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Aslambek Ilimsultanovich Vadalov (), also known by his
nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
''Emir Aslambek'', is a Chechen rebel leader fighting in the
North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...
. He was appointed the supreme leader of the
Caucasus Emirate The Caucasus Emirate (, IK; ), also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a jihadist organisation active in rebel-held parts of Syria and previously in the North Caucasus region of Russia. It ...
on 1 August 2010, though this was later retracted.


Early life

Aslambek Vadalov was born in 1972 and is a native of Ishkoy-Yurt, a village in the eastern portion of Chechnya's
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. ...
. Vadalov also seems to have spent much of his youth in the Gudermes region, though some reports have suggested that he studied for a short period of time 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 the late 1980s, perhaps at a technical institute.


Chechen War and rebel army

Following the outbreak of 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 ...
in 1994, Vadalov joined the separatist fighters from Gudermes; he may have served in the unit of Sheik Fathi, a Chechen who had lived in Jordan and engaged in Islamist conflicts in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. It has been postulated that if Vadalov did indeed serve alongside Fathi, it would indicate a very early exposure to the Islamist interpretation of the war in Chechnya. Though Vadalov played no role in the 1999 Dagestan incursion led by
Shamil Basayev Shamil Salmanovich Basayev (; ; 14 January 1965 – 10 July 2006), also known by his '' kunya'' Abu Idris, was a Chechen guerrilla leader who served as a senior military commander in the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He held the rank ...
and Ibn al-Khattab, following Russia's re-invasion of Chechnya that autumn he joined Khattab's
Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya The Mujahideen in Chechnya (, ''Muzhakhady v Chechnye''; ) were foreign Islamist Mujahideen volunteers that fought in Chechnya and other parts of the North Caucasus. It was created by Fathi al-Urduni in 1995 during the First Chechen War, where ...
. After engaging in the battles for Argun and Gudermes, Vadalov's unit withdrew to the mountainous districts of
Vedeno Vedeno (; , ''Vedana'') is a rural locality (a '' selo'') and the administrative center of Vedensky District, Chechnya. Administrative and municipal status Municipally, Vedeno is incorporated into Vedenskoye rural settlement. It is the adm ...
and Nozhay-Yurt in order to launch guerrilla attacks on Russian security forces. In 2000, Vadalov returned to Ishkoy-Yurt for unknown reasons and joined a small, local guerrilla force; the unit operated both independently and in cooperation with other rebel formations, including taking part in the 17 September 2001 attack on Gudermes. The next few years saw the separatist movement incur significant losses, but Vadalov was able to distinguish himself mainly due to his survival skills. As such, he was named Deputy Commander of the Gudermes Region of the Chechen Armed Forces under
Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...
Askhab. Although this unit that he commanded lacked manpower, his team and he were able to launch numerous small but significant attacks against the Russian security forces, especially around Ishkoy-Yurt. Following Emir Askhab's death in early 2005, Vadalov was named Commander of the Gudermes region. However, while a capable small-unit commander, Vadalov struggled when in control of a larger fighting force that required a broader strategic perspective. His unit was eventually driven out of Gudermes proper and forced back into the highlands of Vedeno and Nozhay-Yurt. Despite these setbacks, he still maintained a reputation for "commitment to the cause and hard-fought guerrilla operations." He has been fighting with the Caucasus Emirate rebels against Russian forces since 1994 and was apparently one of the first to swear allegiance to Doku Umarov in 2007. Caucasus Emirate was formed 2007. He was fighting for independent Chechnya until 2007. His relationship with Amir Khattab is of significance. Previously he was the commander of the Eastern Front of the Armed Forces of the Caucasus Emirate, although in practice he was commanding a force of perhaps about 30-50 militants on the Ingushetian border.


Ideology

Akhmed Zakayev Akhmed Halidovich Zakayev (; ; born 26 April 1959) is a Chechen statesman, political and military figure of the unrecognised Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI). Having previously been a Deputy Prime Minister, he now serves as Prime Minister o ...
said Vadalov had been announced as the new Emir of the Caucasus Emirate because of a "loss of confidence among his (Umarov's) subordinates. heMethods of Dokku Umarov, including attacks against civilians, were not supported by militants." He also said that Vadalov "is a supporter of other views and is not affected by ideologists of
Wahhabism Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to oth ...
." The Russian paper ''
Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...
'' had reported that Zakayev, sentenced to death by the
Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
Court of the Caucasus Emirate, had plans to establish contacts with Vadalov.


Appointment as "Emir of the Caucasus Emirate"

On 1 August 2010 the "state web site" of the Caucasus Emirate, ''
Kavkaz Center The Kavkaz Center (KC; ) is a privately run website/ portal which aims to be "a Chechen internet agency which is independent, international and Islamic". The stated mission of the site is to report events related to Chechnya and also to "provide ...
'' reported that
Doku Umarov Doku Khamatovich Umarov (, ; ; 13 April 1964 – 7 September 2013), often known as Dokka Umarov, was a Chechens, Chechen militant in the North Caucasus. Umarov was a major military figure in both wars in Chechnya during the 1990s and 2000s, bef ...
had stepped down from his position as
Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...
of the
Caucasus Emirate The Caucasus Emirate (, IK; ), also known as the Caucasian Emirate, Emirate of Caucasus, or Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, was a jihadist organisation active in rebel-held parts of Syria and previously in the North Caucasus region of Russia. It ...
and appointed Vadalov to become his successor. On the video containing the announcement Umarov states that "jihad should be led by younger and more energetic commanders." However, when the Kavkaz Center site was restored on-line after a "service break" on 3 August 2010, the original announcement had been replaced by one which stated, that Umarov only "proposed to appoint" Vadalov his successor. A few days later Umarov said he had no intention of stepping down and called the video announcing his resignation a fabrication. On August 13, 2010 ''Kavkaz Center'' announced that Aslambek Vadalov had resigned from his post of Deputy Military Emir of the Caucasus Emirate.


Rift with Umarov

Days after Umarov rescinded his resignation, Vadalov was said to have renounced adherence of an oath given to Umarov; however it was said that while he ceases subordination to Umarov, he would remain loyal to the larger Caucasus Emirate. In July 2011, a
sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
court ruled in favour of Umarov to close the rift caused by Umarov's reorganisation of the
armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
of Chechnya, the disbanding the so-called "eastern and south-western fronts" and dividing Chechnya into "military sectors." The court asked the rebels to re-swear allegiance to Umarov.
Amir Khamzat Aslan Avgazarovich Byutukayev (), also known as Emir Khamzat and Abubakar (22 October 1974 – 20 January 2021), was a Chechens, Chechen field commander in the Islamic State (IS) Islamic State – Caucasus Province, Wilayah al-Qawqaz, the command ...
, the commander of the
Riyad-us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs Riyad-us Saliheen (Russian: Риядус-Салихийн, also transliterated as ''Riyadus-Salikhin'', ''Riyad us-Saliheyn'' or ''Riyad us-Salihiin'') was the name of a small "martyr" (''shahid'') force of suicide attackers. Its original leader ...
or the organisation's suicide battalion who has been named the commander of the western sector. Hussein Gakayev, who had been named to lead the eastern sector, Aslambek Vadalov and Tarkhan Gaziev consequently followed suit and re-affirmed their allegiance to Umarov.


Later events

In November 2016, Vadalov was reportedly arrested in
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, but was later released.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vadalov, Aslambek 1972 births Living people People from Gudermessky District Chechen field commanders People of the Chechen wars Emirs of the Caucasian Emirate Politicians of Ichkeria Islamic terrorism in Russia Chechen warlords Russian people of Chechen descent