russian special forces unit Vostok...
was assassinated by a bomb. On September 24, 2008 Sulim's brother, Ruslan Yamadayev, was shot dead on Smolenskaya Embankment in 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...
. Initial press responses reported name of the victim as Sulim Yamadayev; the name was corrected later. Sulim Yamadayev was shot in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
on 28 March 2009, and died in hospital on 30 March 2009.
Biography
Yamadayev studied business in MoscowMoscow
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...
before returning to Chechnya. He once said that his dream was to become a fighter and that during a time he decided to go to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to train. Yamadayev's political interests were tightly tied with those of his teip
Teip
Teip is a Chechen and Ingush tribal organization or clan, self-identified through descent from a common ancestor and geographic location. There are about 130-233 teips...
(clan) Benoi, which has long-standing claims to the town of Gudermes
Gudermes
Gudermes is a town in the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Sunzha River east of Grozny. Population: 32,000 .Gudermes had a rural locality status until 1941. Later, it became a railroad junction between Rostov-on-Don, Baku, Astrakhan, and Mozdok. Gudermes is home for oil extraction...
. Under the Chechen president 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...
, he served as a field commander and commanded a special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
detachment which routed a radical 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...
militia at Gudermes in 1998.
During the Second Chechen War, the Yamadayevs and 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...
arranged for their stronghold of Gudermes to be taken over by federal forces without a fight. Later, Sulim became leader of the GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
unit called the Special Battalion Vostok ("East") of nearly 600 men, succeeding his brother Dzhabrail Yamadayev
Dzhabrail Yamadayev
Dzhabrail Yamadayev was a Chechen rebel field commander during the First Chechen War. He switched sides together with his brothers, Ruslan and Sulim in 1999 during the outbreak of the Second Chechen War and then became the commander of the Russian special forces unit Vostok...
following his assassination in 2003. While working closely with the General of the Army
General of the Army
General of the Army is a military rank used in some countries to denote a senior military leader, usually a General in command of a nation's Army. It may also be the title given to a General who commands an Army in the field....
Alexey Maslov
Alexey Maslov
General of the Army Alexey Fyodorovich Maslov is the former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces. He is a graduate of the Tank Troops Military Academy and in the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces....
, Sulim Yamadayev received the medal and title of Hero of the Russian Federation
Hero of the Russian Federation
Hero of the Russian Federation is a Russian decoration and the highest honorary title that can be bestowed on a citizen by the Russian Federation. The President of the Russian Federation is the main conferring authority of the medal, which is bestowed on those committing actions or deeds that...
after his Vostok battalion killed the commander of 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....
, Abu al-Walid
Abu al-Walid
Abu al-Walid , was a Saudi-born Arab of the Ghamid tribe who fought as a "mujahid" volunteer in Central Asia, the Balkans, and the North Caucasus...
, in April of 2004. Together with his 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....
soldiers known within Chechnya as Yamadayevtsy, which are alleged to be unruly and prone to mix warfare with crime, Yamadayev often conflicted with 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...
(the son of Akhmad) and Said-Magomed Kakiyev over who controls overall military authority in Chechnya. Isa and Badrudi, the younger brothers of Sulim, became the company commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
s in the battalion.
On April 14, 2008, the forces loyal to Yamadayev and Ramzan Kadyrov engaged in one of the biggest battles between rival Chechen factions. The clash occurred when convoys from each group ran into each other in Gudermes and reportedly resulted in around 18 dead. A bitter conflict
Sulim Yamadaev/Ramzan Kadyrov Power Struggle
The Sulim Yamadaev/Ramzan Kadyrov power struggle was a feud between rival pro-Moscow Chechen warlords that exploded into armed confrontation between Yamadaev’s Special Battalion “Vostok” forces and Chechen President Kadyrov’s militia known as the “Kadyrovtsy” following an incident in the town of...
