Salman Betyrovich Raduyev (or Raduev; ; 13 February 1967 – 14 December 2002) was a
Chechen militant and separatist field commander, from 1994 to 1999, who masterminded and was responsible for the
Kizlyar hostage taking raid. His activities, in his role as a commander, made him "Russia's second most wanted man."
Georgi Derluguian also called him "the " of Chechen resistance due to his
eccentric behavior outside his military career: he wore a uniform decorated by what he claimed to be the insignia of
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...
, a black military beret like that of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
, an Arab
keffiyeh
The keffiyeh (), also regionally known as a hattah (), ghutrah (), or shemagh (), is a traditional headdress worn by men from parts of the Middle East. It is fashioned from a square scarf, and is usually made of cotton. The keffiyeh is commonly ...
around his neck and aviator sunglasses to hide his face which had been heavily reconstructed after multiple surgeries due to the injuries he sustained as a militant.
Radyev was arrested in 2000 and died in the Russian
penal colony
A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...
White Swan in 2002, under mysterious circumstances.
Early life
Raduyev was born in 1967 into the Gordaloy
teip
A ''teip'' (also ''taip'', ''tayp'', ''teyp''; Chechen language, Chechen and Ingush language, Ingush: тайпа, romanized: ''taypa'' , ''family'', ''kin'', ''clan'', ''tribe''Нохчийн-Оьрсийн словарь (Chechen-Russian Dict ...
in
Novogroznensky near
Gudermes in eastern Chechnya.
During the early 1980s, Raduyev was active in the communist youth league
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...
of which he eventually became a leader.
After attending a high school in Gudermes, Raduyev served from 1985 to 1987 as a construction engineer in a
Russian Strategic Rocket Forces unit stationed in the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 19 ...
, where he became a member of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
.
After
demobilization
Demobilization or demobilisation (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or becaus ...
, he studied
economics
Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and worked in the Soviet construction industry.
Like other Chechens who sought Islamic education in
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
in the early 90s, Raduyev also got a grounding in the
Islamic sciences
The Islamic sciences () are a set of traditionally defined religious sciences practiced by Islamic scholars ( ), aimed at the construction and interpretation of Islamic religious knowledge.
Different sciences
These sciences include:
* : Islami ...
, having studied at a
madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
in
Namangan
Namangan is a district-level city in eastern Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Namangan Region. Namangan is located in the northern edge of the Fergana Valley, less than 30 km from the Kyrgyzstan border ...
, in
Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
.
After Chechnya declared independence, he was appointed the
prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect' ...
of Gudermes in June 1992 by his father-in-law,
Dzhokhar Dudayev, who was the president 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 ...
.
He also married Dudayev's niece.
Early military career
During 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 ...
, Raduyev became a field commander for the separatist Chechen forces. He fought in the
battle of Grozny and was wounded in March 1995 during an attempt to capture him by the
Russian special forces.
In October 1995, he led the 6th Brigade based in the strategically important
Gudermessky District and was responsible for the Gudermessky, part of the capital
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 ...
and the town of
Argun.
On 14 December 1995, Raduyev, along with
Sultan Geliskhanov, led a raid on the city of Gudermes.
On 9 January 1996, Raduyev (allegedly copying
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 ...
's
1995 Budyonnovsk attack in Chechnya) led a large-scale
Kizlyar hostage-taking raid in the neighboring Russian region of
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...
, where his men took at least 2,000 civilians hostage. The raid, which made Raduyev world-famous, escalated into an all-out battle that ended with the complete destruction of the border village of Pervomayskoye, and led to other Chechen leaders criticizing the attack.
In March 1996, a sniper shot Raduyev in the head, but he survived despite being incorrectly reported dead; Russian special forces claimed to have killed him in revenge for the Kizlyar attack,
["Obituary: Salman Raduyev"](_blank)
''The Independent'', 16 December 2002. while other sources said he was shot in a Chechen
feud
A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
. On 7 March 63 out of 101 deputies of the
Parliament of Estonia sent condolences to Dudayev expressing "deep sympathy with the Chechen people" on "the loss of commander Raduyev", sparking a row with the
Russian Duma. Raduyev went for medical treatment abroad.
