Akhmad Kadyrov, the then chief mufti of separatist Chechnya, defected to the Russian side in the Second Chechen War in 1999, and the Kadyrovites began fighting separatists and jihadists during the "guerrilla phase" as a de facto unit of the state police after he was appointed Chechen President in July 2000. Kadyrov was assassinated in 2004. Control of the militia was inherited by his son, Ramzan Kadyrov. In 2006, the Kadyrovites were legalized as a motorized regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as the 141st Motorized Regiment. When Kadyrov was elected Chechen President in 2007 its current official role as a personal protective service was established. Besides the 141st, units considered "Kadyrovites" also include the Chechen branches of OMON and SOBR.[12][13]
After Akhmad Kadyrov's defection to the Kremlin side in 1999, he and his followers fought for Russia against Maskhadov government troops and Islamist insurgents. The return of Russian rule over Chechnya was declared in July 2000, beginning the "guerrilla phase" of the conflict. Kadyrov was appointed as acting President of the Chechen Republic by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and was elected President of the Chechen Republic on 5 October 2003. The Kadyrovites acted as bodyguards to Kadyrov, who was the target of several assassination attempts. The security detail was headed by Movladi Baisarov.[12]
Technically still a personal militia, the Kadyrovites functioned as an unofficial part of the Chechen Republic's state police, without legal status in either the republican or federal government. In May 2003, the group established effective control over the Chechen OMON, then estimated at 300 men, which had been considered one of the strongholds of anti-Kadyrov opposition. It was led by Musa Gazimagomadov, who died in a road accident under "strange circumstances". Afterwards, the Kadyrovite OMON was run by Ruslan Alkhanov, a former rebel commander amnestied just a year before,[citation needed] and who later became the Chechnya's Interior Minister.[12]
In October 2003, Akhmad Kadyrov became the President of the Chechen Republic. By this time, his Security Service (SB) was already Chechnya's largest security body; Kadyrov claimed that it numbered 3,000. According to his successor, President Alu Alkhanov, by 2005 this figure had grown to 7,000.
Legalization
Kadyrov was killed on 9 May 2004 in the 2004 Grozny stadium bombing, in what is considered to be a deliberate assassination. Control of the Kadyrovites passed to his son, Ramzan Kadyrov, who was second-in-command of the militia. At that point, the backbone of the militia still consisted of former separatist fighters (more than 70% in 2004, according to the Russian military sources), and their allegiance to the new leader was questioned. Many continued serving as Kadyrovites under Ramzan due to implicit threats on their relatives' welfare; coercion was commonly used in Chechnya to demand compliance. Hostage-taking in particular was widespread and affected many in the country, including former rebel Minister of Defence Magomed Khambiyev.[19]
Shortly after Akhmad Kadyrov's death, the unit of the Kadyrovites responsible for his protection was formally disbanded. Most of the remaining units were integrated into Russian law enforcement agencies and security authorities in Chechnya under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. By 2005, two units were formed: the "Akhmad Kadyrov" Second Road Patrol Regiment of the Police (PPSM-2, Kadyrov Regiment), and the Oil Regiment Neftepolk, headed by the Kadyrov's cousin Adam Delimkhanov, comprising around 1,500 to 2,000 men, respectively.[20][21]
By 2006, the total number of Kadyrovites, who by then included the PPSM-2, the Oil Regiment, and so-called Anti-Terrorist Centers (commanded by Muslim Ilyasov), was no longer being disclosed. Memorial estimated that they numbered around 5,000 people, as did a 2007 a similar Reuters estimate.[22][23]
On April 29, 2006, Ramzan Kadyrov officially disbanded his security service, saying on television that "These structures are no longer existent, and those calling themselves Kadyrovites are impostors and must be punished in accordance with the law." Some of the Kadyrovite gunmen were completely integrated into Chechen government power structures, while others, estimated to number at least 1,800, continued serving in semi-legal paramilitary formations. The ATCs were quickly closed down, and some members transferred to newly formed battalions: Sever (North, led by Muslim Ilyasov and made up of an estimated 500 men) and Yug (South, led by Alibek Delimkhanov and made up of an estimated 700 men).[24]
The Kadyrovites were rearmed and given heavy equipment, such as armoured personnel carriers they previously did not possess. Observers have considered that their recognition and legalization as a law enforcement unit was implemented by the Russian government to redeploy some federal troops in Chechnya to the neighboring state of Dagestan, where an Islamist insurgency had not been contained. In 2007, Ramzan Kadyrov became the new President of the Chechen Republic and now controlled all Chechen Interior Ministry forces; the top seats of his government were occupied by the former Kadyrovite commanders.