between the men loyal to Yamadayev and forces of Kadyrov followed. In this conflict, Kadyrov prevailed and eventually Yamadayev was sacked from his post and declared a wanted "criminal" in Chechnya. On August 6, the previous 'Hero of Russia' Yamadayev and some of his commandos were put on a federal wanted list. According to his brother and Duma
Duma
A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
deputy Ruslan Yamadayev, Sulim still allegedly lived in Moscow and did not hide at the time of the warrant being issued. The other Yamadayev brother, Badrudi was placed on the federal wanted list earlier in 2008. According to Moscow-based defence analyst Pavel Felgenhauer
Pavel Felgenhauer
Pavel E. Felgenhauer is a Russian journalist. He is known for his publications critical of Russia's political and military elite.-Biography:...
, "It's important because this had been a rare challenge to Kadyrov in Chechnya. Now, it's clear that Yamadayev has been quashed and Kadyrov controls Chechnya."
A few days after he was declared wanted in Russia, Gazeta.ru reported that Yamadayev was participating in military actions in the outskirts of Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali
Tskhinvali , is the capital of South Ossetia, a disputed region which has been recognised as an independent Republic by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Nauru, and is regarded by Georgia and the rest of the world as part of the Shida Kartli region within Georgian sovereign territory.It is located...
in the Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
's breakway Republic of South Ossetia. Novaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta
Novaya Gazeta is a Russian newspaper well known in the country for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs....
military correspondent Arkady Babchenko accompanied Yamadayev and his remaining loyal men in Georgia. Following the war, on August 22, RIA Novosti reported Yamadayev was officially dismissed from his post as commander of the Vostok battalion in Chechnya. On the same day, the search for Yamadayev was stopped, officially because the Chechen MVD had established his whereabouts (according to investigatory bodies, Yamadayev was in Moscow).
On September 24, 2008, Ruslan Yamadayev and a retired Russian army General Sergey Kizyun (protector of the Yamadayev clan) were shot in Sulim's car in the central Moscow while driving from the Kremlin; Ruslan Yamadayev was fatally wounded. Initial press responses reported the name of the victim as "Sulim Yamadayev"; this was corrected later. Sulim Yamadayev blamed Kadyrov and vowed to avenge the death of his brother.
Assassination
On March 29, 2009, Sulim Yamadayev was reported to be the victim of an assassination in DubaiDubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, where he lived for several months as Suleiman Yamadayev and/or Suleyman Madov; his two bodyguards said he was shot in the back of the neck in an underground garage. The police attempted to detain a Russian citizen in connection with the attack, but the suspect was able to flee. However, despite the early reports of death, according to his younger brother, Isa, Yamadayev survived at least three gunshot wounds and was hospitalized in critical condition. According to RIAN, Yamadayev was placed in a military hospital after surviving an assassination attempt: he reportedly returned fire on his attackers, which "saved his life". Dubai police have dismissed this, reporting that Yamadayev died instantly from wounds sustained during the shooting. The Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov confirmed, on April 1, that Yamadayev had been buried in the Gulf state.
On April 5, 2009, the Dubai police accused 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....
of ordering the assassination. Delimkhanov is a member of the Russian State Duma
State Duma
The State Duma , common abbreviation: Госду́ма ) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to...
for the United Russia
United Russia
United Russia is a centrist political party in Russia and the largest party in the country, currently holding 315 of the 450 seats in the State Duma. The party was founded in December 2001, through a merger of the Unity and Fatherland-All Russia parties...
party and Kadyrov's cousin and a close associate. He denied the accusation, saying it was "a provocation and an attempt to destabilize conditions in the Chechen Republic." Later, the Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
has issued arrest warrants for seven Russian citizens in connection with the killing. Besides Delimkhanov, Zelimkhan Mazayev, Elimpasha Khatsuyev, Salman Kimayev, Tirpal Kimayev, Ramazan Musiev and Marvan Kimayev were named as being wanted for "crimes against life and health".
