Anzor Maskhadov my father is the Chechen president. Why the “gray eminence” Aslan Maskhadov returned to Chechnya: opinion. Military service and government activities

According to Anzor, his father was killed differently from what was previously reported in the Russian media.

There was no explosion of the bunker, nor was there any careless handling of weapons, he claims. First, Maskhadov, during negotiations with the special forces, through his guard, agreed to save the lives of his three comrades, surrounded with him in a house in Tolstoy-Yurt. After they left the room, Maskhadov accepted the fight.

According to Anzor Maskhadov, the separatist leader was killed with small arms.

Immediately after the special operation, Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen government Ramzan Kadyrov said that Maskhadov died as a result of careless handling of weapons by the bodyguard who was next to him. However, over time, in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper, Ramzan Kadyrov stated that these words of his “were a joke.”

A little later, Ilya Shabalkin, a representative of the regional operational headquarters (ROH) for managing the counter-terrorism operation in the North Caucasus, said that Maskhadov was in an underground concrete bunker, which had to be blown up in order to get inside. It was during the explosion of the bunker that he died, Shabalkin noted.

In addition, Anzor Maskhadov rejected the version according to which the separatist leader came to the house in Tolstoy-Yurt to pick up his allegedly kidnapped brother. The son of the former leader of Ichkeria also admitted that Aslan Maskhadov could have been betrayed.

At the same time, Anzor Maskhadov confirmed that the duties of the President of Ichkeria have been transferred to Abdul-Halim Saidullaev (according to other sources, his name is Akhmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdulkhalim), who is the chairman of the supreme Sharia court of the unrecognized republic.

Earlier this was mentioned in a statement by Shamil Basayev, published on the website of the Chechen separatists "Caucasus Center".

Was Maskhadov surrendered by local residents?

Meanwhile, on Sunday, March 13, a representative of the Russian special services, on condition of anonymity, also spoke on air in the Vesti Nedeli program broadcast on the state TV channel RTR about the details of the operation against Aslan Maskhadov.

He claims that the leader of the Chechen separatists was surrendered by local residents, who reported that a major field commander was hiding in the village of Tolstoy-Yurt. Almost the entire Alpha team was transferred to Chechnya, but only three knew about the purpose of the special operation, said an anonymous representative of the special services.

He also stated that Maskhadov “appeared in different places in Chechnya at different times,” and in letters abroad he complained that he did not spend the night in one village for more than two days.

The representative of the special services also denied the version that Maskhadov could have been killed earlier, but saved this news for March 8. According to some reports, Maskhadov was killed on Sunday, March 6. His location was given out for a large sum of money by one of the residents of the Nozhai-Yurtovsky district. A group led by Ramzan Kadyrov set out to capture Maskhadov.

But Kadyrov decided not to take responsibility for the murder of Maskhadov, fearing shame and revenge, and asked the federal intelligence services to attribute the results of the operation to other structures.

The intelligence officer said that this was not true. “We found evidence in one of the houses that either the leader of the gang was or is there,” he says. “In particular, scraps of handwritten documents were found - a kind of memo addressed to Maskhadov, a computer thrown on the sofa, a large number of telephone payment cards, although the owner of the house and his family members did not have mobile phones.”

Soon the entrance to the secret shelter was discovered, the representative of the special services further says. The owner of the house was asked to “name who is there, but he categorically refused, saying only that whoever is there will not give up under any circumstances.” The hole found led to a special bunker, which was built before 1999, when Maskhadov was the president of Chechnya. “The owner of the house knew that a cache was being built, but he did not know for what purpose,” said a representative of the special services. Later, “a messenger came to him and warned that starting from October last year, i.e. the (Muslim) holiday of Uraz, distinguished guests would be staying with him.”

There were no negotiations with Maskhadov during the special operation. “We assumed that Maskhadov would not surrender - we had every reason for this. We knew that Maskhadov was wearing a suicide belt,” said a representative of the special services. According to him, the task force had two options - “either demolish the entire house and open the bunker, or sacrifice part of the house, thereby not causing damage to the owners, and blow up only the manhole.”

After the explosion, “Vakhid Murdashev (Maskhadov’s guard) was the first to emerge from the bunker and the first question to him was whether Maskhadov was there. He said: “Yes, he is there.” When asked: “Is he alive?”, Murdashev said, “In my opinion, no." Maskhadov's nephew Eliskhan Khadzhimuradov also surrendered along with the guard.

When intelligence officers entered the cache, weapons, explosives, communications equipment and a voluminous archive with many “handwritten and printed documents” were found, which, according to a representative of the intelligence services, “reflect both Maskhadov’s moods and his plans and the plans of people who believed themselves connected with him."

Seven examinations

Russia's Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel said on Sunday that prosecutors had made seven identifications of Aslan Maskhadov's body, including four by relatives of the slain Chechen separatist leader.

According to him, blood was taken from Maskhadov’s relatives for genetic examination, “so that later there would be no talk that the murdered man was a double of the terrorist.”

Shepel said that law enforcement agencies continue to study the archive found on Maskhadov’s computer. The Deputy Prosecutor General did not rule out that materials about the seizure of a school in Beslan would be found in the archive, and promised, if they were found, to hand over the documents to the parliamentary commission investigating the terrorist attack.

Shepel confirmed that Maskhadov will be buried without specifying the time and place of burial. Earlier, the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus stated that the bodies of persons charged under the article “terrorism” will not be released to relatives.

The corresponding provision is contained in the Criminal Code of Russia. Terrorists are buried on the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation where they were killed, while only a few representatives of law enforcement agencies know about the burial place.

On Friday, the head of the military medical department of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Bykov, said that Maskhadov’s body was identified with 97 percent accuracy. According to Bykov, experts used 16 identification methods, including using a dental formula. Bykov promised that the results of the genetic analysis will be ready within two weeks.

According to official data, the leader of the Chechen separatists, President of Ichkeria Aslan Maskhadov on Tuesday, March 8, in the village of Tolstoy-Yurt, Chechnya.