In 2016, after a series of reforms, most of the Russian internal military and paramilitary troops were placed under the command of the newly created National Guard of Russia (also known as the Rosgvardiya).[25] Chechen internal troops were placed under nominal control of the National Guard, although still under direct control of Kadyrov.[11] Researcher Gordon M. Hahn, on his blog, and Russian political scientist Gleb Pavlovsky, who heads the analytics department of the Center for Political Technologies (CPT), said that one of Vladimir Putin's objectives was to limit Kadyrov's power over his troops by placing them under the control of the National Guard, which respond directly to Putin.[26][27]
The Kyiv Independent reported the destruction of a Chechen column of 56 tanks by Ukrainian missiles near Hostomel on 27 February.[32] According to Ukrainian sources, the missile attack had been delayed because the Kadyrovites had been hiding in civilian infrastructure.[35] On the same day, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said that the Alpha Group of the SBU had ambushed a convoy of Chechen troops in Hostomel and killed the commander of the 141st motorized regiment Major General Magomed Tushayev.[36] Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov denied this, saying he was still alive and posted a video which he said showed Tushayev alive.[37][38] Chechen media posted video it said was of Tushayev denying his death on 16 March 2022.[39]
According to Ukrainian media, Chechen troops have been used as barrier troops, used to address low morale by executing Russian deserters.[40][41][42] In April 1, Ukrainian media reported that Chechen troops executed conscripted soldiers of the Luhansk People's Republic who refused to fight.[43] There were unconfirmed reports that Chechen troops were executing Russian troops who were too injured in field hospitals.[13] On 29 April, Ukrainian intelligence alleged that a unit of Buryat soldiers and Chechen troops exchanged fire on the village of Kyselivka in the Kherson Oblast. Supposedly the conflict was caused by the sharing of loot, exacerbated by tensions with what the Buryat soldiers saw as favoritism of the Chechen troops, as the Buryats had to be in the frontlines and conduct offensive operations while the Chechens are better-equipped and stay behind as barrier troops or conduct anti-partisan warfare.[44]
On March 1, Kadyrov said that Chechen fighters in Ukraine had sustained losses of two killed and six wounded.[45] According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Chechen units suffered "hundreds" of casualties while being deployed around Kyiv and were withdrawn to Chechnya on 13 March 2022.[46] Chechen troops were seen fighting in the Siege of Mariupol.[47] The National Guard of Ukraine released a video appearing to show fighters from the Azov Regiment, based in Mariupol, greasing bullets in lard (salo) to be used against Chechen troops as an insult, in reference to the prohibition of pork in Islamic law.[48]
Chechen troops in Ukraine have become known for publishing videos on social media, including combat footage from Mariupol. Kadyrov was widely mocked online as a "TikTok warrior" after a picture meant to show him traveling in Ukraine showed him praying at a gas station whose brand only exists in Russia.[49][50]
In late June 2022, Ramzan Kadyrov announced the creation of four new battalions consisting only of ethnic Chechens. These battalions would be named Северный Ахмат ("North-Akhmat"), Южный Ахмат ("South-Akhmat"), Западный Ахмат ("West-Akhmat"), and Восточный Ахмат ("East-Akhmat"), according to Kadyrov, and that they would be sent to fight in Ukraine.[51][52]
Organization
The Kadyrovites include the following military and paramilitary units:
A significant number of members of these groups are people with a criminal past, including people who committed criminal offences in the period between wars.[failed verification] Particularly feared are the PPSM-2, named after Akhmad Kadyrov, and the Oil Regiment. Officially, PPSM-2 is responsible for security on the streets and the Oil Regiment for the security of industrial sites. In reality, both structures are involved in so-called "anti-terrorist operations" involving grave human rights violations, according to human rights groups.[53][54] Human rights activists working in Chechnya have accused the group of being heavily involved in kidnapping, torture and murder to cement Kadyrov's clan rule.