On May 13, 2009, Sulim's brother Isa Yamadayev claimed he was alive. Isa claimed Sulim was only injured and is now in a Dubai hospital under police guard, adding that they were in contact via the Internet. Russian diplomats had earlier admitted that they had not received documentary evidence
Documentary evidence
Documentary evidence is any evidence introduced at a trial in the form of documents. Although this term is most widely understood to mean writings on paper , the term actually include any media by which information can be preserved...
of his body and that only Dubai Police had repeatedly informed them that he was buried in a local cemetery.
Allegations of crimes
- In August 2008, Sulim Yamadayev became officially wanted for the 1998 kidnappingKidnappingIn 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...
and murder of the local businessman Usman Batsaev, a resident of the village of Dzhalka in Gudermessky District. According to the prosecution, Yamadayev reportedly had demanded $100,000 ransomRansomRansom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
for the release of Batsaev and he later told the victims's relatives where the grave was located in April 2000. The involvement of Yamadayev in kidnappings for ransomRansomRansom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
was also alleged in 2006 in 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...
's last article published in her lifetime (Politkovskaya wrote that according to data of the prosecutorProsecutorThe prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
’s office, Yamadayev's "band" had engaged in kidnappingKidnappingIn 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...
before the legalization as a GRU unit). - In June 2005 his battalion carried out the Borozdinovskaya operationBorozdinovskaya operationThe Borozdinovskaya operation was an infamous cleansing raid by the pro-Moscow ethnic Chechen unit Battalion Vostok of the Spetsnaz of GRU on the ethnic minority village of Borozdinovskaya in Chechnya near the border with the republic of Dagestan on June 4, 2005.Borozdinovskaya is a predominantly...
, a cleansing raid that resulted in the murder of an elderly man and the disappearance of 11 civilians who were never seen again. Later, one of the Vostok commanders was given a three year suspended sentenceSuspended sentenceA suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation...
. Yamadayev, commander of the Vostok battalion at that time, has admitted his servicemen's guilt, but claimed that the operation had been conducted without his knowledge. - Yamadayev's men were accused of severing the heads of their dead victims, and sexually abusing, torturing and executing prisoners. In 2007, a Russian photographer by the name of Dima Beliakov followed Sulim Yamadayev and his Vostok battalion on a mission in Chechnya's Vedensky District; his pictures revealed harsh behavior of Vostok servicemen during raids. In May 2008 a Vostok unit serviceman revealed the location of a secret burial ground at the decommissioned biochemical fertilizerFertilizerFertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
plant near Gudermes, from which seven completely decomposed corpses were recovered. The next day, the man revealed the burial site of Vostok's platoon leader Vakharsolt Zakayev, shot in 2003 on suspicion of having murdered Dzhabrail Yamadayev. - There were also reports that Yamadayev was involved in extortionExtortionExtortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
of money from the meat processing factory Samson in Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, raided by a Chechen militia (allegedly Vostok troops) in 2006. - Chechen President Ramzan KadyrovRamzan KadyrovRamzan 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...
accused Sulim Yamadayev of complicity in the assassination of his father Akhmad KadyrovAkhmad KadyrovHajji 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...
and attempts to kill Ramazan by poisoning a lake near Ramazan's residence.
According to the Russian human rights organization Memorial
Memorial (society)
Memorial is an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states. It focuses on recording and publicising the Soviet Union's totalitarian past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states....
in August 2008, "Now we know from evidences of eyewitnesses that during the war in Georgia the fighters of the Vostok battalion were humanely treating the prisoners of war. As far as I understand, the Chechen battalion didn't take part in pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
s [of Georgians in Gori District], and everything incriminated to Yamadayev refers to the past."
External links
- Land of the warlords - Who's who in the new Chechnya, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, June 13, 2006 - In the front line of Putin's secret war, The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, 27 Mar 2007 - Prominent Chechen killed in Dubai, 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...
, 30 March 2009