Editing Aslan Maskhadov (section)

==Biography==
===Early life===
On 21 September 1951, Aslan Aliyevich Maskhadov was born in [[Karaganda Region]] of the [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic]] (SSR) of the [[Soviet Union]], in the small village of Shakai, during the [[Deportation of the Chechens and Ingush|mass deportation of the Chechen people]] ordered in 1944 by [[Joseph Stalin]]. His family was from the Alaroy [[teip]] (of the Alkhan nek'e branch). In 1957, his family returned to [[Chechnya]], where they settled in [[Zebir-Yurt]], [[Nadterechny District]].

Maskhadov joined the [[Soviet Army]], trained in the neighbouring [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgian SSR]] and graduated from the [[Tbilisi]] Artillery School in 1972. He then graduated with honours from the [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]] Kalinin Higher Artillery in 1981.<ref name="memo">[http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/persontext/engperson/id/560900.html Maskhadov, Aslan (Khalid) Alievich] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211095815/http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/persontext/engperson/id/560900.html |date=11 February 2008 }}</ref> He was posted to [[Hungary]] with a [[self-propelled artillery]] regiment until 1986 and then from 1986 in the [[Baltic Military District]]. He served from 1990 as the [[chief of staff]] of Soviet missile and artillery forces in [[Vilnius]], capital of the [[Lithuanian SSR]]. In January 1991, Maskhadov participated in the [[January Events]], the seizure of the television tower by Soviet troops (which he regretted later{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}), but didn't participate in the assault itself.<ref name="memo"/> During his service in the Soviet Army, he was presented with two [[Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR|Orders For Service to Homeland]]. Maskhadov retired from the Soviet Army in 1992 with the rank of a [[colonel]] and returned to his native land. He was at the head of ChRI [[civil defence]] from late 1992 to November 1993.

After the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]], in the summer of 1993, Maskhadov took part in raids on the armed opposition against the government of [[Dzhokhar Dudayev]] in the [[Urus-Martan]], Nadterechny, and [[Gudermes]] districts. An unsuccessful anti-Dudayev [[mutiny]] in November 1993 resulted in the dismissal of Viskhan Shakhabov as chief of staff of the [[Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria|Chechen armed forces]], Maskhadov was appointed as the acting chief of staff and, in March 1994, as the chief of staff.

===First Chechen War===
{{main|First Chechen War}}
In December 1994, when the [[First Chechen War]] broke out, he was the senior military figure on the Chechen side during the war and was widely seen as being instrumental to the Chechen victory over the Russian forces. As the First Deputy Chairman of the ChRI State Defence Council (ChRI President Dudayev was the chairman) and the chief of staff, Maskhadov organised defence of the Chechen capital during the [[Battle of Grozny (November 1994)|Battle of Grozny]]. Maskhadov commanded the city from the [[Presidential Palace, Grozny|Presidential Palace in Grozny]], where on one occasion a Russian [[bunker buster]] bomb landed 20 meters from him but failed to explode. In February 1995, Dudayev promoted Aslan to [[divisional general]].

Beginning in June 1995, Maskhadov took part in peace talks in [[Grozny]] to resolve the crisis in Chechnya. In June 1996, at the negotiations in [[Nazran]], [[Ingushetia]], Maskhadov, on behalf of the ChRI administration, signed the Protocol of the Commission's Meeting on Ceasefire and Measures to Resolve the Armed Conflict in the CRI. In August 1996, after Grozny's seizure by Chechen units he repeatedly held talks with [[Alexander Lebed]] and on 31 August 1996, the signing of the [[Khasav-Yurt Accord]] took place, a [[ceasefire]] agreement, and peace treaty which marked the end of the First Chechen War. {{Citation needed|date=October 2010}}

===President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria===
[[File:Maskhadov Yeltsin.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Aslan Maskhadov and Boris Yeltsin shake hands after signing the [[Russia–Chechnya Peace Treaty|Moscow peace treaty]].]]
On 17 October 1996, Maskhadov was appointed [[Prime Minister]] of [[Chechen Republic of Ichkeria|Ichkeria]], while he also remained chief of staff and [[defence minister]]. 

