General Galaev. Ruslan Gelayev. Decline of fame and life

Biography

Pre-war biography

Gelayev’s cruelty became known when residents of Abkhazia identified him on television as the leader of the bandits and contacted Russian peacekeepers’ checkpoints about this. In 1995, in response to the bombing, Shatoya executed captured military pilots by throwing them into a quarry.

First Chechen War

Participant in both Chechen wars. Since 1993, he commanded the special forces regiment "Borz". In May 1995, he headed the Shatoi defense sector.

Colonel General, Hero of Russia Gennady Troshev, in his memoirs, mentions an interesting episode that, according to him, took place:

To the east of the Gelayevites, on the left bank of the Argun, near the village of Duba-Yurt, in the summer of 1995, paratroopers from Novorossiysk were stationed. At one of the meetings, their senior commander, Lieutenant Colonel Yegorov, challenged the militants to a competition - to perform a forced march of several kilometers through the mountains in full gear. Gelayev accepted the challenge. Then I really regretted it. The Blue Berets left no chance for the militants, outplaying them in all respects. Therefore, Gelayev did not really want to fight with the paratroopers, and under various pretexts he evaded combat operations.

- Gennady Troshev. "My war. Chechen diary of a trench general", memoirs, book

In January 1996, he was appointed commander of the Southwestern Sector of the Armed Forces of the ChRI. On April 16, 1996, together with Khattab, he set up an ambush near the village of Yarysh-Mardy in the Argun Gorge, which was hit by a column of federal troops of the Moscow Military District. 76 soldiers were killed and 54 were wounded.

Today, the FSB officially announced the death of the most famous of the Chechen field commanders, Ruslan (Khamzat) Gelayev. As the head of the organization's Public Relations Center, Sergei Ignatchenko, said, yesterday the body of the "Black Angel" was identified by members of his group - by scars on the body and personal belongings.

Reports of Gelayev's death have appeared in the press several times in recent years - and each time they were subsequently refuted by the Russian military themselves. However, now we can finally put an end to the biography of this “outstanding figure”.

Let us recall that Gelayev led, which in December walked around the Tsuntinsky region of Dagestan, robbing civilians and capturing their villages. In addition, they killed ten fighters of the border detachment. The operation to neutralize this group lasted two weeks. During it, information appeared that Gelayev was at the head of an international detachment of militants, but the command of the Russian troops did not confirm it.

According to the testimony of captured militants, Gelayev was indeed among them, but immediately after the execution of the border guards he left the gang. For more than two months he hid in an abandoned hut, and last Saturday he decided to leave the territory of Dagestan and go to his base in Georgia.

Two of his accomplices (they are now wanted) took the commander by car to the Chaekha gorge, leading to the Georgian border. Then he walked alone. But he was not destined to get to his native Pankisi Gorge: on the way Gelayev met a squad of two border guards - A. Kurbanov and M. Suleymanov.

The “Black Angel” was the first to open fire with a machine gun, killing Suleymanov on the spot and seriously wounding his comrade. However, Kurbanov, gathering his last strength, shot at Gelayev, crushing his left hand. After this, the militant, bleeding, tried to continue on his way, but he no longer had the strength. To stop the bleeding, Gelayev himself cut off his wounded hand and tied the stump with a tourniquet. Then he tried to refresh himself: he ate a dry packet of instant coffee, opened it and bit into a chocolate bar. With it in the hand of the field commander, death found him.

All the details of the tragedy that took place in the mountains were read by police officers from footprints in the snow after the bodies of its participants were discovered. Gelayev’s corpse was taken to Makhachkala, where his identity was finally established during a forensic examination and identification by former comrades under arrest.

Ruslan Gelayev was born in 1964 in the village of Komsomolskoye, Urus-Martan district of Chechnya. Over the course of 30 years, he had three convictions, and after the collapse of the USSR he joined the separatists, in particular, he participated in the Abkhaz conflict. In 1996, he was already a well-known commander; up to a thousand Chechen fighters fought under his command. In 1997-1998 he held high positions in the government of independent Ichkeria. The last major battle led by Gelayev was the capture of his native village in March 2000.

On March 1, in Makhachkala, captured militants identified the corpse of perhaps the most authoritative of the Chechen field commanders, Ruslan (Khamzat) Gelayev. The famous militant was eliminated not by GRU special forces or the FSB, but by two young border guards who accidentally met him near his native village.