He was hiding in a bunker under one of the houses. Russian security officials say the bunker was blown up, killing the separatist leader. However, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen government, the son of the murdered president of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, told reporters that Maskhadov died due to an accidental shot by his guard.

As stated in the message of the headquarters of the Russian troops in the North Caucasus, during this operation Maskhadov’s close associates were detained - Vakhit Murdashev, Vskhan Khadzhimuratov, Iles Ilishanov and Siderbek Yusupov. Maskhadov’s personal archive also became available to the federal authorities.

Responsibilities of the President of Ichkeria after the death of Aslan Maskhadov were born in Saudi Arabia, Akhmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdulkhalim.

Exactly six years ago, in the Chechen village of Tolstoy-Yurt, named after the great Russian writer, Russian FSB special forces soldiers shot the president of independent Ichkeria, Aslan Maskhadov. Then, Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov declared the death of Maskhadov “a gift to all women of Chechnya on March 8.”

As the head of the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs Ruslan Alkhanov said: “It is symbolic that our President Akhmad-Hadji Kadyrov died heroically on a men’s holiday - Victory Day. And this so-called president of Ichkeria found his death in a damp cellar on International Women’s Day. There’s nothing even to add to this.” Indeed, there is nothing to add to the cynicism and baseness of these two husbands.

Maskhadov, being the legitimately elected president of the Ichkerian Republic, has been wanted since 2000. All this time he was in Chechnya. The leader of the Chechen resistance was killed only when the threat of peace negotiations really loomed over the Kremlin: when the soldiers’ mothers (the Union of Soldiers’ Mothers Committees) and Maskhadov’s emissary (Akhmed Zakayev) adopted a joint document “The Path to Peace in Chechnya,” and after Maskhadov himself stated that he can end the war in 30 minutes after a personal dialogue with Putin. Putin did not need peace in Chechnya, and then a decision was made to forcibly eliminate Aslan Maskhadov.

Testimony from Maskhadov’s son Anzor (born 1975), who fought alongside his father throughout the first war.

Anzor Maskhadov: Yes, this happened on March 8th. On the same day, they officially disseminated information that Aslan Maskhadov had been killed.

RFI: Was your family in Azerbaijan at that time?

Anzor Maskhadov: Yes. A friend of mine called me and asked if this was true or not? My heart told me that my father had been killed. Then they announced on TV channels that an operation had been carried out in Tolstoy-Yurt and “after a fierce and short battle, Aslan Maskhadov was killed.” Later, through my own channels, I found out some details of what happened. A special forces group was sent from Moscow. They surrounded this house and began conducting a special operation. Local police and special forces cordoned off the village.

RFI: Did Chechen special forces take part in the murder of Maskhadov?

Anzor Maskhadov: They didn't even know or take any part. They were not entrusted with this operation, and this operation was not entrusted to those Russian troops who were in Khankala and at other bases.

RFI: The location of the President was strictly classified. Was this betrayal on the part of his compatriots and those who sheltered Maskhadov?

Anzor Maskhadov: There was no betrayal there, although there were rumors that someone betrayed him for some millions. It is not true. I know he was there and how safe the place was. They calculated it in a completely different way - using the phone.

RFI: When Dzhokhar Dudayev made a request to his confidants that he needed urgent and reliable communication, it was among his confidants that there was a career intelligence officer who “successfully” developed and carried out the operation to eliminate Dudayev. Is this the same option?

Anzor Maskhadov: Dzhokhar Dudayev was framed by another country - it provided a service to Moscow. The same thing happened to my father. Now I won’t name this country, this is how it happened – the use of a telephone. The father himself did not call, but those who were next to him called. There is also a version that he was killed at the request of our relative - this is not true. Bullets of different calibers from different directions.

RFI: Let's stop at this point. If you believe Kadyrov, then Maskhadov died by pure accident - “due to careless handling of his bodyguard’s weapon,” and that no one intended to kill him. Shabalkin, a representative of the operational headquarters, presented a completely different version, that the president was in a bunker, which had to be blown up in order to get inside. It was during the explosion of the bunker that he died. Which version is true? Do you have a forensic medical report?

Anzor Maskhadov: I have some documents in my hands and I don’t want to show them yet, but the time will come - I will show them so that people will know the truth, how it really happened. There was no explosion there. For there to be a barotrauma, a powerful explosion is needed, and if there had been a powerful explosion, then this house would not exist. The house was blown up after he was killed, but some grenade would not cause barotrauma. There were several through bullet wounds, three to the head. These bullets entered from different directions and from different angles. The voiced version does not add up, according to which it means that he was killed by the one who was next to him. I don't think they took him alive and then killed him. When this operation was carried out, doctors were with them. When the father's bleeding body was pulled up, doctors rushed to his side. He was killed immediately. A person will not survive from these bullets in the head.

RFI: According to official statements from the security forces, it turns out that the president’s aides left the shelter before the start of the operation. Does this mean they abandoned their president?

Anzor Maskhadov: It is not true. As soon as the security forces entered the yard, they captured the owner of the house. In addition, they used gas. I don’t know which one, not tear-jerking, of course. And those who were with the father - they are not guards, but assistants, they were dragged out of the house already in an unconscious state. The military immediately began this operation, knowing that Maskhadov would not surrender alive, in any case.

RFI: After you found out that the owner of the house, Yusupov, was alive, did you meet with him to fully clarify the circumstances of your father’s death?

Anzor Maskhadov: I would not dare to do this for their safety. Without asking them, we will still learn the truth from other sources.

