Maskhadov, Aslan
Former President of Chechnya

Maskhadov graduated from Tbilisi Artillery College in 1972 and commanded a platoon in the Far East military district. Nine years later he graduated from Leningrad Kalinin Military Academy. Maskhadov was subsequently sent to Hungary where he served as a squadron commander and later as a regiment commander. After his tour of duty in Hungary, Maskhadov was transferred to Lithuania, where he served as the regiment commander of the Baltic military district. Later he was appointed commander of division rocket forces and artillery of the same military district.

Having previously served in key positions commander of civilian defense of the Chechen Republic and deputy chief of staff of Chechen Armed Forces, Maskhadov resigned from the Russian Armed Forces in 1992. He was then appointed first deputy commander of the Chechen Armed Forces, and was promoted to chief of staff of the Chechen Armed Forces in March 1994.
Following the outbreak of the first Chechen War, Maskhadov led the defense of the presidential palace in Grozny against the Russian army and in June 1995 ran President Dzhokar Dudayev’s units in Dargo.

Maskhadov played a key role in the peace talks which ended the first Chechen War. Following negotiations with secretary of the Russian Security Council, General Alexander Lebed, Maskhadov was named prime minister of a provisional government. He was the first Chechen citizen to be awarded the Khoman Siy, Chechnya's highest award. In November 1996 Maskhadov signed a cooperation agreement with then prime minister of Russia Viktor Chernomyrdin. The following January, Maskhadov was elected president of Chechnya. He appointed Shamil Basayev regional commander of Chechen defense.

In August 1999, Maskhadov cooperated with a group of Chechen warlords, including Basayev to invade Dagestan. The attack was repelled by the Russian army and combat operations moved to Chechnya in late September 1999. He was removed from power and went into hiding where he continued to lead assaults on Russian troops, including a raid into Ingushetia in June 2004.

On March 8, 2005, Aslan Maskhadov was killed by Russian forces in part of a renewed offensive following the siege of Beslan.
Maskhadov was recognized both as a committed freedom fighter, but also a negotiator for peace. His primary goal was Chechen independence, and sometimes his desire for freedom caused him to negotiate with terrorists, including Shamil Basayev. Maskhadov condemned violence against civilians, and he called for Basayev to stand trial for his role in the siege of Beslan. He also condemned the view of the war of Chechen independence as a jihad. While he was a conservative Muslim, he tried - unsuccessfully - to ban the radical form of Islam known as Wahabbism from Chechnya.

The Russian government has refused to hand over Maskhadov’s body to his relatives, and it remains buried in an unmarked grave. Maskhadov was married and at the time of his death, had two children and a grandson.

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Heroes in Need of Protection (04/03/2009, Sergei Markedonov)

Russia’s Islamic Backbone (02/09/2009, Dmitry Babich)

Look Who Is Talking (10/06/2008, Gordon Hahn)