Isa Akhyadovich Munayev (; ; ; 20 May 1965 – 1 February 2015) was a Chechen rebel and military commander who fought for the independence of the

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria ( ; ; ; abbreviated as "ChRI" or "CRI"), known simply as Ichkeria, was a ''de facto'' State (polity), state that controlled most of the former Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Checheno-Ingus ...

from Russia until he was forced into exile in Europe around 2004. He was killed in action while leading a Chechen volunteer unit on the Ukrainian side during the

war in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

in 2015.

Biography

Munayev was a police officer in the city of

Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Russian Census, 2002 ce ...

before the outbreak of hostilities with Russia. At the beginning of the

Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...

in 1999, the Chechen leader,

Aslan Maskhadov Aslan (Khalid) Aliyevich Maskhadov (; ; 21 September 1951 – 8 March 2005) was a Soviet and Chechen politician and military commander who was the third president of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He was credited by many with ...

, appointed him as a military commandant of Grozny. During the

Battle of Grozny (1999–2000) The 1999–2000 battle of Grozny or Operation Wolf Hunt was the siege and assault of the Chechnya, Chechen capital Grozny by Russian forces, lasting from late 1999 to early 2000. The siege and assault on the city resulted in the near total dest ...

, Munayev organized ambushes, car bombs and mine explosions against the Russian forces. In October 2000, the Russian authorities erroneously reported that he had been killed when a group of rebels tried to blow up a military truck. After the Chechen forces withdrew from the capital to the mountains, Munayev was made a brigadier general and commander of the Southwestern front early in 2001. Having sustained a serious injury during fighting, he was forced to leave Chechnya in 2004 or 2005. He was granted political asylum in Denmark, where he became the organizer of the public political movement "Free Caucasus", which was founded in 2009. In July 2014, during the war in Donbas, the organization announced the formation of an "international peacekeeping battalion" of volunteers to support Ukraine in fighting against the pro-Russian insurgency. The battalion was named the

Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion The Dzhokhar Dudayev Chechen Peacekeeping Battalion () is a Chechen volunteer battalion named after the first President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Dzhokhar Dudayev. The battalion is made up of Chechen volunteers, many of whom fought i ...

after the first President of Chechnya,

Dzhokhar Dudayev Dzhokhar Musayevich Dudayev (born Dudin Musa-Khant Dzhokhar; 15 February 1944 – 21 April 1996) was a Chechen politician, statesman and military leader of the 1990s Chechen independence movement from Russia. He served as the first president o ...

, and Munayev was appointed as its commander. During the armed conflict the Dudayev battalion operated between Donetsk and Luhansk with approximately 500 volunteers. The battalion was not subject to any political leader in Kyiv, or subordinate to any political structure there. Munayev was killed in the

Battle of Debaltseve The Battle of Debaltseve was a military confrontation in the city of Debaltseve, Donetsk Oblast, between the pro-Russian separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), and the Ukrainian Armed Forc ...

on 1 February 2015. He was hit by shrapnel from a tank shell in the village of Chornukhyne, near

Debaltseve Debaltseve (, ) or Debaltsevo (), is a city in Horlivka Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, currently occupied by Russia as part of the Donetsk People's Republic. The city is situated on the eastern edge of Donetsk Oblast, and borders Luhansk Oblas ...

. He had a large gaping wound and died instantly. He was 49 years old. He was buried in the Ukrainian city

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

in the Muslim section of the Krasnopil cemetery near the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

.A memorial sign in honor of Isa Munayev was unveiled in Dnipro

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

(7 August 2018) After his death, British-educated Chechen national Adam Osmayev was chosen as the new leader of the

, which had the aim to defend Debaltseve. Shortly afterward, Debaltseve was taken by separatist forces and a ceasefire came into effect.

Legacy

In the National Museum of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Central House of Officers a memorial stand dedicated the Hero of the war in Donbas and the commander of the "Dudayev Battalion" Isa Munayev, was opened. A memorial complex dedicated to Munayev is presented in the hall of memory of the museum "Civil feat of Dnipropetrovsk region in the events of anti-terrorist operation" (

In 2018 one of the streets of

was renamed in honor of Munayev,Amina Okueva Street will appear in Dnipro

Ukrainska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(24 June 2020) later a street was named after Munayev in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

too.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munayev, Isa 1965 births 2015 deaths Chechen field commanders People from Grozny Pro-Ukrainian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Ukrainian military personnel killed in the war in Donbas