Editing Aslan Maskhadov (section)

===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>