From a letter from President Maskhadov to his colleague:

“Hello, Vasily Ivanovich!
I am eternally grateful that I remembered and wrote at such a terrible time. Understand that in this terrible time for my small and unfortunate people, and for the people of Russia as well, for me, a person who, by the will of fate, found himself in charge on the other side of the barricades, it is very important to know the opinion of my fellow soldiers, friends and comrades in service. I don’t know who is to blame for this tragedy, but I will say with all responsibility that it is not my fault. When the terrible, monstrous, huge army of Russia entered my republic, destroying and sweeping away everything in its path, using the most sophisticated methods, I knew that it would be difficult to resist this bulk with a bunch of brave men, but I could not do otherwise.”

RFI: Anzor, your family was immediately denied the release of the body for burial. Six years have already passed, is there any hope of interring my father’s body?

Anzor Maskhadov: It is useless to expect any step from a country in which people were buried alive, from a government that is barbaric towards us. There was not even such hope that they would do it. The time will come when everything will be decided. Six years have passed since the murder. The Russians themselves should be thinking - why is this happening in their country? Why are the mothers of those soldiers whom my father extradited now silent? I remember how they came to us and turned to their father so that their sons would be returned to them. He gave them away, there were not only privates, but also officers. Once they handed over a whole group of about 50 contract soldiers. They would have to contact their government. Or my father’s colleagues - he was their boss, commander, friend.

Here is another excerpt from the same letter from President Maskhadov to his colleague, 1996.

“From the very first day of the assault on Grozny, I got in touch with generals Babichev and Rokhlin, offering them to take responsibility - to stop this massacre, I myself, as a military man, was ready for this, even against the will of politicians on my part, right up to Dudayev. Russian generals Babichev, Rokhlin, Kvashnin, Kulikov did not dare to do this - they thought about pensions, position, apartments.
When everything that entered the city was burned, destroyed, thousands of snotty young handsome guys, Russian soldiers, lay on the sidewalks of the city, the corpses made it impossible to walk through the city, and these corpses began to be eaten by hungry dogs and cats, I asked General Babichev to stop war for at least one day (if necessary, then we will continue) in order to collect our own corpses. They didn't even go for it. Instead, they suggested that I raise a white flag over the presidential palace, and I sent them to hell and even further. I fought with Russia, but I never lost my dignity.”

Anzor Maskhadov: Even before the start of the second war in 1999, my father appealed to the leaders of the North Caucasus republics to gather into one fist and do everything to prevent Russia from starting this war. Solve this problem peacefully. The presidents of Ingushetia and Ossetia responded. This did not work out - the leaders of Dagestan were afraid of Moscow, realizing that the war would begin in any case. And their father then warned them, said that the war would not only be in Chechnya - “whether by our will or not, it will spread across all the republics.” These are prophetic words. What is happening in our homeland, on our land. We even fight against each other: Chechens against Chechens, Chechens against Dagestanis, Ossetia, Ingushetia - blood is shed everywhere. Between us...we were forced to shoot at each other. And the way out of this situation is our unification.

RFI: Today it is precisely the opposite side that has united - these twenty-year-old boys who blow themselves up “in the name of jihad.” And we got a completely opposite result to what President Maskhadov was talking about.

Anzor Maskhadov: Today there is a completely different war going on, unusual for our peoples. People go for revenge... it's very bad when they take revenge in such ways. It can be done differently, since this is war.

RFI: In place of a balanced politician, ready for dialogue and understanding, who was not only the commander-in-chief of the Chechen armed forces, but a symbol of resistance, the Kremlin received Doku Umarov, who was already known for his aggressiveness and intransigence towards Russia. And no one sees a way out of this situation. The Caucasus is choking in blood.

Akhmed Zakaev: After Taymiev Beybulat, Maskhadov was the only one who was recognized by everyone. It was only later that the Russians managed to split, dismember, and create an armed opposition. Of course, they understand what Aslan Maskhadov means to the Chechens and Vainakhs. Today, being dead, he is much more terrible for the Russians than he would be alive. His life, his death became a symbol of faith and courage.

RFI: Anzor, you haven’t been home for a very long time, do you want to return to your homeland?

Anzor Maskhadov: I always missed her. You understand, I’ll spend my whole life riding around the Soviet Union. We returned home in 1992, but it only lasted a few years. I have no friends left - almost all of them were killed. I would like to see those who remained, to visit the graves of those people who were close to me. But I can't go there. I just consider it a betrayal to those who were killed. Smiling at those who call themselves the authorities there - no, I don’t want that. I will simply live my life with dignity.

The program featured the favorite song of the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Aslan Maskhadov, performed by Suleiman Tokkaev.

Maskhadov Aslan Alievich is one of the most controversial personalities of modern history. Some people consider him a hero of the Chechen people, others - a terrorist. Who exactly was Aslan Maskhadov? The biography of this historical figure will become the subject of our study.

Childhood and youth

Maskhadov Aslan Alievich was born in the fall of 1951 in a small village on the territory of the Kazakh SSR, where his parents were deported at one time. His family came from the Alleroy teip.

In 1957, with the beginning of the thaw, the rehabilitation of the deportees took place, allowing Aslan and his parents to return to the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. There they lived in one of the villages of the Nadterchensky district.

In 1966, Aslan Maskhadov joined the Komsomol, and two years later he completed his studies at the secondary school of his village. In 1972 he graduated from a military school in Tbilisi, which specialized in training personnel for artillery. After that, he served in the army for five years in the Far East, where he rose to the position of deputy division commander. At the same time, he was accepted into the ranks of the CPSU.

In 1981, having shown excellent results in his studies, he graduated from the Military Artillery Academy, located in Leningrad.

After graduation, he was sent to Hungary, where he rose to the position of commander of an artillery regiment.

At the turn of the era

In 1986, as a regiment commander and with the rank of colonel, Aslan Maskhadov was sent to Lithuania. During his command of the unit, it was repeatedly recognized as the best in the Baltic states. He himself was appointed chief of staff of the missile forces.

At this time, processes were taking place in the country that in the near future led to the collapse of the USSR and a change in the social system. Centrifugal tendencies began to appear in the Baltic states before other republics. However, before active protests and the use of armed forces against them began, Maskhadov was recalled, although his unit took part in actions against the rebels.

