Maksharip Magometovich Aushev (; 16 February 1966 – 25 October 2009) was an

Ingush Ingush may refer to: * Ingush language, Northeast Caucasian language * Ingush people, an ethnic group of the North Caucasus See also *Ingushetia (disambiguation) Ingushetia is a federal republic and subject of Russia. Ingushetia may also refer ...

businessman and opposition leader in the

Republic of Ingushetia Ingushetia or Ingushetiya, officially the Republic of Ingushetia, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land border ...

, a federal subject of the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Aushev had taken over the opposition website, Ingushetia.org, after its owner,

Magomed Yevloyev Magomed Yakhyаvich Yevloyev (Магомед Яхьявич Евлоев; 22 November 1971 – 31 August 2008) was a Russian journalist, lawyer, and businessman, and the owner of the news website Ingushetiya.ru, known for being highly critical o ...

, a vocal critic of the Ingush government, was shot and killed while in police custody.

Biography

Aushev was a businessman and a member of a prominent Ingushetian family. In 2007, Aushev's son and nephew were both kidnapped. He blamed Ingush security forces under the control of then-

President of Ingushetia The head of the Republic of Ingushetia (, formerly president of the Republic of Ingushetia) is the highest office within the Government of Ingushetia, Russia. The head is elected by Parliament of Ingushetia. Term of service is five years. Histo ...

Murat Zyazikov for the abductions. Aushev organized protests against the security forces and the Zyazikov government. In 2008, journalist

, the owner of Ingushetia.org and a critic of the Zyazikov government, was shot and killed while in police custody. Aushev personally took over ownership of Ingushetia.org following Yevloyev's death. The Russian government removed Zyazikov in October 2008 and installed

Yunus-Bek Yevkurov Yunus-bek Bamatgireyevich Yevkurov (born 23 July 1963) is a Russian army general and politician. For over 10 years he was the head of the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia, appointed by President Dmitry Medvedev on 30 October 2008. The f ...

as president. Yevkurov offered

dissidents A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

in Ingushetia a certain amount of protection from politically motivated attacks. Aushev largely supported Yevkurov policies towards the opposition, and withdrew from his most vocal opposition to the government since Yevkurov's installation. Aushev accepted a position on a human rights council set up by the ombudsman of Russia's federal government. However, he remained a vocal critic of former President Zyazikov and his relatives, as well as the human rights violations allegedly committed by Russian

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

Ingushetia Ingushetia or Ingushetiya, officially the Republic of Ingushetia, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with the country o ...

and

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

. Aushev survived an attempted kidnapping in September 2009. In an interview with an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n television network, he revealed that he had “very strong information that I was going to be killed” during the failed abduction. On 25 October 2009, Aushev was shot and killed on the spot when gunmen attacked his car on a road near

Nalchik Nalchik (, ; ; ) is the capital city of Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, situated at an altitude of in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains; about northwest of Beslan (Beslan is in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania). It covers an area of ...

in the neighboring Republic of

Kabardino-Balkaria Kabardino-Balkaria (), officially the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 904,200. Its capital is Nalchik. The area contains the highest mountain in ...

. He was buried in the Ingush village of Surkhakhi.

Post-death

On 8 December 2009, Aushev was posthumously awarded the Russian Federation's

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

ombudsman's medal “” (').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aushev, Maksharip M 1966 births 2009 deaths People from Nazranovsky District Ingush people People murdered in Russia 20th-century Russian businesspeople