Ruslan Yamadayev

{{Family name hatnote|Bekmirzayevich|Yamadayev|lang=Eastern Slavic}}

{{Infobox military person

|name=Ruslan Yamadayev

|native_name=Руслан Ямадаев

|native_name_lang=rus

|image=Ruslan Yamadayev 2004.jpg

|image_size=190

|caption= Ruslan Yamadayev after receiving the Hero of the Russian Federation award in 2004.

|birth_date={{birth date|1961|12|10|df=y}}

|death_date={{death date and age|2008|9|24|1961|12|10|df=y}}

|birth_place=Gudermes, Chechen-Ingush ASSR, USSR

|death_place=Moscow, Russia

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|branch=

|serviceyears=

|rank=Colonel

|unit=

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|awards=22px Hero of the Nation
File:Flag of Russia.svg Hero of the Russian Federation

|relations=

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}}

Ruslan (Khalid or Halid){{cite news|title=Sulim Goes to Chechnya to Bury Brother Despite Potential Trap|url=http://www.kommersant.com/p1031553/Yamadaev_Sulim_bury/|access-date=30 December 2012|newspaper=Kommersant|date=26 September 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330170829/http://www.kommersant.com/p1031553/Yamadaev_Sulim_bury/|archive-date=30 March 2012}} Bekmirzayevich Yamadayev ({{langx|ru|Руслан (Халид) Бекмирзаевич Ямадаев}}) (10 December 1961 – 24 September 2008) was a Chechen military leader and politician. A member of the high-profile Yamadayev family, he was assassinated in Moscow in 2008.[https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE48N65A20080924 Prominent Chechen gunned down in Moscow], Reuters, 24 September 2008
- {{cite news |url=http://www.france24.com/en/20080924-ex-lawmaker-powerful-chechen-clan-murdered-moscow |title=Ex-lawmaker from powerful Chechen clan murdered in Moscow |work=France 24 |date=24 September 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925161545/http://www.france24.com/en/20080924-ex-lawmaker-powerful-chechen-clan-murdered-moscow |archivedate=25 September 2008 }}
- {{cite news |url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/371176.htm |title=Yamadayev Shot Dead in City Center |work=The Moscow Times |date=25 September 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929061526/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/371176.htm |archivedate=29 September 2008 }}
- [http://www.theotherrussia.org/2008/09/25/powerful-chechen-clan-leader-killed-in-moscow/ "Powerful Chechen Clan Leader Killed in Moscow"], The Other Russia, 25 September 2008
- [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/24/AR2008092403001.html?nav=rss_world "Chechen Politician, a Former Rebel Leader, Is Slain in Moscow"], The Washington Post, 25 September 2008 He was one of Kremlin's most loyal allies.{{cite news|last=Are|first=Dzhambulat|title=Death of a hero|url=http://www.watchdog.cz/?show=000000-000004-000001-000241&lang=1|access-date=30 December 2012|newspaper=Prague Watchdog|date=30 September 2008}}

Biography

Ruslan Yamadayev belonged to the Gudermes-based Chechen Benoi teip. Along with his brothers Sulim Yamadayev and Dzhabrail Yamadayev, he fought against the Russian forces during the First Chechen War before turning to Russia's side in 1999.{{cite news|title=Speculation Swirls After Kadyrov Rival Is Slain in Russian Capital|url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/59879/speculation-swirls-after-kadyrov-rival-is-slain-in-russian-capital.html|access-date=30 December 2012|newspaper=The Journal of Turkish Weekly|date=26 September 2008|agency=RFE/RL|location=Moscow}}

For his struggle against the separatists in the Second Chechen War, Yamadayev was promoted to the rank of colonel and granted the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. From 2003 to 2007, he was a deputy to the State Duma from Chechnya. In 2004, he was nominated for the Chechen presidency.[http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/newstext/engnews/id/670512.html "Ruslan Yamadayev nominated for Chechen presidency"], Memorial, 1 June 2004
- [http://www.ancentr.ru/data/media/arch_media_1152.html?print "Ruslan Yamadayev Claims to Take Chechnya President Post"], gazeta, 1 June 2004 He and his brothers ran several businesses, including a car market, a construction company, and a concrete factory, in Chechnya.{{cite news|title=Sulim Yamadayev hopes that Ramzan Kadyrov did not kill his brother|url=http://www.kavkaz.tv/eng/content/2008/09/29/10191.shtml|access-date=30 December 2012|newspaper=Kavkaz Center|date=29 September 2008}}