In 1992, he resigned from the Russian Armed Forces. Some experts believe that this decision was primarily dictated by his disagreements with the top military authorities, others - by the aggravation on the Chechen-Ingush border.

First Chechen

After his resignation, Aslan Maskhadov headed to the capital of Chechnya, Grozny. There, at that time, Dzhokhar Dudayev had already come to power, proclaiming independent Ichkeria (CRI). Immediately upon his arrival, Maskhadov was appointed by him as the head of Civil Defense, and then as the chief of staff of the armed forces.

In 1994, the so-called First Chechen War began. Aslan Maskhadov successfully led the defense of Grozny, for which he received the rank of division general from Dudayev. Afterwards, under his leadership, a number of successful operations were carried out, in particular the capture of Grozny after the city was occupied by Russian troops.

In Russia, a criminal case was opened against Maskhadov as the creator of an illegal armed group, which, however, did not prevent him from negotiating with the Russian authorities.

In 1996, during a special operation, Dzhokhar Dudayev was killed, but this did not prevent the successful actions of Chechen militants against the Russian army.

In 1996, agreements were reached between the Russian government and representatives of the self-proclaimed Ichkeria. The signing of peace agreements took place in the Dagestan city of Khasavyurt. On behalf of the ChRI, the agreement was signed by Aslan Alievich Maskhadov. The history of the Chechen conflict, it would seem, was over. These agreements envisaged the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Chechnya, an agreement on the election of a new president of Ichkeria, as well as the postponement of the issue of deciding the future fate of the ChRI status until 2001. This is how the First Chechen War ended.

Presidential position

After the signing of the Khasavyurt agreements before the presidential elections, etc. O. Aslan Maskhadov became the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and became both Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

In January 1997, presidential elections were held, in which Aslan Maskhadov won, ahead of Shamil Basayev and Zelimkhan Yandarbiev.

Initially, Maskhadov tried to build an independent Chechen state on the democratic principles of civil society. But his position was too weak. On the contrary, Islamic extremists, field commanders and leaders of various gangs began to acquire increasing power in Chechnya.

Maskhadov, by and large, was not a politician, but a military man. He was forced to maneuver between these groups and make concessions to them. This led to further radicalization, Islamization and criminalization of Chechen society. Sharia laws were introduced in CRI, the republic was flooded with foreign extremists, field commanders began to show increasing disobedience to the government of Ichkeria.

Second Chechen

The result of this situation was that in 1999, field commanders Shamil Basayev and Khattab arbitrarily, without the sanctions of the president and government of the ChRI, invaded the territory of Dagestan. Thus began the Second Chechen War.

Although Maskhadov publicly condemned the actions of Basayev, Khattab and other field commanders, he could not really control them. Therefore, the Russian leadership, after knocking out the militants from the territory of Dagestan, decided to carry out an operation to completely destroy them on the territory of Chechnya.

The entry of Russian troops into the territory of the ChRI led to direct confrontation between Maskhadov and the Russian government. He began to lead the resistance. The President of Ichkeria was first put on the all-Russian and then international wanted list. At first, Maskhadov could directly lead only a relatively small detachment, since most field commanders were not actually subordinate to him, and only in 2002 was a general command formed. Thus, Basayev, Khattab and other militant leaders sided with Maskhadov.

The actions of Russian troops on the territory of Chechnya this time were much more successful than in the first campaign. By the end of 2000, the Russian army controlled most of Chechnya. The militants hid in mountainous areas, carrying out terrorist attacks and sabotage.

Death of Maskhadov

In order to finally destroy the terrorist hotbed in Chechnya, the Russian special services decided to carry out a series of operations to personally eliminate militant leaders.

In March 2005, a special operation was carried out to detain the former leader of Ichkeria. During it, Aslan Maskhadov was killed. According to one version, he was shot by a bodyguard, since Maskhadov did not want to surrender alive.

Family

Maskhadov had a wife, son and daughter. Aslan Maskhadov's wife, Kusama Semieva, was a telephone operator before her marriage in 1972. After the death of her husband, she stayed abroad for a long time, until in 2016 she received permission to return to Chechnya.

Aslan Maskhadov's son Anzor was born in 1979. He received his education in Malaysia. Currently lives in Finland and sharply criticizes the Russian authorities, in particular Ramzan Kadyrov.

Maskhadov's daughter, Fatima, was born in 1981. Like his brother, he currently lives in Finland.

general characteristics

It is quite difficult to give an impartial description of such a controversial figure as Aslan Maskhadov. Some people overly idealize him, others demonize him. It should be noted that most people who personally know him characterize Maskhadov as an excellent officer and a man of honor. At the same time, he showed an inability to lead the state and was unable to subordinate to the central government many different groups in Ichkeria, whose lead he was often forced to follow.

Currently, rallies and pickets are being held in memory of Aslan Maskhadov with a demand that the Russian authorities release his body to his relatives. But so far they have not led to results.

While studying at the academy in Leningrad, Aslan Maskhadov asked to be called Oleg, but in the documents he was listed as Oslan. In addition, classmates noted Maskhadov’s complete lack of religiosity, as well as the fact that he was not averse to drinking a glass, although this was strictly prohibited by Islam.

According to colleagues, Maskhadov spoke sharply negatively about the declaration of independence of Lithuania, considering it separatism.

According to some information sources, Russian special services were able to calculate Maskhadov’s location using the IMEI of his mobile phone.

Two years have passed since the death of CRI President Aslan Maskhadov. Political scientists have different assessments of his role in the history of Chechnya and in Russian-Chechen relations. One thing is certain: until the end of his life, Maskhadov insisted on a peaceful resolution of the conflict, calling for all problems to be resolved at the negotiating table, and not on the battlefield. In any case, history will give the final assessment of his personality. How will the Chechen president remain in the memory of those close to him? We asked Aslan Maskhadov's son Anzor to tell about his father.

