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. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Checheno-Ingush ASSR split into two parts: the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic. The latter proclaimed the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which declared independence, while the former sided with Russia. Following the First Chechen War of 1994–1996 with Russia, Chechnya gained de facto independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, although de jure it remained a part of Russia. Russian federal control was restored in the Second Chechen War of 1999–2009, with Chechen politics being dominated by the former Ichkerian Mufti Akhmad Kadyrov, and later his son Ramzan Kadyrov.
Ruslan Imranovich Khasbulatov was a Russian economist and politician and the former Chairman of Parliament of Russia of Chechen descent who played a central role in the events leading to the 1993 constitutional crisis in the Russian Federation.
Grozny is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia.
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.
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.
Aslan (Khalid) Aliyevich Maskhadov was a Soviet and Chechen politician and military commander who served as the third president of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
The Avars, also known as Maharuls, are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group. The Avars are the largest of several ethnic groups living in the Russian republic of Dagestan. The Avars reside in the North Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Alongside other ethnic groups in the North Caucasus region, the Avars live in ancient villages located approximately 2,000 meters above sea level. The Avar language spoken by the Caucasian Avars belongs to the family of Northeast Caucasian languages. Sunni Islam has been the prevailing religion of the Avars since the 14th century.
Said-Magomed Shamaevich Kakiyev is a colonel in the Russian Army, who was the leader of the GRU Spetsnaz Special Battalion Zapad ("West"), a Chechen military force, from 2003 to 2007. Inside Chechnya his men were sometimes referred to as the Kakievtsy. Unlike the other Chechen pro-Moscow forces in Chechnya, Kakiyev and his men are not former rebels and during the First Chechen War were some of the few Chechen militants who fought on the Russian side.
Sazhid Khalilrakhmanovich Sazhidov is a Russian Olympic wrestler who represented his country at the world-level from 2003 to 2006. He won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Degi Imranovich Bagayev was an honored trainer of the USSR and the first of the Chechens to have received this high rank.
Bilyal Valerievich Makhov is a Russian freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestler. He was the Russian champion in 2007 and 2010, European champion in 2010 and World champion in 2007, 2009 and 2010 in Men's Freestyle 120 kg wrestling and bronze medalist in 130 kg Greco-Roman Wrestling at the World Championships in 2014 and 2015. In 2015, he won the Russian National Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships.
Akhmed Osmanovich Chakaev is Russian former freestyle wrestler. He is a two-time world freestyle wrestling bronze medalist. 2018 Russian national champion. 2020 Russian nationals runner-up and two-time bronze medalist.
Dauren Khalidovich Kurugliev is a Russian freestyle wrestler of Lezgin ethnicity, naturalized Greek. He is the 2019 European Games gold medalist, a 3x European champion and an Olympic bronze medalist on the Olympic Games Paris 2024.
Aukh is a historical region in the current republic of Dagestan, populated by Chechens. Aukh encompasses parts of the Novolak, Khasavyurtovsky, Babayurtovsky and Kazbekovsky districts. The Chechens of Dagestan call themselves Aukhs (ӏовхой), and speak the Aukh dialect of the Chechen language.
This page lists notable people from Dagestan.
Alikhan Lukmanovich Zhabrailov is a Russian freestyle wrestler of Chechen ethnicity who competes at 97 and 92 kilograms. At 92, Zhabrailov was the 2020 Individual World Cup champion, a 2019 World Championship bronze medalist, the Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2020 silver medalist and a two–time Russian National champion. In 2021, he made the move up to 97 kilos, and has claimed the 2021 European Continental Championship and the 2021 Russian National Championship. He also competed at 86 kilos earlier in his career, claiming the 2017 U23 World Championship.
Razambek Salambekovich Zhamalov is a Russian-born Uzbek freestyle wrestler of Chechen ethnicity who competes at 74 kilograms. The 2020 Individual World Cup winner and 2019 U23 World champion, Zhamalov claimed the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics, representing Uzbekistan. He was also a two-time Russian National champion and four-time finalist before transferring to Uzbekistan.
Gayur-khan or Kyr Bek was the king of Simsir in the 14th century. He was involved in the Timurid invasion of the Caucasus and was recorded in the two Persian chronicles: Zafarnama by Nizam al-Din Shami and the Zafarnama by Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi.