Later military career
In the summer of 1996, Raduyev returned to the republic and refused the orders of Chechnya's acting president,
Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, to stop carrying out
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
operations (such as ordering bombings of trolleybuses 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 ...
and train stations in
Armavir and
Pyatigorsk
Pyatigorsk (; Circassian languages, Circassian: Псыхуабэ, ''Psıxwabæ'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on the Podkumok River, about from the town of Mineralnye Vody, which has an i ...
), in light of the ceasefire and talks that would lead up to the
Khasav-Yurt Accord. Raduyev even accused Yandarbiyev of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
for agreeing to a ceasefire and threatened to attack him.
["Chechen rebel back from dead to wage holy war"](_blank)
''The Independent'', 19 July 1996.
Raduyev, whose face was deformed due to injuries, and now hidden behind the bushy red beard and black sunglasses, was the only field commander to announce openly that the "war without rules" with Russia would continue despite the signing of
the peace agreement.
In 1997, the newly elected Chechen president
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 ...
stripped Raduyev of the rank of
brigadier general and demoted him to
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...
. However, further action was blocked by opposition from Raduyev-led war veterans, including a prolonged rally in Grozny. This rally ended in a shootout, resulting in the deaths of both the commander of Raduyev's militia, Vakha Dzhafarov, and of the Chechen security forces chief Lechi Khultygov. Meanwhile, Raduyev kept claiming responsibility for every explosion in Russia, even including accidental
gas leak
A gas leak refers to a leak of natural gas or another gaseous product from a pipeline or other containment into any area where the gas should not be present. Gas leaks can be hazardous to health as well as the environment. Even a small leak into ...
s. He claimed that Dudayev, who had died in 1996, was still alive
and issuing orders to him from "a secret
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
base 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 ...
" with the goal of the "liberation" of the entire
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 ...
.
Raduyev's eccentric behavior, however, was not widely popular in Chechnya. Many openly doubted his sanity:
["Russians seize warlord for show trial on TV"](_blank)
''The Independent'', 14 March 2000. in an interview in 1997, Maskhadov described Raduyev as "mentally ill".
Even Basayev, who has been Raduyev's ally in the opposition against Maskhadov, reportedly called him "crazy". In October 1997, Raduyev was again severely injured by a
car bomb
A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles.
Car bombs can be roug ...
which killed three other people. Previously, he had survived at least two other assassination attempts in April and July 1997.
In September 1998, Raduyev announced a "temporary moratorium" on acts of terrorism. Raduyev claimed he had freed nine kidnapped Russian servicemen from their captors. He also came into conflict within
Islamist circles and called for a ban 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 ...
" in Chechnya. On 4 November 1998, Chechnya's
Islamic court sentenced Raduyev in absence to four years in prison for allegedly attempting to overthrow Maskhadov, but made no attempt to arrest him.
In January 1999, he backed the republic's parliament in its conflict with 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. His
private army
A private army (or private military) is a military force under the command of a private person or organization, rather than a nation or state.
History
Private armies may form when landowners arm household retainers for the protection of self and ...
-style militia, some 1,000-strong and called "General Dudayev's Army",
was reportedly involved in several
train robberies
A train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by l ...
.
In early 1999, Raduyev vanished from the public again while undergoing a major
plastic surgery operation in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. The alleged implants of
titanium
Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
earned him the nickname of "Titanic" in Russia, while in Chechnya he became popularly known as "Michael Jackson", a reference to his plastic surgery.
["Paradise lost"](_blank)
''Haaretz'', 15 July 2007. Still seriously ill and recovering from surgery, Raduyev vowed "
reprisals" against Russia for the March 1999 sentencing of two Chechen women.
In September 1999, at the start 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 ...