I haven't seen my father since mid-1999. On his instructions, I had to go to Malaysia, where I spent more than two years. Since the war began, I couldn’t go back, although that’s exactly what I wanted. Then my mother and sister had to leave the republic, because they were already threatened by bandits of all stripes, Zavgaevites, Kadyrovites and the FSB. This is how our family ended up outside the republic.

Back in 1999, we did not know that Russia would once again come to us with war. If I had known, I would never have left for anything, and my father wouldn’t have allowed it. We parted in our house in Grozny. I remember how my father told his grandchildren: “Don’t worry, we’ll see you in six months.” We arrived in Malaysia, and after a while Russian aircraft began bombing villages on the territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, when the fighting was taking place on the territory of Dagestan. I managed to get through to my father and say that I want to come home and be with him. He said it would be difficult and it would be better to wait a while. The last time he tried to take me in was in 2004, but to no avail. So we never saw each other.

What is your most vivid memory of your father?

There are many of these moments; I’ll tell you about two memories. This was during the first Russian-Chechen campaign, as it is called. In that campaign, both during long marches and during encirclements, I was next to him. Then I was surprised when he stood up first and walked, leading his fighters behind him. The Chechen and Russian generals were completely different. Our leaders and commanders experienced everything that an ordinary soldier experienced. And it lifted our spirit. Finding himself completely surrounded by Shamanov’s group, which had tightly encircled the city of Shali, the father decided to break through the cordon. He decided to do this in order to save Shali from destruction. After all, Russian troops were eager to enter this city, which at that time had not yet been touched, not plundered, and to cleanse the third largest city of the republic. There was no other way out but to go through the enemy's cordon. We broke through this cordon, passing two hundred meters from the equipment and their units. The next day, when Shamanov learned that those Chechen units located in Shali had left, they say, he could not come to his senses for a long time. Another memorable incident was when my father went to the Nadterechny district in the summer of 1995, during negotiations. His motorcade was stopped at a checkpoint near the village of Znamenskoye. The major came up and began to say, well, this paper doesn’t have Maskhadov’s name on it and therefore I can’t let it pass... the father took these papers, slapped them in his face and said: “And you will show me on my land?”, sat down. into the car - and the escort passed this checkpoint.

What was he like in the family?

He was fair, both in politics and in war, and in life and with his family. He was an honest, straightforward, noble man. In the family he was sensitive, attentive and kind. He loved to talk about our people, traditions, culture, nobility, courage - he appreciated it. He was demanding of everyone, as well as himself. He was strict in the family. For example, as a child, if he told me to come home from the street at seven o’clock, then I would never dare to be a minute late. As soon as he came home from work in the evening, the first thing I had to do was tell him how things were going at school, what grade I received, and only after that he started his business. Most of the time he spent with us was devoted to education. We came home twice a year to visit our loved ones, when my father received leave. Within our family, we always communicated only in our native language, so that we, the children, would not forget it. My father talked about what our ancestors left and passed on to us. This is what he was taught, and this is what he taught us. Therefore, the most important thing that he wanted to pass on to us, his children, was the values ​​of the Chechen people. He advised us to read books that described the history of Chechnya and the entire Caucasus. Sometimes he himself spoke about the heroism of our ancestors.

What memories of your father do you keep from childhood, what episodes of your communication do you remember most?

I remember we came from Hungary to the village of Zeber-Yurt and my father took me fishing, I was six years old then. The day was very hot, we went into the water and fished with our hands. Then we poured water into a jar and put the fish in there, closing it with a lid in which we had previously made holes so that air could flow in. When we arrived home, he asked me to release the fish into the pond that was in our village. So I did.

How did your parents meet?

This was while my father was studying at the Tbilisi Artillery School in Georgia. The father returned home to Chechnya, to his parents. And already at home his relatives found him a bride from a neighboring village. This was the decision of the grandfather, who gave permission to his father to serve in the army only after marriage. Having already gotten married, my father and mother left for the distant Primorsky Territory, where I was born.

What are your earliest childhood memories, and to what period of life do they belong? Where did your family live then?

My first memories come from the time when we lived in the Primorsky Territory. I was about three years old, I remember how we went for a swim at Lake Khanka, which was located not far from where we lived. I remember playing in the sandbox with the neighbor children. Then we moved to Leningrad: my father entered the Military Academy. When he had free time, we always went for a walk around the city, then on a boat ride along the Neva, then to the Hermitage, and to other places in the city. Then we lived in Hungary, I was seven years old then. My father took me with him to military exercises. I remember there were many Chechens in his regiment, so I went with them, either to the barracks, then to the canteen, or to the shooting range. But the most pleasant thing for me was when I found out that my father had received leave and we were going home. I always missed my family and friends. When we came home, I took my cousins ​​with me, and we went fishing, into the forest or swimming on the Terek.

I remembered the time when my grandfather died. We lived in Vilnius then. I remembered how my father was worried that he could not participate in his funeral. He arrived in Chechnya when his father had already been buried. The same thing happened during the “first war”, in 1995, when my grandmother died. At that time our family lived in Grozny. My father was in the mountains at that time and, of course, could not come to the funeral. We were taking her to bury her in the family cemetery, but at the first checkpoint they stopped us, openly threatening us with violence. We had to take her through another checkpoint, where they demanded money from us for travel to the cemetery. This is something I can never forget.

What was the army and military service like for your father?

He devoted his entire life to study: school, then the academy, and then service in the Soviet army. If we talk about the Russian army today, I can say that my father did not even call it an army. Since she, as her father said, completely decomposed, became demoralized and got out of the control of the generals. And it, today's Russian army, is not like the one that existed under the Soviet Union. My father devoted his entire life to military affairs. Wherever he served and whatever regiment he commanded, where Maskhadov was, there was order and discipline. There was no hazing at all in Maskhadov’s regiment. It even happened that the commanders of neighboring regiments were jealous of Maskhadov. But the moment came when this army began to kill its citizens, kill children with sapper shovels in Georgia, crush people with tanks in Baku, then in Lithuania, in Ingushetia. Maskhadov decided to resign so as not to be complicit in this barbarity.