Details of Gelayev’s death are described today, March 2, on the pages of Kommersant. According to the publication, on February 28, a bodyguard and a shepherd took R. Gelayev by car to the lower reaches of the Chaekha gorge, which runs from the village of Bezhta to the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia. There the Black Angel (call sign Gelayev) was left alone. Having said goodbye to his accomplices, he moved up the gorge. Having lost his entire army during an unsuccessful Dagestan raid, the commander decided to leave through the passes to the main base in the Pankisi Gorge, where his wives, children and numerous other relatives still live. From Pankissi, we recall, the field commander organized most of his forays, gathering for them detachments of volunteers from almost all over the CIS.

However, this time Gelayev was unable to return to the gorge that had already become his home. As they say in the police department of the village of Bezhta, at the same time two 22-year-old local residents, privates Abdulkhalik Kurbanov and Mukhtar Suleymanov, were walking down Chayekha. After serving emergency duty at a small border outpost that didn’t even have a name, the guys remained to guard the border under a contract. Since the outpost is located only ten kilometers from their home village, the contract soldiers could afford to run home from time to time - get some food, meet girlfriends, and sometimes spend the night on the weekend. This was the case last Saturday. Abdulkhalik Kurbanov, who got married just a couple of months ago, decided to visit his wife, and Mukhtar Suleymanov, who was still unmarried, went to see off his friend.

Perhaps even an experienced border guard would not recognize Khamzat (the Muslim name of Ruslan Gelayev) in the man walking towards him. A scraggly beard, black Adidas sweatpants with elongated knees, a frayed Alaskan jacket, knee-length rubber boots and a knitted cap made him look more like a homeless person than a formidable field commander.

How events developed further will now never be possible to establish. Most likely, one of the border guards called out or tried to check the documents of the oncoming person - in response, machine gun fire rang out. The fire was almost point-blank - apparently, Gelayev hid a short-barreled Kalashnikov assault rifle under his jacket until the last moment, so both border guards immediately fell, bleeding profusely. Private Suleymanov was killed on the spot by a bullet that hit him in the head. Abdulkhalik Kurbanov, wounded in the chest, managed to shoot back. His bullets shattered Gelayev’s left elbow and practically tore off his arm. But the wounded militant was not stopped. As Dagestani policemen say, the death of Private Kurbanov also occurred from a bullet wound to the head - Gelayev finished him off with two shots at point-blank range. And he shot while holding a machine gun in one hand.

However, the Black Angel himself did not have long to live. The footprints in the snow eloquently testified to how the field commander spent the last minutes of his life.

Immediately after the execution of the border guards, Gelayev rushed up the gorge, but ran only about fifty meters - his strength melted away with every step, as blood gushed from the commander’s hand. Gelayev fought for his life to the last. Judging by the pool of blood, he stopped, cut off his left hand and threw it into the snow along with the knife. Then he took a rubber tourniquet from the field first aid kit, applied it to the bleeding stump, took a few more steps, fell, and stood up again. He walked another half hundred meters and stopped again. He pulled out a can of instant Nescafe from his pocket and chewed the powder, apparently hoping that it would give him strength. Then he took out and bit into a bar of Alenka chocolate.

The field commander crawled on all fours the last meters towards the Georgian border. He died in this position with a chocolate clenched in his fist. His body was found by police officers who went to search for the border guards who had not reached their native village.

Citizenship: Russia

The main stages of the biography

He worked in Grozny at an oil depot, in charge of the distribution of petroleum products.

In 1992 - 93 together with Shamil Basayev he fought in Abkhazia.

Under Dzhokhar Dudayev, he commanded the “presidential” special forces regiment; he was entrusted with guarding the “special zone” around oil plants in Grozny.

During the first Chechen war - field commander in the western regions of Chechnya.

In 1995, in response to the bombing, Shatoya executed captured military pilots by throwing them into a quarry.

On May 27, 1995, Gelayev’s people shot Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Zryadniy and Senior Lieutenant Yuri Galkin in the village of Kharsenoy. In total, by Gelayev’s decision, 8 people were killed.

In March 1996, he led a raid on Grozny (the capture of the city lasted 3 days). Leaving the Chechen capital, Gelayev took more than 100 civilians hostage.

After Khasavyurt (1996), Gelayev made the hajj to Mecca and took the Arabic name Khamzat.

With the support of Salman Raduev, he created the organization "Movement of Patriotic Forces", which was in opposition to Maskhadov.

Since April 1997 - Deputy Prime Minister of Ichkeria.