The Memorial group investigator stated in its report: "Considering the evidence we have gathered, we have no doubt that most of the crimes which are being committed now in Chechnya are the work of Kadyrov's men. There is also no doubt in our minds that Kadyrov has personally taken part in beating and torturing people. What they are doing is pure lawlessness. To make matters worse, they also go after people who are innocent, whose names were given by someone being tortured to death. He and his henchmen spread fear and terror in Chechnya. (...) They travel by night as death squads, kidnapping civilians, who are then locked in a torture chamber, raped and murdered,".[56]
Anna Politkovskaya, a veteran Russian reporter (murdered in 2006; case unsolved as of April 2008) who specialized in Chechen reporting, claimed that she had received a video footage of a man identical in appearance to Ramzan. "....On them (the clips) were the murders of federal servicemen by the Kadyrovites, and also kidnappings directed by Kadyrov. These are very serious things; on the basis of this evidence a criminal case and investigation should follow. This could allow this person to be brought to justice, something he has long richly deserved," she said. She was allegedly working on an article revealing human rights abuses and regular incidences of torture in Chechnya at the time of her murder.[57] Some observers alleged that Kadyrov or his men were possibly behind the assassination.[58]
The Kadyrovites are often accused of working as a death squad against Kadyrov's enemies. Ramzan is rumoured to own a private prison in his stronghold of Tsentoroi, his home village south-east of Grozny. Fields around Tsentoroi are reportedly mined and all access routes are blocked by checkpoints. On May 2, 2006, representatives of the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) stated that they were prevented from entering the fortress.[53][54][59] They have also begun using cell phones to record videos of them beating and humiliating ordinary Chechens accused of crimes. The videos are later circulated, with the intention of intimidating civilians.[60]
On November 13, 2006, Human Rights Watch published a briefing paper on torture in Chechnya that it had prepared for the 37th session of the United NationsCommittee Against Torture. The paper covered torture by personnel of the Second Operational Investigative Bureau (ORB-2), torture by units under the effective command of Ramzan Kadyrov, torture in secret detentions, and the continuing "disappearances." According to HRW, torture "in both official and secret detention facilities is widespread and systematic in Chechnya." In many cases, the perpetrators were so confident that there would be no consequences for their abuses that they did not even attempt to conceal their identity. Based on extensive research, HRW concluded in 2005 that forced disappearances in Chechnya are so widespread and systematic that they constitute crimes against humanity.
On March 1, 2007, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group rights organisation, stated "Kadyrov is to blame for kidnappings of many innocent people. Their bodies were found later with signs of torture."[61]
Corruption
The Kadyrovites were accused of mass kidnappings (occasionally, even members of the Russian security forces have been kidnapped), tortures and summary executions, rapes, racketeering, participation in the illegal oil trade and other crimes even by Chechen and Russian officials. In October 2003, the former Chechen official and presidential candidate Shamil Burayev, accused the Security Service of "hunting for the dissidents". In May 2004, Russian Presidential adviser Aslambek Aslakhanov acknowledged that the "security guard of the Kadyrovs" was operating outside of the law.[19]
In June 2005, Beslan Gantamirov, the former Chechen Prime Minister, accused the SB of "abductions and murder even of the FSB employees" and "gangsterism in the territory of all the North Caucasus". In April 2006, Mikhail Babich, another former Prime Minister of Chechnya and then Deputy Chairman of the Committee of the Russian State Duma on Defense, called the armed formations of Kadyrov "an absolutely illegal structure".[19]
In May 2007, more than 100 members of the United Kingdom's political and cultural elite have appealed to President Vladimir Putin of Russia to restore "peace and justice" to Chechnya, calling Kadyrov's presidency "little more than a regime of fear and oppression".[62]
In 2021 spetsnaz groups from different Russian regions, including the Kadyrovites, took part in a selection march at "Tambukan" training facility in Stavropol Krai.[63] The event ended after the other participants accused the Chechen operators of cheating and covering some of the march distance in vehicles, resulting in a brawl.[63]
Extrajudicial punishment
In 2006, a video leaked out in which armed men loyal to Ramzan Kadyrov displayed the severed head of a Chechen guerrilla who was killed in July 2006, separated from his body for public display in the village of Kurchaloi, marking the brutality of the Kadyrovites. They mounted the head on a pipe, together with blood-stained trousers, and put a cigarette on him. It was displayed for at least a day as they came back a day later to record it again.[64]
According to human rights group Memorial as well as Anna Politkovskaya, the Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya Idris Gaibov had orchestrated the atrocities by Kadyrovites in the outskirts of the Chechen village in the Kurchaloy on July 27–28, 2006. Reportedly, he hung the severed head of a killed rebel fighter up as a warning to the rest of the village. As a Chechen state official, he had given orders to members of the Russian security forces who were not subordinate to him to decapitate a dead body. Armed men then spent the next two hours photographing the head with their mobile phones. The head remained there for 24 hours.[65][66][67]
On September 21, 2005, a similar incident occurred, as published by Memorial as well as Kavkazky Uzel which described "shocking details" of a special operation conducted by forces loyal to Ramzan Kadyrov, earlier in September in the town of Argun and the settlement of Tsotsin-Yurt. Citing local residents, the human rights group reported that on September 14, a group of Kadyrovites placed a severed head on a pipe on a footbridge across the Khulkulau River for "general viewing" and intimidation purposes.[68]
In 2005, unidentified men kidnapped separatist field commander Dokka Umarov's father Khamad, his wife, and one-year-old son. Several months earlier, his brother Ruslan Umarov, father of four children, had been kidnapped by masked men in uniform. His wife and son were later freed, but his father and brothers disappeared. According to some sources, Umarov's father, Khamad Umarov, was kidnapped back on May 5, 2008, by the Kadyrovite employees of the Oil Regiment (Neftepolk) headed by Chechnya's First Deputy Prime Minister Adam Delimkhanov.