How did A. Maskhadov decide to start working in the government structures of the Chechen Republic in the early 90s? What made him resign from the army and return to Chechnya?

During the tragic events in Lithuania, we lived in Vilnius. I remember the case when my father was ordered to lead an artillery regiment to suppress the Lithuanians who rebelled for their freedom. Then the father, realizing what this would lead to and how shameful it was, did not obey the order of the major general, saying that he would not go kill civilians. Then similar events began to develop in our republic; regiments were stationed around Chechnya, which, by order, were to commit aggression on the territory of our republic. My father retired from the army and returned home to give the entire arsenal of knowledge accumulated at the academy and in the Soviet army to the protection of the land of our ancestors. As he said: “When it’s difficult for your homeland, your people, you have no right to remain on the sidelines, indifferent. Especially if there is a war going on, and you are a military man by profession. In peacetime, a military man eats free bread, and if during a war he goes “into the bushes,” there is no forgiveness for him. We must all stand guard over the honor and dignity of our homeland, because the honor of the homeland is like the honor of a mother, sister, wife. When the homeland loses honor, all men, all people lose honor.”

As I remember today, my father came home from work in the evening and said: “Starting tomorrow you will be next to me.” And so from 1993 to 1999 I was next to him, as an accompanying, assistant.

In 1996 we lived in Grozny. I remember that every night our village was fired at from large-caliber machine guns and small arms from a nearby checkpoint. More than once we had to let them know that we are nearby and they can answer for all our actions. An interesting incident occurred in the center of Grozny. We decided to attack a group of contract soldiers in an infantry fighting vehicle and take trophies. We developed an operation, but the day before we suddenly heard this news. Three teenagers, about twelve years old, approached these contract soldiers and, pointing the already used Mukha grenade launcher at them, disarmed the contract soldiers, after which they successfully left the place. ...In May 1996, a “Bumblebee” flamethrower was fired at our house. Fortunately, the fired charge, although it touched the roof, did not explode. A day or two later we learned that bandits from the GRU group under the command of Kakiev were behind this act. After this incident, my mother went to her parents, and I again went to the mountains, to my father. And so on until the bitter end.

Hope for peace. Until the end of his life, he was sure that no one would be able to conquer the Chechen spirit. Over the course of fifteen years of this barbaric war, which is waged without rules, Chechen fighters have proven that no one can conquer the people and bring them to their knees. Since the start of the war, Russian propagandists have been insisting that there is no unity in the ranks of the Chechen fighters, that Maskhadov almost went abroad, and that there are supposedly a hundred militants left who will be destroyed in a month or two. Much has been said about the fact that there is no one to negotiate with, and if the war is suspended, no one will listen to Maskhadov. They say Basayev and other commanders will not obey Maskhadov’s orders, since they only want to continue the war. But in February 2005, the Kremlin propagandists, these politicians and generals, got into trouble when the President of the ChRI Maskhadov, with one decree, unilaterally stopped military operations on the territory of the ChRI, and all commanders, including Basayev, obeyed this order. The Kremlin benefits from the war that it started, and it was not prepared for such a turn of events. A lot of news appeared on TV screens, reporting that military operations were taking place throughout the territory. It was funny to watch this nonsense. After all, a few days ago they stated that only a hundred militants remained in the mountains, and they would soon be destroyed. The father made an appeal. He emphasized that all units of the Armed Forces of the ChRI suspended hostilities, although there were provocations from Russian forces. He emphasized that he appealed to the instigator of this war, Putin, and demanded that he heed this call and sit down at the negotiating table. But the problem is that when the Chechens offer peace, the Kremlin considers this our weakness. Throughout this war, the Russian side was interested in the Chechen Resistance becoming radicalized, in order to announce to the world: look, so what, we kill civilians, wipe out their villages, but we kill radicals. Maskhadov gave his life without giving them a reason to say that he or his fighters were involved in any terrorist attack. Yes, he admitted that there are avengers who are difficult to stop, who obey Shamil Basayev. But for them, revenge is not the most important thing. Having taken hostages in Nord-Ost or somewhere else, they did not blow up the buildings, but demanded to stop the barbarity against the Chechen people, the murder of women, children, and the elderly. Desperate people demanded peace, and the insane gave orders for the assault, killing their own citizens. Understanding all this, taking into account the fact that the enemy against whom the Chechen people are fighting is merciless not only to the Chechens, but also to his own people, too, Maskhadov hoped only for the will of the Almighty. He knew, as we all know, that the death of Chechen old people, women or children is indifferent to the majority in this world. And Maskhadov’s forecast about the future of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is the forecast of our ancestors, who gave their lives for the right to live freely on their land. We say: “It’s better to die standing than to kneel all your life,” it doesn’t matter when, but what matters is how to live this life and how to die.

In our family, it so happened that everyone has the ability to draw, my father, mother, me and my sister. Even as a child, my father took me with him and drew towers, mountains... I remember we had such a conversation at home, my father and my mother, they decided then that after finishing school I would enter an art academy. But the war turned everything upside down, and I had to follow in my father’s footsteps, go through the war next to him, and after it ended, he told me to go to diplomatic school in Malaysia. The next war began, and I had, according to his instructions, to deal with more serious matters - to resist Russian propaganda, showing and telling the world what was happening to our people. He taught me this too.

What did Maskhadov respect and dislike more in people?

Cowardice, lies, betrayal - this is what he despised. Appreciated and loved - nobility, courage, valor, honesty and justice.

What is the most important thing you learned from your father?

Be patient and be fair.

What were the main personality traits of A. Maskhadov? What qualities helped him in life, and which, in your opinion, harmed him?