Running with [[Vakha Arsanov]], who became his [[vice president]], Mashkadov won a majority of 60% of the votes and was congratulated by the [[President of Russia|Russian President]] [[Boris Yeltsin]], who pledged to work towards rebuilding relations with Chechnya. Maskhadov was inaugurated on 12 February 1997, and at the same time he assumed the office of prime minister and abolished the office of Defence Minister he had occupied since late 1996. Maskhadov remained commander-in-chief of the republican armed forces. On 12 May 1997, Maskhadov then attained the apex of his political career when he signed a [[Russia–Chechnya Peace Treaty|peace treaty]] with Yeltsin at the [[Kremlin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/MHII-65G9TK?OpenDocument|title=Peace Treaty and Principles of Interrelation between Russian Federation and Chechen Republic of Ichkeria|date=12 May 1997|access-date=23 June 2016|archive-date=6 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906003115/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MHII-65G9TK?OpenDocument|url-status=live}}</ref>

By the end of 1996, when Maskhadov assumed his office, nearly half a million people (40% of Chechya prewar population) had been internally displaced and lived in refugee camps or overcrowded villages.<ref name="dissident">[[Alexander Goldfarb (author)|Alex Goldfarb]] and Marina Litvinenko. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/1416551654/ "Death of a Dissident: The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko and the Return of the KGB." Free Press, New York, 2007.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129143706/https://www.amazon.com/dp/1416551654/ |date=29 January 2017 }} {{ISBN|978-1-4165-5165-2}}.</ref> The economy was destroyed and the [[warlord]]s had no intention to disband their militias. Under such circumstances, Maskhadov's political fortunes began to wane. His political standing within Chechnya became increasingly insecure as he lost control to Basayev and other warlords. Even his Vice-President Arsanov became his political enemy. Just like in the years before the First Chechen War under Dudayev, the years of Chechen independence were notorious for [[organized crime]], including kidnapping, leading to several public executions of criminals.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR460251997?open&of=ENG-373 |title=Chechen Republic: Amnesty International condemns public execution-Amnesty International |access-date=23 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041121235259/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR460251997?open&of=ENG-373 |archive-date=21 November 2004 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/news/press-releases/1997/sep/2089/ "Latvia Condemns Public Executions in Chechnya"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112075238/http://www.mfa.gov.lv/en/news/press-releases/1997/sep/2089 |date=12 January 2015 }} (23 September 1997)</ref>

Maskhadov attempted with only limited success to curb the growth of [[Wahhabism]] and other [[Islamic fundamentalism|fundamentalist Muslim]] groups supported by Basayev, producing a split in the Chechen separatist movement between Islamic fundamentalism and secular Chechen nationalists. In February 1999, as a concession to radical Islamists, Maskhadov introduced [[Sharia|Islamic Sharia law]]. The Sharia courts that were established sentenced people to death, flogging, executing people for crimes such as adultery.<ref name="ware">{{cite book|title=Chechnya: From Past to Future|editor=Richard Sakwa|publisher=Anthem Press|year=2005|pages=79–115|chapter=Robert Bruce Ware: Mythology and Political Failure in Chechnya|isbn=978-1-84331-164-5}}</ref>

Maskhadov survived assassination attempts on his life three times, on 23 July 1998 and 21 March and 10 April in 1999, in which the attackers used [[anti-tank missile]]s and bombs. Russian secret services were officially blamed.<ref name="memo"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=21&issue_id=1353&article_id=13685 |title=Programs – The Jamestown Foundation |access-date=23 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214231526/http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=21&issue_id=1353&article_id=13685 |archive-date=14 February 2008 }}</ref>

===Second Chechen War===
{{main|Second Chechen War}}
In the summer of 1999, Maskhadov condemned an attempt by Basayev and [[Ibn Al-Khattab]] to spread war to the neighboring republic of [[Dagestan]]<ref name="memo"/> (known as the [[Invasion of Dagestan]]). This raid, and the [[Russian apartment bombings]], were both blamed on the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. On 1 October 1999, the then Russian Prime Minister [[Vladimir Putin]] declared the authority of President Maskhadov and his parliament illegitimate. Putin sent Russian forces into Chechnya, and his promise of a quick and decisive victory propelled him to the Russian Presidency.<ref>[https://archive.today/20070422051528/http://www.profile.ru/items/?item=8475 Профиль — еженедельный деловой журнал]</ref>

On 11 October 1999, Maskhadov outlined a peace plan offering a crackdown on renegade warlords,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19991011/ai_n14278495 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115001724/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19991011/ai_n14278495 |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 January 2008 |title=FindArticles.com – CBSi |access-date=23 June 2016 }}</ref> the offer was rejected by the Russian side. In response, President Maskhadov declared a ''[[Ghazw|gazavat]]'' (holy war) to confront the approaching Russian army. 