In April 2007, Umarov declared that his 74-year-old father was murdered in captivity.[69][70] His sister Natalia Khumaidova was also abducted in Urus-Martan in August 2005 by "unidentified armed men".[71] She was released days later after local residents protested for her return. In the past years a cousin Zaurbek and nephew Roman Atayev were also kidnapped. Nothing has been heard of them since.[71]
Shortly after the Beslan hostage-taking raid in 2004, Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov suggested the practice of taking rebel leaders' relatives hostage. Memorial, who largely condemned such practices, blamed pro-Russian Chechen forces for the abductions.[71] According to separatists, all kidnapped persons were put into Ramzan Kadyrov's personal prison in Akhmat-Yurt.
Equipment
Only equipment and vehicles for which photographic proof is available are included on this list.[72]
On April 28, 2006, security forces loyal to Ramzan Kadyrov fought a fist fight and then a gun battle with the bodyguards of then-pro-Russian president Alu Alkhanov. Up to two men were reportedly killed and four injured in the clash at the presidential administration complex, sparking fears of a broader power struggle between pro-Russian Chechen groups who controlled the republic. The exchange of fire happened during a meeting between Alkhanov and a federal official, Sergei Stepashin.[73]
The Moskovskij Komsomolets newspaper reported that Alkhanov had banned Kadyrov from bringing more than two men of his private army with him into meetings. It reported that Kadyrov had rung Alkhanov and given him 30 minutes to flee the presidential administration as his men wanted to storm it. The official explanation of the whole incident was that "an ordinary quarrel" had occurred between two men who worked in the security services, and that no shots were ever fired.[73]
The next day reports came out that Ramzan Kadyrov had officially disbanded his security service. On June 4, 2006, President Alu Alkhanov said he would prefer his republic be governed by Sharia law and suggested adapting the Islamic code, as it is championed by Kadyrov, He also dismissed reports of conflicts with Ramzan.[73]
People in Chechnya long ago started talking about the Kadyrov-Alkhanov power struggle that included armed confrontation, murders, and hostage-taking. Many of these incidents are provoked by Kadyrov's men. In February 2005, for example, two of Alkhanov's men were killed and three civilians were injured during an attack in the Kurchaloev region of the republic, which was essentially in Kadyrov's personal domain. The ITAR-TASS attributed the killing to "members of one of the republic's security services currently involved in anti-terrorist operations".[73]
In the other incident, members of an OMON unit based at the Grozny railway station exchanged fire with and then jailed a group of Kadyrovites. This incident outraged Kadyrov, who ordered his men to shoot to kill anyone who stood in their way. He reportedly called Alkhanov to warn him that there would be a "war" if his men were further provoked. Both sides called for reinforcements and there was further shooting before the situation was defused.[73]
Murder of Abdul Halim Sadulayev
On 17 June 2006, a group of the Kadyrovites and FSB officers killed the President of Ichkeria, Abdul Halim Sadulayev (also known as Sheikh Abdul-Halim). His body was driven to Tsentoroy and presented to Ramzan Kadyrov. According to the FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev, two members of the federal forces were killed and five were wounded in a firefight in which Sadulayev and his bodyguard were killed, and two other rebels escaped. In August 2006, rebel commander Isa Muskiev said the FSB and Kadyrovites lost five men killed in the shootout, one of them shot by Sadulayev personally, and three fighters escaped.
