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Ruslan Yamadayev
December 10, 1961 – September 24, 2008 (aged 46)
Ruslan Yamadayev after receiving the Hero of the Russian Federation award in 2004.
Place of birth	Gudermes, Chechen-Ingush ASSR, USSR
Place of death	Moscow, Russia
Allegiance	Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Russian Federation
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	First Chechen War Second Chechen War
Awards	Hero of the Nation Hero of the Russian Federation

Ruslan (Khalid) Bekmirzayevich Yamadayev (Russian: Руслан (Халид) Бекмирзаевич Ямадаев) (December 10, 1961 – September 24, 2008) was a Chechen military leader and politician. A member of the high-profile Yamadayev clan, he was assassinated in Moscow in 2008.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Biography

Ruslan Yamadayev belonged to the Gudermes-based Chechen Benoi teip. Along with his brothers Sulim Yamadayev and Dzhabrail Yamadayev, he fought against Russian forces during the First Chechen War before turning to Russia's side in 1999.

For his struggle against the separatists in the Second Chechen War, Yamadayev was promoted to the rank of colonel and the granted the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. From 2003 to 2007, he was a deputy to the State Duma from Chechnya. In 2004 he was nominated for the Chechen presidency.^[7][8] He also ran several Moscow-based businesses for the Yamadayev clan.

Death

On September 24, 2008, Ruslan Yamadayev was assassinated on Smolenskaya Embankment in central Moscow near the Russian White House^[9] when returning from a meeting in the Kremlin.^[10] He was shot ten times while sitting in a car belonging to his brother Sulim Yamadayev and initial press responses reported name of the victim as Sulim; the name was corrected later.^[11] The other victim of the shooting, the former military commandant of Chechnya and retired Colonel General Sergei Kizyun, was hospitalized in grave condition.^[12] The Russian police has launched a criminal case on charges of murder and attempted murder.^[13]

The pro-Moscow president of Chechnya (and in recent months a bitter rival of the Yamadayevs^[14][15]) Ramzan Kadyrov denied accusations of being behind the killing^[16] and suggested Yamadayev fell victim of a blood feud.^[17] Sulim Yamadayev also accused Kadyrov^[18] and promised to take revenge.^[19] Sulim himself was reported killed on March 29, 2009 in Dubai.^[20]

In April 2009, a court in Moscow sanctioned the arrest of Ilimpashi Khatsuyev, suspected of murdering Ruslan Yamadayev.^[21]

See also

• Movladi Baisarov

References

External links

• Kadyrov targets the Yamadayev brothers, Kavkaz Center, 14 March 2008 (originally The Jamestown Foundation)
• Kadyrov versus the Yamadaevs Becomes Kadyrov versus the Generals, Chechenpress, June, 16th 2008
• Ruslan Yamadaev: authorities of Chechnya unfold campaign against "Vostok" commander, Memorial, 28/6/2008
• Russia: A Chechen Assassination, Stratfor, September 25, 2008
• Chechnya's President Lost the Best Enemy, Kommersant, Sep. 25, 2008
• Yamadaev's murder threatens with consequences for Chechnya's authorities, observers believe, Memorial, 25/9/2008
• Russia: Warnings of Another Chechen War, Stratfor, September 26, 2008
• Who is behind the murder of Ruslan Yamadayev: Kadyrov or Medvedev?, Kavkaz Center, 26 September 2008
• Speculation Swirls After Kadyrov Rival Is Slain In Russian Capital, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 26 September 2008
• Sulim Goes to Chechnya to Bury Brother Despite Potential Trap, Kommersant, Sep. 26, 2008
• Sulim Yamadayev hopes that Ramzan Kadyrov did not kill his brother, Kavkaz Center, 29 September 2008
• Death of a hero (weekly review), Prague Watchdog, September 30th 2008
• Moscow Diary: Southern discomfort, BBC News, 1 October 2008
• A Blood Feud Made to Order, The St. Petersburg Times, October 3, 2008
• All quiet on the clan front in Chechnya, Prague Watchdog, October 3rd 2008
• Many Reasons To Kill, No Reasons To Protect, Novaya Gazeta, 10.10.2008