Maskhadov was one of the main commanders in the [[Battle of Grozny (1999–2000)]] along with [[Shamil Basayev]], [[Ruslan Gelayev]], [[Ibn Al-Khattab]], Aslambek Ismailov, and Khunkarpasha Israpilov. Maskhadov along with his men launched daring counter-attacks against the Russian troops while fighting in [[Grozny]] and also effectively used the sewer systems to attack Russian troops from behind. After a meeting with top rebel commanders, Maskhadov and others agreed to withdraw from Grozny and continue to attack Russian forces in the cities and towns surrounding the city. Maskhadov was the first to withdraw because of his importance to the rebel cause and because he was the official President of Chechnya. As Maskhadov and his men retreated, they set up a vast amount of booby traps and landmines to hinder Russian forces and make most of Grozny impassable.<ref name="cul">[https://web.archive.org/web/20050211024352/http://chechnya.unesco.ru/books/culofchechnyarus.pdf Культура Чечни: история и современные проблемы / Отв. ред. Х. В. Туркаев; Ин-т этнологии и антропологии. — М.: Наука, 2002. — 382 с. —] {{ISBN|5-02-008832-3}}</ref>

After Chechen forces' withdrawal from Grozny following another battle for the city, Maskhadov returned to a life of a guerrilla leader, living in hiding as Russia's second most wanted man after Basayev, with Russia placing a $10 million [[Bounty (reward)|bounty]] on his capture. He was seen as the official political leader of the separatist forces during the war, but it is unclear what kind of a military role he played. Maskhadov offered his readiness for unconditional peace talks with Moscow several times in 2000 alone, continuing in the following years, but his appeals for a political solution were always ignored by the Russian side.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1057400.html|title=Analysis: Is It Too Late For Peace Talks in Chechnya?|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=8 April 2008 |access-date=23 June 2016|archive-date=17 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917030906/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1057400.html|url-status=live |last1=Fuller |first1=Liz }}</ref>

Maskhadov advocated armed resistance to what he saw as a Russian occupation of Chechnya but condemned attacks on civilians. He allegedly supported the assassination of pro-Russian Chechen President [[Akhmad Kadyrov]] in Chechnya, whilst condemning the Russian assassination of Chechen separatist ex-President [[Yandarbiyev]] in [[Qatar]] in 2004. Maskhadov often denied responsibility for the increasingly brutal terrorist acts against Russian civilians by Basayev's followers, continually issuing denunciations of such incidents through spokesmen abroad, such as [[Akhmed Zakayev]] in [[London]]. However, on 24 October 2002, radio communications were intercepted from Maskhadov's messages wherein he called for intensification of terrorist activities and sabotage in Russian territory.<ref name="ware"/> Evidence for Maskhadov's complicity in the 2002 [[Moscow theater hostage crisis]] was provided by its two principal perpetrators, Movsar Barayev and Abu Said.<ref name="ware"/> Although he initially denied responsibility for the [[2004 Nazran raid]], in which 98 police officers/troops were killed, in July 2004 Maskhadov publicly accepted responsibility for the attacks. In the same month, Maskahdov promised similar attacks would happen, and vowed that the winner of Chechnya's upcoming presidential election would be illegitimate and would be attacked if necessary.<ref name="ware"/> He described the rebels behind the [[Beslan school siege]] as "madmen" driven out of their senses by Russian acts of brutality and called the terrorist attack an atrocity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/459302.stm|title=Obituary: Aslan Maskhadov|date=8 March 2005|access-date=23 June 2016|publisher=BBC|archive-date=19 December 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061219123157/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/459302.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 15 January 2005, Maskhadov issued a special order to stop all military operations except those in self-defense, both inside and outside Chechnya, until the end of February (the date marking the anniversary of the Stalin's [[Vainakhs|Vainakh]] deportations of 1944) as a gesture of good will, and again called for a negotiated end to the Chechen conflict. Umar Khambiev, his designated negotiator, said that the separatists were no longer seeking independence, but only "guarantees for the existence of the Chechen nation".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1057320.html|title=Chechnya: Cease-Fire Holding, But Little Chance of Negotiations Seen|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=8 April 2008 |access-date=23 June 2016|archive-date=17 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160917025805/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1057320.html|url-status=live |last1=Mite |first1=Valentinas }}</ref> This surprise, unilateral [[ceasefire]] was supported by Basayev but flatly rejected by the Russian and pro-Russian leaders who, once again, refused to negotiate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/MHII-69G9KJ?OpenDocument|title=Chechnya: Ceasefire or bluff?|date=9 February 2005|access-date=23 June 2016|archive-date=10 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090610020018/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/MHII-69G9KJ?OpenDocument|url-status=live}}</ref> Maskhadov's order to temporarily cease all offensive actions was largely followed by the rebel movement, except in Dagestan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=407&issue_id=3225&article_id=2369226 |title=Programs – The Jamestown Foundation |access-date=23 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214231531/http://www.jamestown.org/publications_details.php?volume_id=407&issue_id=3225&article_id=2369226 |archive-date=14 February 2008 }}</ref>

