The following review is devoted the development of the situation in the Chechen Republic. The review is carried out within the framework of the project “Development of multi-functional analytical center for democracy and human rights problems” supported by the Ford Foundation.


This issue’s topics:

The prime-minister gives a report on his first 100 day at the office, tells the police to influence the clergy and presents his Ph. D thesis

Abdul Sadulaev, the president of Ichkeria is killed, Doku Umarov is appointed as his successor

Memorial activists visit former secret prison in Chechnya

Execution in Ingushetia

Authorities are trying to move the refugees out of temporary refuge base in Grozny

Three hundred inhabitants of the Chechen village protest against police actions

A note to President Putin, written by Shamil Basaev is published

PACE gives up the idea of preparing a report on human rights situation in Chechnya


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The prime-minister gives a report on his first 100 day at the office, tells the police to influence the clergy and presents his Ph. D thesis

On June 14, the Chechen prime-minister Ramzan Kadurov spoke to the Parliament members reporting on his first 100 days work as the head of Chechen goverment.

“The members of Parliament give Mr. Kadurov “an A+”, - said Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, the head of the lower chamber, after the sitting. - “The most important thing is that we have succeeded in making the Chechen people believe in the power of authorities, we managed to convince people that if the authorities give their word, they will keep it whatever happens”, - added the Speaker.

Several weeks before “the report”, the Chechen people were asked to evaluate the efficiency of Ramzan Kadurov’s work as a prime-minister. The organizer of the survey was the Chechen Ministry of Press, which sent out several thousands of questionnaires.

Many observers believed that the survey, the aim of which was to learn who is the trustworthiest person in Chechen people’s opinion, was of a rather political character. The fact that the survey was announced after a serious conflict between the head of Chechnya and the prime minister in the end of April 2006 supports this concern.


The results of the survey were published on June 14th. 87 % of the people have positively estimated Mr. Kadurov’s work.

On June 16th, Mr. Kadurov conducted a meeting in Gudermes with the heads of regional divisions of Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Chechnya. The prime minister mentioned that he had not been satisfied with the work of some police subdivisions. He gave an order for the police employers to conduct regularly explanatory meetings with the Republic’s clergy. “Those will be very useful meetings, where imams and mullahs will explain to people what the Koran says about vakhabits. Everyone must be quite clear on the fact, that vakhabits are the enemies of all Chechen people!” – empathized Mr. Kadurov. Sultan Mirzoev, the mufti of Chechnya, who was present at the meeting, said that he was ready to help in every possible way.

On June 23, while he was taking a break from a public service, the Chairperson of the Government of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadurov defended his Ph.D thesis in Makhachkala Institute of Business, Management and Law and received a Ph. D in economics. 13 members of the certifying commission were unanimous in gving Mr. Kadurov’s scientific work a high praise. The scholars believe that the dissertation is of practical value.

Mr. Kadurov said that all his scientific developments are based on “practical decisions”, which are made while restoring numerous destroyed objects in Grozny, Gudermes, Argun and other towns and cities. He noted, that he had succeeded in proving that “one can solve the most difficult tasks on economic and social sphere reconstruction in shortest possible time”


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Abdul Sadulaev, the president of Ichkeria is killed, Doku Umarov is appointed as his successor

At about 10 a.m. on June 17th, employers of law enforcement units of the Chechen Republic
killed Abdul-Khalim Abu-Salamovitch Sadulaev (born in 1967, in Argun) the president of Ichkeria, the unrecognized Chechen Republic.

According to the official version, which was voiced by Ramzan Kadurov, Abul Sadulaev was “betrayed” by one of his accomplices for 1500 roubles. The president of unrecognized Ichkeria was supposedly killed during a special operation, carried out by a special task unit of the Chechen Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Federal Security Bureau of Chechen Republic.

Memorial Human Rights Center employers carried out their own investigation and discovered some details about what had happened.

At about 10 a.m. several employers of the Federal Security Service and local militia arrived to ROVD of the city of Argun from Grozny in order to check a suspicious house in the so-called “Indian village” (an area in Argun). The officers entered the yard when people in the house opened fire. One of FSB officers was killed instantly. One of the policemen threw a hand grenade into the house. Firing back, the officers left the yard and called for back up.

Meanwhile, two armed people ran out of the house, stopped a passing car and drove away. According to the driver, who gave them a lift, they saw a lot of military vehicles along the way out of “the Indian Village”. None of the military paid any attention to the civilian car so they left the city without any hindrance set off for the city of Shali.