The killing of Sheikh Abdul Halim was trumpeted by leaders of the Russian-backed official government of the province, claiming that the separatist forces there had been dealt a "decapitating blow "from which they will never recover."[74] The next day, June 18, Sadulayev was succeeded as the head of the Chechen resistance by the rebel vice-president and an active guerrilla commander Dokka Umarov.
The Goretz (Mountaineer) detachment of the Kadyrovites was a spetsnaz unit of the FSB headed by Movladi Baisarov, a close ally and chief bodyguard to Akhmad Kadyrov. It was formally disbanded and its servicemen were to be reassigned to the Chechen Interior Ministry. After Akhmad Kadyrov's death, conflict with Ramzan Kadyrov led to Baisarov being declared an outlaw, and many men in the detachment refused the reassignment. The Guardian in June 2006 detailed a showdown between Kadyrov's and Baisarov's forces that had taken place the previous month. The Kadyrovites ended up backing down in that confrontation when another Chechen warlord, Said-Magomed Kakiev, head of the Spetsnaz GRU unit the Special Battalion Zapad, came down on Baisarov's side.[75]
Baisarov went to Moscow and appeared in the Russian media saying that Ramzan Kadyrov was trying to hunt him down to get rid of possible competition. He accused Kadyrov of directing numerous political murders and kidnappings. At the same time, he told Kommersant that he was not hiding from anyone in Moscow and was expecting to return to Chechnya soon to become the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of law enforcement. In October 2006, while Baisarov was in Moscow, it was believed he still commanded 50 to little over 100 men based in Grozny.[76] On November 18, 2006, Baisarov was shot dead in central Moscow by a detachment of the Kadyrovites.[77]
Sexual violence in the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been committed by Armed Forces of Russia, including the use of mass rape as a weapon of war. According to the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, the victims of sexual assault by Russian soldiers ranged from 4 years old to over 80 years old.[78]
The United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner issued a report on human rights violations and war crimes in October 2022; in the opening summary section, it stated, "Furthermore, the Commission documented patterns of summary executions, unlawful confinement, torture, ill-treatment, and rape and other sexual violence committed in areas occupied by Russian armed forces across the four provinces on which it focused. People have been detained, some have been unlawfully deported to the Russian Federation, and many are still reported missing. Sexual violence has affected victims of all ages. Victims, including children, were sometimes forced to witness the crimes. Children have become the victims of the full spectrum of violations investigated by the Commission, including indiscriminate attacks, torture and rape, and have suffered the predictable psychological consequences."[79]
↑ Known fully as the 141st Special Motorized Regiment named after Hero of the Russian Federation A. A. Kadyrov (Russian: 141-й специальный моторизованный полк имени Героя Российской Федерации А. А. Кадырова)
Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a 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 Federal District, and shares land borders with Georgia to its south; with the Russian republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia–Alania to its east, north, and west; and with Stavropol Krai to its northwest.
Akhmed Halidovich Zakayev 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 of the ChRI government-in-exile. He was also the Foreign Minister of the Ichkerian government, appointed by Aslan Maskhadov shortly after his 1997 election, and again in 2006 by Abdul Halim Sadulayev. An active participant in the Russian-Chechen wars, Zakayev took part in the battles for Grozny and the defense of Goyskoye, along with other military operations, as well as in high-level negotiations with the Russian side.
The Second Chechen War took place in Chechnya and the border regions of the North Caucasus between the Russian Federation and the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from August 1999 to April 2009.
Akhmat-Khadzhi Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov was a Russian politician and revolutionary who served as Chief Mufti of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War. At the outbreak of the Second Chechen War he switched sides, offering his service to the Russian government, and later became the President of the Chechen Republic from 5 October 2003, having acted as head of administration since July 2000.
Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov is a Russian politician and current Head of the Chechen Republic. He was formerly affiliated with the Chechen independence movement, through his father who was the separatist-appointed mufti of Chechnya. He is a colonel general in the Russian military.
Alu Dadashevich Alkhanov is a Russian politician and the former president of Russia's Chechen Republic. He is a career police officer who fought within the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces during the First Chechen War. He was elected as president on 30 August 2004. On 15 February 2007, Russian president Vladimir Putin dismissed Alkhanov as Chechen president and appointed him a Deputy Justice Minister of Russia.