, Raduyev organized a rally in Grozny attended by 12,000 people where he urged residents to stay home and prepare to defend the city. His militia was reported to be virtually destroyed by a series of serious setbacks during the early fighting in late 1999, and he stopped talking about planning and organizing new attacks afterward.
["Salman Raduyev, 'terrorist number 2', was renowned as a 'talking head' in the terrorist environment"](_blank)
, ''Pravda'', 16 February 2005.
Arrest and trial
Raduyev was captured in March 2000 by the Russian special operations FSB unit ''
Vympel'' in his home in Novogroznensky (now
Oyskhara, near
Gudermes). During the second war Raduyev was very ill and had to go for treatment abroad, so he shaved his beard and moved to a house near the border in preparation for the exit. However, one of his men informed the Russian forces about his location and he was arrested without incident. Russian president
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
said that Raduyev had confessed to trying to assassinate
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia (country), Georgi ...
, the president of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
.
Raduyev was tried on 18 different charges, including terrorism, banditry, hostage-taking, organization of murders and organization of illegal armed formations.
He pleaded not guilty, maintained he was only following orders, claimed to suffer from no
mental disorder
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
s, and said he hoped to be released from prison in some 10–12 years. Dozens of
witness
In law, a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, either oral or written, of what they know or claim to know.
A witness might be compelled to provide testimony in court, before a grand jur ...
es were called to testify, but many of the alleged victims of his actions refused to participate.
["Rebel Chechen leader on trial"](_blank)
''CNN'', 15 November 2001. In December 2001, he was sentenced to
life in prison
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...
. His
appeal
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of cla ...
was rejected by the
Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in April 2002.
Death
In December 2002, Raduyev died in the
White Swan penal colony in
Solikamsk
Solikamsk (, , also Соликамскӧй, ''Sovkamsköy'') is a town in Perm Krai, Russia. Modern Solikamsk is the third-largest town in the krai, with a population of
History
The earliest surviving recorded mention of Solikamsk, initially a ...
from
internal bleeding
Internal bleeding (also called internal haemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body, and is not usually visible from the outside. It can be a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depends on b ...
. The Russian authorities said he was not beaten to death, but died due to "serious and protracted diseases". Raduyev's body was not returned to his family because of a newly introduced Russian law barring the release of bodies of people convicted (or accused) of terrorism.
The circumstances surrounding the death of Raduyev are not clear, and according to his family and others he was murdered in prison after he refused to talk about the accusations against
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 ...
, then arrested in
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. ''
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 ...
'' daily said that "the real reason for Raduyev's death will probably never be known", while ''
Vremya Novostei'' suggested that after being forced to give all the information requested from him, he was "no longer needed" by the Russian authorities and killed.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
has called for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death
"Russian Federation: Amnesty International calls for an independent investigation into Chechen fighter's death"
''Amnesty.org'', Amnesty International, 16 December 2002. but the request was ignored and his body was not exhumed.
Salman Raduyev left wife and two sons – Johar and Zelimhan – who are living abroad.
See also
* Adam Delimkhanov – Raduyev's driver, who later became a Russian State Duma
The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
deputy and deputy leader of Chechnya under Ramzan Kadyrov
Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov (born 5 October 1976) is a Russian politician and current head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the ...
.
References
External links
Obituary: Salman Raduyev
''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 16 December 2002
"Salman Raduyev – Chechen whose separatist aims landed him in a Russian prison"
''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', 17 December 2002
"Komendanci polowi: Salman Radujew"
, ''Szatoj'' blog at ONet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raduyev
1967 births
2002 deaths
Chechen field commanders
Chechen nationalists
Chechen warlords
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Deaths from bleeding
People of the Chechen wars
Prisoners who died in Russian detention
Russian people of Chechen descent
Inmates of Lefortovo Prison
Inmates of White Swan Prison
Russian people convicted of murder
Russian people convicted of war crimes
Russian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
People convicted of murder by Russia
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Russia