When the back up arrived to the scene of shooting, they entered the house and found a dead body inside – it was a man, killed because of the hand grenade explosion. He was identified as Abdul Khalim Sadulaev. The ROVD employer, who had thrown the hand grenade into the house, was awarded a Lexus jeep and Stechkin pistol by Ramzan Kadurov.

Thus it is clear that the death of Sadulaev was not a result of some previously planned military action or extensive police operation. There was no “betrayal”, which was announced officially. Sadulaev’s death was an accident as a result of gun battle during the usual check up of a suspicious house.

Doku Umarov was officially appointed the new president of unrecognized Ichkeria Republic. «Because of the death of Ichkeria President Abdul Khalim Saidulaev and in accordance with the article 75 of the Constitution of Ichkeria, vice president Doku Imarov has entered the presidency from June 17, 2006” – says the statement, signed by the head of the president’s administration Ibraghim Mezhidov.

Doku Umarov is a prominent figure, whose influence is considered to be equal to Shamil Basaev’s one. His troop is about 250-300 people. They are divided into smaller units and generally act in the south of Chechnya – in Shatoy and Itum-Kalinsky districts.

Doku Umarov was born on the 13th of April 1964 in the village of Harsenoy of Shatoy district. Holds a degree in construction. During the first Chechen campaign, Umarov was a leader of a battalion of a special force unit “Borz”, which later was reformed into a regiment. Holds a rank of a brigadier of Ichkeria army. In 1997, Aslan Maskhadov appointed him a head of a Security Council of Ichkeria. Umarov held this position till 2005, when he accepted the position of Ichkeria vice-president.

In 2005 the Russian intelligent services spread the information about Umarov’s death. The information turned out to be false. During military operations two of Umarov’s brothers – Musa and Isa – were killed. Many of his friends and relatives were taken hostages. According to some sources, the people who were involved in their abduction were employed by the current Chechen prime minister Ramzan Kadurov.

Doku Umarov is married and has six children, the youngest of which is one month.


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Memorial activists visit former secret prison in Chechnya

On May 29, 30 and 21st, the human rights activists from Memorial center examined a building in the capital of Chechnya where until May 27 headquarters of field task unit of Ministry for Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in Oktyabrsky district in Grozny were located, and before them – Temporary Department of Internal Affairs (VOVD) of that district. According to human rights activists data , people who were arrested or imprisoned were tortured and killed in the basements of those buildings.

The day after the special task unit of ministry for internal affairs of the Russian Federation had left their place of service, the group of construction workers arrived, with a task of demolishing the building. On May 29th former prisoners, relatives of those who had disappeared there, local journalists and photojournalists learnt about the orders to demolish the former prison. Human rights activist from Memorial Natalia Estemirova addressed the administration of Oktyabrsky district, local police headquarters and prosecutors’ office demanding they stop demolishing process. She proposed to send there a group of people qualified for the building examination in order to find possible traces of crimes committed there.

Nevertheless, according to Memorial activists, on May 30th the demolition continued and none of the officials ever came to see the place. Human rights activists, journalists, former prisoner Alavdi Sadukov, relatives of “disappeared” Zelimkhan Murdalov and Sharip Khaisumov and other victims got a chance to examine and to film the basements and the building itself.

In the building of former boarding school and in the gym situated next to it (the offices of investigators and operating officers were situated there) some documents left by policemen were discovered. Among other things, there was a “Photo album of people under special supervision of KM OG VOGO and the Ministry for Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in Oktyabrsky district in Grozny” started on 26. 07. 2002. On the face of the building, as well as on the walls of the prisoners’ cells there were writings made by the employers of VOVD and by people kept in the basements. The writings were filmed and photographed. Memorial employers were filming them on May 29th and 30th.

“Death to militants”, “We’ll help you to die. OMON”, “Russian vodka – fresh breath makes communication easier” – these are the writings on the walls of the building. “ORB-2, you will be damned forever”, “RUBOP, you will pay for everything. We will avenge everything. Inshallah”. “Where am I. What happened. Am I alive or dead. March 27th, 2006” – these are some of the dozens of writings found of the walls of the prisoners’ cells in the basement of the former boarding school.

In the evening of May 29th the Chechen TV broadcasted a newscast about the basements where arrested and prisoners had been kept. Only after this, on May 30th a group of representatives of the local administration, police, prosecutor’s office and a group of sappers arrived to the location. They examined the building and the basements and opened two walled-up rooms. Later in the evening a group of military officers collected the papers, which had been left behind in the building.

The prosecution officials demanded that Memorial hand over the “photo album”, which, according to their words, “may come in useful while investigating the disappearances of people in Oktyabrsky district”. Memorial fulfilled the request. They had also handed in some other documents, which they had found on the premises of the former boarding school.