Murder

On 24 September 2008, Ruslan Yamadayev was assassinated on Smolenskaya Embankment in central Moscow near the Russian White House{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/2008/09/24_a_2842014.shtml Руслан Ямадаев убит под окнами Белого дома], Gazeta.ru, 24 September 2008 when returning from a meeting in the Kremlin.[http://www.kommersant.com/p-13290/Ruslan_Yamadaev_kill_Kremlin_Chechnya/ Yamadaev Killed After Important Meeting in Kremlin] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928222750/http://www.kommersant.com/p-13290/Ruslan_Yamadaev_kill_Kremlin_Chechnya/ |date=28 September 2008 }}, Kommersant, 25 September 2008 He was shot ten times while sitting in a car owned by his brother Sulim Yamadayev. Initially, it was reported the name of the victim as Sulim, which was corrected later.[http://eng.kavkaz-uzel.ru/newstext/engnews/id/1229566.html In Moscow, ex-deputy of State Duma Ruslan Yamadaev was murdered, not his brother Sulim], Memorial, 24 September 2008 The other victim of the shooting, the former military commandant of Chechnya and retired Colonel General Sergei Kizyun, was hospitalized in grave condition.{{cite news|title=Chechnya's President Lost the Best Enemy|url=http://www.kommersant.com/p1031140/r_527/Kadyrov_Yamadaev_killed/|access-date=30 December 2012|newspaper=Kommersant|date=25 September 2008}} The Russian police launched a criminal case on charges of murder and attempted murder.{{cn|date=April 2023}}

The pro-Moscow president of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov who had, in the months prior to the assassination, engaged in a bitter rivalry with the Yamadayevs[http://www.sptimesrussia.com/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=25733 "Tensions In Chechnya Boil Over"], The St. Petersburg Times, 18 April 2008
- {{cite web |url=http://www.jamestown.org/chechnya_weekly/article.php?articleid=2374114 |title=Yamadaev vs. Kadyrov: The Kremlin's Quandary with Chechnya |publisher=The Jamestown Foundation |date=17 April 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928195404/http://www.jamestown.org/chechnya_weekly/article.php?articleid=2374114 |archivedate=28 September 2008 }} denied accusations of being behind the killing,{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/25/russia.chechnya |title=Chechen president denies link to former Russian MP's assassination |work=The Guardian |date=25 September 2008}} and suggested that he fell victim of a blood feud.{{cite news |url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/371229.htm |title=Kadyrov Says Killing Tied to Blood Feud |work=The Moscow Times |date=26 September 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929061531/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/371229.htm |archivedate=29 September 2008 }} Sulim Yamadayev also accused Kadyrov[http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LP112576.htm "Rival accuses pro-Kremlin Chechen leader of murder"], Reuters, 25 September 2008 and promised to take revenge.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/world/europe/26briefs-CHECHENVOWST_BRF.html |title=Russia: Chechen Vows to Avenge Killing |work=The New York Times |date=5 September 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410130034/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/world/europe/26briefs-CHECHENVOWST_BRF.html |archivedate=10 April 2009 }} He also denied the Kadyrov's claims, saying that his brother did not have any blood feud or business clashes that could have caused his assassination.

Aftermath

Sulim himself was reported killed on 29 March 2009 in Dubai.{{cite news |url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/375769.htm |title=Kadyrov Foe Sulim Yamadayev Slain in Dubai |work=The Moscow Times |date=30 March 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090402042721/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/600/42/375769.htm |archivedate=2 April 2009 }}

In April 2009, a court in Moscow convicted two Chechens of the assassination of Yamadayev. Aslanbek Dadayev, Yamadayev's murderer, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment and Elimpasha Khatsuev, who drove the car, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.{{cite news|title=Moscow court convicts 2 Chechen natives of Ruslan Yamadayev's murder|url=http://en.ria.ru/russia/20101018/160996448.html|access-date=30 December 2012|newspaper=Ria Novoski|date=18 October 2010}}