Suleiman Bekmirzayevich Yamadayev, or simply Sulim Yamadayev, was a Chechen military commander. The fourth of six Yamadayev brothers, he fought for the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria during the First Chechen War before defecting to Russia during the Second Chechen War, in which he commanded Special Battalion Vostok under Spetsnaz GRU. As such, until 2008, he was officially in command of the biggest pro-Kremlin militia beyond those controlled by Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, who has led Chechnya since 2007. From 1 to 22 August 2008, Yamadayev was wanted on an active federal arrest warrant in Russia, but continued to command Special Battalion Vostok uninterrupted during the Russian invasion of Georgia.
Doku Khamatovich Umarov, also known as Dokka Umarov as well as by his Arabized name of Dokka Abu Umar, was a Chechen mujahid in the North Caucasus. Umarov was a major military figure in both wars in Chechnya during the 1990s and 2000s, before becoming the leader of the greater insurgency in the North Caucasus. He was active mostly in south-western Chechnya, near and across the borders with Ingushetia and Georgia.
The Republic of Chechnya is a constituent republic and federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is located in the Caucasus region in southwest Russia. It is the political successor of the Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. From a centralized form of government during the existence of the Soviet Union, the republic's political system went upheavals during the 1990s with the establishment of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, leading to the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War which left the republic in total devastation. In 2000, following Russia's renewed rule, a local, republican form of government was established in the republic under the control of the Russian federal government.
In June 2000, the North Caucasian Chechen separatist-led Chechen insurgents added suicide bombing to their tactics in their struggle against Russia. Since then, there have been dozens of suicide attacks within and outside the republic of Chechnya, resulting in thousands of casualties among Russian security personnel and civilians. The profiles of the suicide bombers have varied, as have the circumstances surrounding the bombings.
Movladi Baisarov was a Chechen warlord and former Federal Security Service (FSB) special-task unit commander. Baisarov was shot dead on the street in central Moscow by members of the Chechen extra-agency guard on November 18, 2006.
Gorets mutiny took place in Chechnya in 2006.
Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad were two Spetsnaz units of the GRU, the military intelligence agency of Russia, based in Chechnya. The overwhelming majority of the personnel were ethnic Chechens, while the command personnel were mixed ethnic Russians and Chechens. The Special Battalions were formed during the Second Chechen War as a force of Chechen volunteers under the direct control of the Russian government to perform operations in the mountain-forests of Chechnya. The two units operated independently from each other, with Zapad covering the western half of Chechnya and Vostok covering the eastern half, and their own commanders subordinate to the GRU but under the command network of the 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.
Adam Sultanovich Delimkhanov is a Russian politician who has been a member of the State Duma since 2007. He is a member of the ruling United Russia party. He is the head of the Chechen branch of the Russian National Guard.
The Sulim Yamadayev–Ramzan Kadyrov power struggle was a feud between rival pro-Moscow Chechen warlords that exploded into armed confrontation between Yamadaev's Special Battalion "Vostok" (East) forces and Chechen President Kadyrov's militia known as the "Kadyrovtsy" following an incident in the town of Argun that led to a shootout in Gudermes on 14 April 2008. The struggle resulted in the eventual disbanding of the Vostok battalion and Yamadaev's assassination in Dubai on 30 March 2009.
The Chechen Republic, commonly known as Chechnya, is a federal republic of Russia that has been noted in several roles during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kadyrovite forces have fought alongside the Russian forces, while several Chechen armed volunteer formations are fighting on the Ukrainian side. International observers have noted a number of comparisons between the invasion and the First and Second Chechen Wars.
Magomed Salaudinovich Tushayev is a Russian Lieutenant Colonel and advisor to the Head of the Chechen Republic. He is a commander of the 141st Special Motorized Regiment (Kadyrovites).
The Kadyrov family is a Chechen political family that has played a prominent role in the governance of Chechnya, an autonomous region of Russia, since Akhmad Kadyrov became the head of the Chechen state in 2000. The region has been governed by members of the Kadyrov family nearly continuously since 2000, with a brief lapse in power from 2004 to 2007 during Alu Alkhanov's tenure as president.
Apti Aronovich Alaudinov is a Russian Major General and a high-ranking member of the 141st Motorized Regiment of the National Guard of Russia.
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