Those who knew him well have said enough about this. I know how much he loved his people, and not only his own, but others too. After all, look at his attitude even towards those who kill his people. He never insulted his opponent, although the other side shouted that the entire male population of Chechnya must be destroyed, even destroyed while still in the womb. He was a very reserved, patient and noble man. Therefore, he was always confident and lived this life with his head raised. Although there was deception, lies, injustice both on the part of those around him and on the part of his enemies. He trusted people and forgave them mistakes, and this often turned against him. Lies and deceit from the people who stood next to him harmed him and the ideas and goals that he set for himself. But otherwise, neither I nor our people doubt his human purity, and he proved it. He always managed to find a compromise with everyone, even with his opponent, since he was a very patient and restrained person and knew what this conversation was worth - saving many lives.

I think and hope that I will always live up to his hopes. I will continue to follow my father's path. Thousands of Chechens, including my father, gave their lives along this path, and therefore I have no right not to complete this matter: to put an end to relations with my neighbor - Russia. So I set myself a goal that I must achieve. This is to do what my father gave his life for - to stand for the truth to the end. This is exactly what my father wanted me to do today.

In Norway, with the financial support of the Freedom of Speech organization, Anzor Maskhadov’s book “My Father is the Chechen President” was published in a circulation of three thousand copies. The author of the book, the son of the president of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) Aslan Maskhadov, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about his work in an exclusive interview.

“The idea of ​​writing a book about my father was born to me a long time ago; I wanted to refute the numerous labels that were hung on him, but I didn’t get around to it. After my father was killed in March 2005, I realized: the time has come. It hurts me very much when they say "that he was a terrorist. People don’t know this man from the inside. The book writes about this situation, about this conflict, about what Aslan Maskhadov really was," says Anzor Maskhadov.

“I don’t like it when they say: you are to blame. I wanted to tell about our mistakes and about the mistakes of Russia,” says the author, emphasizing that the book is not only about his father, but also about “a tragedy that affected two people who, because of someone’s ambitions, began to kill each other" - the Chechen conflict.

The book has 26 chapters, each of which is dedicated to a certain stage of Aslan Maskhadov’s life. In the near future, according to the author, it is planned to release two thousand more copies. The publication has so far been printed only in Norwegian, but negotiations are already underway about translation, and the author hopes that by the end of August 2010 the book will be published in Russian and English.

"Live with honor"

“I remember the day when he gave me a machine gun and ammunition and said: “From today you will be with me always and everywhere, and you will know what is happening around us.” In this chapter I talked about my father’s attitude towards the Chechen land and to honor. How highly and important it was for him to value not only his own honor, but also the honor of his land. Here I wrote when and where he died - on his land, with weapons in his hands," says Anzor Maskhadov.

"Family"

According to Caucasian standards, Aslan Maskhadov’s family was small, says the author of the book. “Me, my younger sister, who was born in Hungary, and my father and mother. I wanted to write about the life of Maskhadov the family man, but, one way or another, I had to talk about the war and politics. Although my father was a military man, he looked after after everyone, he really loved to play with children - I still remember this. He was quite strict with me, and had tender fatherly feelings towards my younger sister. Then it offended me a little, but now I myself have two sons and a daughter, and now I understand my father well,” Anzor Maskhadov shares his memories.

According to him, Aslan Maskhadov always and everywhere knew how to behave: at work, at home, with friends. “He was very strict with me, he wanted me to always do the right things: not a step to the left, not a step to the right. When he came home, he immediately went to his mother, she lived next to us with the family of her youngest son (according to Caucasian traditions) , talk, caress. He was such a decent person that he had no income other than his salary, but he helped his family in every possible way,” the interlocutor claims.

Maskhadov Jr. says that when he was a schoolboy, he wanted to be a military man, like his father. “My father said that he would send me to the Suvorov Military School. However, when we returned from Latvia to Chechnya, all plans, all hopes changed - we had to go to fight,” notes Anzor Maskhadov.

"Soviet Army Officer"

In this chapter, Anzor Maskhadov writes that his father was a strict and demanding commander. “Even with his colleagues of equal rank, he did not allow himself familiarity during working hours. He said: “We’ll talk about this after work.” My father was very fond of the film “Officers”. He was respected for his decency and demandingness. He knew how to make friends,” - says Anzor Maskhadov.

Anzor recalls an incident when one of Aslan Maskhadov’s friends was offended by him and did not come to a family celebration, although he was invited. “The father sent his driver and punished: “Don’t come without him!” The driver brought a friend, they talked like a man. The father told him then: “We haven’t talked to each other for a long time. I thought about this for a long time, worried about it, and could not understand: how could this happen?" He did not like conflicts and knew how to be the first to take a step forward. I remember the only episode when my father abruptly cut off officers who spoke unflatteringly about officers from the Caucasus He stopped and gave them a hard time: “What bad can you say about them? I myself am Caucasian! These people give back to their homeland just like you!” recalls the author of the book.

In the early nineties, Aslan Maskhadov decided to leave his service in Lithuania and return to Chechnya. “This was caused by the alarming situation in the republics of the North Caucasus: the Ossetian-Ingush conflict, conflicts in Chechnya. At that time, the Union was a complete mess: those who didn’t want to did not join the army, the soldiers deserted. But my father did everything in accordance with the regulations : he sent a letter to the Moscow command, where he asked for resignation. At first there was a refusal, but his father insisted, and he was allowed. Friends were very sensitive about my father’s decision to leave the service. I still maintain relations with some of them," says Anzor Maskhadov .

"Ichkeria"

The Maskhadov family returned to Chechnya in 1992 “to be close to their people.” “It was clear what pain he had inside. Father met with Dzhokhar Dudayev, whom he had not met before: “I am an artilleryman, I want to stand next to you.” Dudayev appointed his father chief of staff and ordered to build an army, which, according to him, According to him, “he will be able to repel not only the internal opposition (Gantamirov’s and Zavgaev’s groups), but also the main enemy - Russia,” says the author of the book.