===Death===
As of 2005, different versions of Maskhadov’s death existed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-03-08 |title=В Чечне убили Масхадова, утверждают военные |url=https://www.newsru.com/russia/08mar2005/finita.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050310053418/https://www.newsru.com/russia/08mar2005/finita.html |archive-date=March 10, 2005 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=NEWSru.com |language=ru}}</ref> According to an official one announced on 8 March 2005 by the head of the [[Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation]] (FSB) [[Nikolai Patrushev]], less than a month after Maskhadov announced the cease-fire,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Chechnya: Maskhadov Reportedly Orders Cease-Fire |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1057254.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125213633/https://www.rferl.org/a/1057254.html |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=2022-03-29 |newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=8 April 2008 |language=en |last1=Mite |first1=Valentinas }}</ref> a [[special forces]] unit of FSB had:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Putin: Double-check Maskhadov death |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2005/3/8/putin-double-check-maskhadov-death |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329140241/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2005/3/8/putin-double-check-maskhadov-death |archive-date=March 29, 2022 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref><blockquote>"… carried out an operation in the settlement of [[Tolstoy-Yurt]], as a result of which the international jihadist and leader of armed groups Maskhadov was killed, and his closest comrades-in-arms detained."<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Узел |first=Кавказский |date=January 26, 2006 |title=Сын Масхадова опровергает официальную версию гибели лидера сепаратистов Чечни |trans-title=Sonf of Maskhadov debunks official version of death of Leader of Chechen separatists |url=https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/88848/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130454/http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/88848/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Кавказский Узел}}</ref></blockquote>He said the special operations unit had intended to capture Maskhadov alive for interrogation but killed him accidentally with a [[grenade]] thrown into a bunker where Maskhadov was hiding.<ref name=":0" />

[[Akhmed Zakayev]], one of his closest allies who acted as his spokesman and foreign minister, told a Russian radio station that it was probable that Maskhadov had indeed been killed; he indicated later that a new Chechen leader could be chosen within days. [[Vladimir Putin]] awarded those responsible for the assassinations with medals. Shortly after Maskhadov's death, the Chechen rebel council announced that [[Abdul-Halim Sadulayev]] had assumed the leadership.<ref>[https://archive.today/20121222132927/http://www.savelev.ru/book/?ch=18&mode=reply Андрей Савельев: Чёрная книга чеченской войны]</ref>

Four Chechens, Vakhit Murdashev, Viskhan Hadzhimuradov, Skanarbek Yusupov, and Ilias Iriskhanov, were captured in the raid. According to ballistic evidence at their trial in the Supreme Court of the Chechen Republic, Maskhadov was allegedly killed by a shot from the pistol of [[Viskhan Hadzhimuradov]], his nephew and bodyguard. Hadzhimuradov, however, had testified that he does not remember whether he shot Maskhadov or not since he was stunned by an explosion but after the capture, Hadzhimuradov reportedly said: "My uncle always told me to shoot him if he is wounded and his capture is imminent. He said that if he is taken prisoner, he would be mistreated like [[Saddam Hussein]] had been".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.agentura.ru/timeline/2005/maskhadov/?id=1130484780 |title="Следствие: Масхадова застрелил охранник." |access-date=10 November 2010 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927001627/http://www.agentura.ru/timeline/2005/maskhadov/?id=1130484780 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":1" />

A year later in 2006, a son of Maskhadov, Anzor, in an interview with [[Caucasian Knot]] allegedly claimed that his father was tracked down by a phone [[International Mobile Equipment Identity|IMEI]] within 2 days before the raid took place. He was found in a hideout (an underground bunker) of one of his relative's buildings.<ref name=":1" /> Shortly after a standoff with Russian special forces he fired his hand weapon, was hit by a [[stun grenade]], and then shot dead.<ref name=":1" /> He also expressed the belief that special forces intended to take him alive but failed.<ref name=":1" />