Since January 1998 - Minister of Defense.

On July 28, 1999, he was appointed first deputy prime minister of the Chechen government (he was tasked with overseeing the security forces).

During the second Chechen war (1999) - he headed the northwestern front of the defense of the republic, then the southwestern sector of the defense of Grozny, and then became the head of the defense of the entire capital.

In March 2000, he led the defense of the village of Komsomolskoye, where he lost about 1,200 of his “fighters.” He declared jihad against Baraev because he did not send reinforcements to the Komsomol. Soon after this, reports began to appear in the media about armed clashes between Barayevites and Gelayevites: in July 2000, there was a battle in the region of the village of Shalazhi, and earlier there was a skirmish between militants in the suburb of Grozny Chernorechye - about 40 “fighters” were killed.

At the end of 2000, information appeared that Gelayev had withdrawn from active hostilities and was seeking contact with the Kadyrov administration.

According to the FSB, since April 2001, Gelayev, together with his detachment (about 500 militants), has been in Georgia.

According to Georgian special services, Gelayev and his squad are in Ingushetia.

Gelayev left Georgia twice: in 2001 it ended with the defeat of militants in Abkhazia, in 2002 - in Ingushetia.

On November 9, 2001, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office sent a demand to Georgia to extradite Gelayev. Tbilisi claims that Gelayev is not on Georgian territory.

In May 2002, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ichkeria.

Third-party assessments, characteristics

In May 2001, on ORT, Russian Presidential Aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky showed an episode of a video message from Shamil Basayev to Ruslan Gelayev, who was allegedly in Georgia, made at the end of winter - early spring of this year and which fell into the possession of the Russian special services. According to the video letter, Basayev says that he and Khattab prepared a plan to confront federal forces for the spring-summer period, purchased one and a half thousand grenade launcher shells, and a lot of ammunition. .. Basayev asks Gelayev to help with the purchase of Strela missile systems and anti-tank guided missiles. It becomes clear, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes, that the figure of Gelayev, who came into conflict with almost all the leaders of the gangs after the crushing defeat in Komsomolskoye, cannot be underestimated and he remains one of the most influential separatist leaders. (“Nezavisimaya Gazeta”, May 2001)

At the end of 2000, information appeared that Gelayev had withdrawn from active hostilities and was seeking contact with the Kadyrov administration. Indeed, Kommersant writes, Gelayev’s voluntary surrender would mean a complete moral victory over the militants, since they have no other such authoritative commander and ideological fighter. The rest are either Wahhabis, whom few people like in the republic, or simply bandits. Gelayev is respected in Chechnya.

Gelayev became one of the most popular Chechen leaders and at the same time stood out favorably from many of his “colleagues”, who also had considerable weight in Chechnya. If, for example, Basayev and Raduev were not so much respected (although at first they were very popular), but rather feared or, at best, forcedly tolerated, then Gelayev was a truly authoritative figure. He was not involved in terrorist attacks or kidnappings, and in general, his interests were far from war. After the first Chechen campaign, he devoted himself entirely to religion and said that he would take up arms only in the face of a new external danger. (“Kommersant”, 2000)

In August 2000, Brigadier General Dalkhan Khozhaev was killed in Chechnya. He commanded Ruslan Gelayev’s special-purpose brigade and, they say, was extremely devoted to him... The Chechens decided that the murder was a blow to Gelayev himself... The feds believe that Khozhaev was dealt with by Baraev’s people... Everyone knows that Gelayev and Barayev are old enemies. The other day, for example, their troops clashed in the mountains near the village of Shalazhi - even mortars were used. The losses, however, were not very great: seven people were killed and about a dozen were wounded. But it is possible that among those killed were people close to Barayev. So perhaps Khozhaev’s death is revenge. (“Kommersant”, 2000)

One of the most merciless field commanders. As a rule, he did not take prisoners. During the Abkhazian war (1992 - 1993), he personally cut the throats of 24 captured Georgians when his comrades refused to shoot them. Gelayev’s cruelty became known when residents of Abkhazia identified him on television as the leader of the bandits and contacted Russian peacekeepers’ checkpoints about this. In 1995, in response to the bombing, Shatoya executed captured military pilots by throwing them into a quarry. Twice he and his squad flew to training bases in Pakistan. The detachment of Ruslan Gelayev, along with the “Abkhaz battalion” of Shamil Basayev, is considered one of the most combat-ready units in the armed forces of Ichkeria. (Izvestia, 1999)