According to him, Aslan Maskhadov and Dudayev had exclusively a working relationship, nothing personal. “There were people who whispered to Dudayev: “Maskhadov is from the pro-Russian Nadterechny region, he cannot be trusted” - envious people and sycophants, they were only concerned about snatching a fatter piece for themselves. After Dudayev’s murder, his place was taken by the then vice-president Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, although It was as a result of Operation Jihad, planned and carried out by my father, that peace was achieved,” notes Anzor Maskhadov.

He says that his father spent six months developing this plan, testing the Russian military for combat capability, and in August 1996 he put it into action. "As a result, Grozny was completely blocked. He turned to the Russian generals with a request to take the killed soldiers and bury them humanely. They refused him under the pretext that the Chechen militants wanted to get a break in this way. He fought against another army, and at the same time time he worried about the enemy soldiers. There were cases when he handed over young soldiers-prisoners of war to their mothers,” says Anzor Maskhadov.

"President Maskhadov"

Anzor Maskhadov writes that his father had great authority, both among the military and among the civilian population. “On the eve of 1997, his comrades came to him with the words: “We want to see you as the president of our republic.” My father refused for three reasons: firstly, he did not want to get involved in politics, and secondly, he was well aware of how difficult it would be "restore the republic after the war. And thirdly, he knew that power would begin to be divided, and did not want to participate in it," says Anzor Maskhadov.

According to him, his family supported him in this. “I think that he changed his decision only after he realized that no one else from the Ichkerian side was ready to take on this heavy burden. After he was elected president in January 1997, he became even more demanding, even more strict. We were often threatened, they wanted to take me hostage, my father then said: “If you are taken hostage, I will not make any concessions. You should know this. Therefore, try to be careful." That’s the kind of person he was. I respected and appreciated his principled position,” says Anzor Maskhadov.

“On page 197 of my book, I talked about how in the summer of 2004 - and later, after his death, in 2005, to Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev - FSB officers offered to carry out a large-scale terrorist operation using radioactive substances in several Russian cities. They needed to have such a fact on hand in order to use it against my father, but he refused. I name the names of these people. Their trail leads to Moscow," the interlocutor says.

Many times those who wanted power tried to kill Aslan Maskhadov, Anzor claims. “I am writing that my father was the president of the republic from January 1997 until March 2005, the moment of his death. The elections in which Kadyrov was elected president of the republic, I consider, like many of my compatriots, illegitimate: how can elections be held when war, killing people? The legitimacy of the current government is recognized only by those who are afraid or who benefit from it,” says the interlocutor.

"Father's death"

Anzor Maskhadov writes that his father remained with his people, on his territory, until his last day, while his family left for Azerbaijan. “He was not hiding from anyone. He lived in different places. There was a moment when he lived in Gudermes, about three hundred meters from Kadyrov, who was then very indignant about this: “How is it possible that Maskhadov lives on the next street?” – says Anzor Maskhadov.

“On March 8, 2005, we were invited to visit good Chechen friends. We were talking about the situation at home, suddenly the phone rang: “Anzor, is what they say on TV true?” I felt in my heart that something terrible had happened to my father. I replied: “I haven’t heard anything yet, but I feel that it is so.” I told my family: “Get ready, we are going home,” I didn’t want them to cry in front of strangers,” the interlocutor says.

“Relatives were brought to Khankala, where our father’s body was taken, for identification. The day after his death, we recognized that it was our father,” says Anzor Maskhadov.

He notes that there are several versions of the murder of Aslan Maskhadov. “According to one of them, a bomb was planted in the house where my father lived. There was no bomb there, I am writing about this. Before entering the house, they used poisonous gas, after which shooting began. Then it was attributed to my relative, allegedly, he killed. I have the result of an examination carried out in Rostov. It says that five bullets were counted in my father’s body, which were fired from different directions. It turns out that my relative was running in a circle and shooting at my father? I said with him on the phone, but they don’t ask about such things on the phone,” says Anzor Maskhadov.

He believes that the people loved his father very much. "I remember, during the funeral ceremony in Baku, the old people were crying. Many people came, refugees, Azerbaijanis. The funeral ceremony was held without a body. It was very painful. We were refused and are still being refused to release my father’s body. They call him a terrorist, they tie him up name with "Nord-Ost", with Beslan. This is complete absurdity! Now the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights is considering our complaint, but it is immediately clear that they do not want to interfere in this. Time will put everything in its place, and history will name the heroes, and traitors,” Anzor Maskhadov is sure.

"Afterword"

“About two weeks ago, a good friend came to me and said: “Anzor, I was asked to tell you the following: you will answer for both what you say and what you write.” He did not name this person, but said only that he lives in Moscow,” said Anzor Maskhadov.

Experts have contradictory assessments of the years of Aslan Maskhadov's rule in Chechnya. Thus, columnist for the Vremya Novostey newspaper Ivan Sukhov is convinced that the former president of Ichkeria still has supporters in Chechnya, however, in his opinion, many of the things that the separatists tried to achieve have been implemented by Kadyrov’s government.

Expert and political scientist Timur Muzaev believes that many Chechens had high hopes for Aslan Maskhadov, but he did not live up to them. And Moscow City Duma deputy and special forces veteran Sergei Goncharov is confident that Maskhadov saw Chechnya outside of Russia and was therefore doomed to defeat.

Let us add that since Aslan Maskhadov was accused of terrorism, his body, according to the law on combating terrorism, should have been buried in an unmarked, numbered grave on the territory of some colony. However, anti-war organizations pressed the Russian authorities to release Maskhadov’s remains to relatives for burial. They addressed this demand to the President of the Russian Federation, to the Public Chamber, and repeatedly held pickets. The last such picket took place on March 11 in Moscow on Chistye Prudy near the monument to Alexander Griboyedov. The event was organized by an initiative group consisting of activists of the Anti-War Club and employees of the Memorial human rights center, as well as civil activists who attend the vast majority of street actions in Moscow.