On the next day, May 31st, it turned out that somebody had destroyed the writings on the walls in the former prisoners’ cells – in all the cells car tires had been set on fire, and the soot covered up the writings. The construction workers, that continued demolition works, said that this could only have happened during the night or early morning.


On June 7th Nurdi Nukhazhiev, human rights commissioner in Chechnya refuted the information concerning the discovery of a secret prison in Grozny where people had been tortured and killed. “I have made an official inquiry to the Prosecutor’s office of the Chechen Republic. An investigation had been conducted. No proofs, that would lead us to the conclusion that people had been tortured and killed was discovered”, - announced Nukhazhiev.

He noted, “because of the fact that the information is not objective, the prosecutor of the Chechen Republic officially addressed one of the mass media requesting official confutation of the previously published information”.

In a week, however, the prosecutor’s office of Chechnya started additional investigation on the cases filed some time ago against the officers of Khantu-Mansiisk OMON, who were suspected in conducting illegal arrests and tortures of detainees. The investigation is connected, first and for most, with the discovery of some documents, found in the basements of Detainee Center in the building of former VOVD in Oktyabrsky district of the city of Grozny.

“It is possible that the new information will shed some light to the investigation of some cases connected with civilians disappearing in Grozny. Mostly this happened from winter 2000 to 2001. The relatives of some missing people believed (and still do) that they could have been arrested by the officers of Oktyabrsky VOVD, after which they had disapeared”, - said a source in the Chechen ministry for internal affairs.

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Execution in Ingushetia

A special operation was carried out in the village of Nesterovskaya of Sunzhen district of Ingushetia republic on May 31. The human rights center “Memorial” believes that , the employers of law-enforcement units publicly executed a person without receiving any court orders.

According to the official data, the law-enforcement officers were following a group of militants that entered Ingushetia from Chechnya. During the special operation in Nesterovskaya three militants were killed and one was taken alive. Law-enforcement officers also lost one person.

None of the officials or mass media reported the fact that the Chechen officers killed a person they had taken prisoner – publicly, without any court sentence, before the eyes of many people from Nesteroskaya and Ingushetia police officers. Nobody also reported the fact that the situation in the village was on the brink of an armed conflict between the policemen from Chechnya and ministry for internal affairs employers of Ingushetia.

On the 31st of May, some of “Memorial” staff visited Nesterovskaya asking many locals about what had happened. The following are the events reconstructed on the basis of the information collected.

The special operation began at about 9.30. Numerous law enforcement officials from Chechnya entered the village on more than 10 cars. They surrounded a house, located at Leonidova Street, 91. The house is occupied by the Khaikharoevs family, who had moved there from the village of Bamut in the Chechen republic. The policemen (according to the official data they belong to the 7th company of special task regiment of ministry for internal affairs of Chechen republic) surrounded the house and entered the backyard. According to unofficial data, the policemen were led by Ibraghim Dadaev.

At that time the house was occupied by its owner, Banati Khaikharoeva, her daughter and daughter in law and her granddaughter and grandson, Rizwan Ruslanovitch Khaikharoev, born 1987. Besides them there were two unknown people, hiding in the yard, who apparently entered the household not long before the operation had began. They were, most likely, the militants, hiding from the police.

The above militants started an armed resistance and seriously wounded one of the policemen. Apparently, he died later. The policemen were forced to retreat, taken their wounded colleague and Rizwan Khaikharoev with them. The latter was tied up and put in the trunk of one of the cars. After that, the part of the house, where the assumed militants were hiding was fired upon from automatic weapons and grenade cup discharges.

As soon as the shooting began, the women escaped the house though the windows and ran out into the streets. They then took shelter in the neighboring houses. The action continued for more than two hours.

According to some eyewitnesses, the Chechen policemen parked the car with Rizwan Khaikharoev in the trunk opposite the house, and fired upon the house, while hiding behind it. The law-enforcement unites of Ingushetia were not notified about the operation and they arrived later. They were, however, forbidden to come near the action field in a very rude way.

The shooting ended in two hours. Some minutes later there was an explosion. Then some more shots were fired but this time there fire was not returned from the house.

By that time the federal law-enforcement units officers and additional policemen from Chechnya arrived to the place of an action. They arrived on APC and fired some shots upon the house.

In this very time Rizwan Khaikharoev was killed. He was dragged from the car trunk and on of the Chechen policemen who had just arrived – he was limping, according to eyewitnesses’ report – shot him in the back of his head. The other policeman fired some shots when Khaikharoev was already lying on the ground. The body was first thrown into the ditch, but later carried into the house and put next to the body of the killed militant.