Gelayev is known as one of the opponents of Wahhabism, and therefore could not find a common language with many field commanders. After fierce fighting in the village of Komsomolskoye in March last year, where he lost about 1,200 of his fighters, the leader managed to get into Ingushetia. Relations with the Wahhabis finally deteriorated after he vowed to take revenge on Barayev. The latter, despite sworn assurances, never sent help to the militants surrounded in Komsomolskoye. Today the attitude towards Gelayev is not entirely clear. At the end of last year, information appeared that this field commander was actively seeking contact with the new administration of Chechnya. Akhmad Kadyrov actually went to Ingushetia for negotiations with several of Gelayev’s subordinates. Maskhadov, in his address to the militants, even branded Gelayev a disgrace and once again demoted him. The fact that negotiations with Gelayev are possible was hinted at by Viktor Kazantsev’s office. But the plenipotentiary himself denied these allegations a few days later. It is likely that there is some kind of agreement between Gelayev and representatives of Akhmad Kadyrov. Perhaps the field commander was simply persuaded to retire. This may explain the seclusion of the “general” in the mountains of Georgia. (“Utro.ru”, January 2001)

According to Russian intelligence, it was Gelayev who was appointed as a kind of curator of the operation to transfer mercenaries from Arab countries to Chechnya. According to operatives, the Afghan Taliban are providing him with special assistance in this. (“Time MN”, 1999)

Introducing the first deputy prime minister (1999), Maskhadov said that “the general will lead the fight against crime in Chechnya and stable criminal groups.” Gelayev’s powers also included the fight against corruption in the highest echelons of power. With the arrival of Ruslan Gelayev to his new position, Aslan Maskhadov, as his press secretary noted, “hopes to turn the tide in the fight against crime and especially oil kidnappings and drug trafficking.” (RIA Novosti, 1999)

Additional Information

After Komsomolsky, Gelayev acquired an aura of some kind of mystical holiness. Ordinary Chechens imagined him as an incorruptible and honest Mujahideen defending the independence of his homeland. The Chechens leading the republic also considered the field commander a fighter for the idea and called him the most desirable figure in the ranks of their supporters. (Kommersant-Vlast magazine, 2002)

Unlike other field commanders, Gelayev never killed Chechens. Even traitors. In Komsomolskoye, when several militants came to him and said that they wanted to surrender, he replied: “Everyone who wants to, let them go and surrender. The most faithful remain with me, and we declare jihad.”

Gelayev quickly became friends with people, but stayed only with those he needed. He, for example, became friends with Salman Raduev at the time of the latter’s active social activities, and together with him organized the “Movement of Patriotic Forces” in opposition to Maskhadov. But within six months he quarreled with Raduev and, at Maskhadov’s suggestion, became Deputy Prime Minister of Ichkeria, and in 1998 - Minister of Defense. Soon after this, he met Arbi Barayev, already a well-known slave trader and drug dealer. They say that Gelayev did not approve of Barayev’s “business,” but as a field commander with combat experience, he trusted him.

After Gelayev was abandoned in Komsomolskoye, Barayev’s bandits were the first to suffer in the internecine squabbles at the hands of the Gelayevites. Then Gelayev, as it now turns out, hid for a long time in Ingushetia and in May 2000 moved to the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia. In a short time, he managed to unite quite a lot of small Chechen field commanders under his banners and create real competition for the gangs of Basayev, Maskhadov and the then still living Khattab. This competition boiled down to intercepting drug trafficking channels, arms sales, and the delivery of foreign financial assistance. (“Rossiyskaya Gazeta”, 2002)

The wounded Ruslan Gelayev spent the entire past winter, together with 13 guards, in the house of a shepherd named Mechiauri in the Pianetsky region of Georgia. According to local residents, Gelayev and his armed detachment are still in the forests of the Pianetsky district (near the Pankisi Gorge). Back on November 9, 2001, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office sent a demand to Georgia for the extradition of Gelayev. Tbilisi claims that Gelayev is not on Georgian territory. According to the Russian military, Ruslan Gelayev’s gangs are preparing to break into Russian territory on the Chechen section of the Georgian-Russian border. The militants, in groups of 30 people, dispersed along the border, and Gelayev himself and his headquarters are located in one of the villages of the Pankisi Gorge, about 10 km from the border. According to available data, the total number of Gelayev’s detachments is 250-280 people. (“Nezavisimaya Gazeta”, 2002)