The murder was committed before the eyes of many Nesterovskaya villagers, who were witnessing the situation. According to their report the local policeman was shocked by his Chechen colleagues’ actions and told them about that, but was hit in the face. The local policemen ran to help their fellow officer. The situation was threatening to grow into an armed conflict. For several minutes, the Chechen and Ingush policemen were holding each other at gunpoint, while holding battle positions. The situation defused after the unit leaders of Ingushetia policemen ordered their subordinates to lower their weapons.

The Chechen policemen left after noon, taking with them Akhiad Alaudinovitch Khaikharoev, born 1975 in Bamut. He was passing by the house number 91 when the special operation had begun. Akhiad’s relatives were not told, where he had been taken.

After noon the people from Sunzhen prosecutor’s office were working on the spot. In order to conduct forensic medical examination, two bodies had been taken: a body of Rizwan Khaikharoev and an unidentified militant. The locals did not see the body of the second militant and according to what they say, if there really were a second militant, he could have escaped. Some witnesses heard, that during the operation, the Chechen policemen were talking in the radio transmitter, that one of the militant had managed to escape.

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Authorities are trying to move the refugees out of temporary refuge base in Grozny

On June 6, in Grozny, the district authorities attempted to forcefully move the refugees from the temporary refuge base (TRB). The refugees however said that should this happen, they will march to Ingushetia and will seek protection from the president Zyazikov. The authorities retreated for the time being.

A day before the above-mentioned events, on June 5th, at about 9 am, officials from Staropromuslovsky district administration and migration service arrived to TRB on Derzhavina Street. They announced that TRB must be disbanded in the shorted possible time, because the building will be used for its original purpose – kindergarten. The officials promised that the refugees would be given the living space in TRBs in other parts of the city. The officials from migration services mentioned, that the situation is not their initiative, but that the district administration has the right to conduct such actions.

The refugees were told to sign “moving agreements”, but not of them however, was given a concrete address of their next place of living. To those, who formerly lived in Staropromuslovsky district, the officials promised to give flats, the number of which varied from 20 to 50. This however was only meant for handicapped, labor veterans and other people of similar categories. The rest was promised to be given land plots and construction materials.
Those who did not live in Staropromuslovsky district were not promised anything, saying that it is up to administrations of other district to take care of them.

Under such conditions the refugees refused to move from one TRB to another.

The head of the Staropromuslovsky district administration Hozhbaudi Estamirov arrived some time later. He gave an order to confiscate a fresh water container from the refugees (the water-pipe system in Grozny does not work, the humanitarian organizations supply the locals with fresh water, by installing a container and filling it up regularly). The refugees surrounded the water container and did not allow confiscating it. Estamirov threatened to call the police.

The final disband of TRB took place from June 30th to July 2nd. Some of the people were sent to the villages, some were placed in other TRBs, some were given flats (with no documents for real estate ownership).

It should be reminded that in the second half of April of the present year, Ramzan Kadurov, the head of Chechen government rather harshly spoke about TRBs. After calling them “nests of prostitution, crime and drugs” he ordered local authorities and law-enforcement units to establish order there. Since then, a special committee was formed, whose aim was to control the observance of norms and regulations of living conditions in TBRs.

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Three hundred inhabitants of the Chechen village protest against police actions

On June 16th, more than 300 people from Serzhen-Urt village of Shalin district conducted a mass meeting lasting many hours demanding the release their fellow villagers. On the previous night Chechen policemen beat up abducted four young people. The villagers maintain that the young people are innocent.

Bek Basanov, head of Chechen department of Ministry of Justice agreed to meet with the villagers. He brought one of the arrested young people with him back to the village and promised to find the others. Later Chechen policemen arrested another person from Serzhen-Urt. His location is unknown.

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A note to President Putin, written by Shamil Basaev is published

On June 29th a note , addressed to President Putin by Shamil Basaev, which contains an offer of negotiations during Beslan tragedy, was published. The note was given to Vladimir Putin via ex-president of Ingushetia Ruslan Aushev and the head of North Ossetia Alexander Dzasokhov. The note was read aloud by Maria Semisunova, a prosecutor, during a court hearing on January 19th, 2006. However, according to the website “Truth about Beslan”, the text that Semisunova was reading did not exactly correspond with the text of the original note.

«From Allah's slave Shamil Basaev to the President of the RF Putin.

Vladimir Putin, you did not start this war. You can, however, finish it, if you, like de Gall, have enough courage and determination.

We offer you peace, which will be favorable for all parties, based on the “Independence in exchange for security” principle. If the Russian army leaves Chechnya and the independence of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is officially acknowledged we promise:

- not to enter any political, military or economic alliances against Russia;
- not to place any foreign military bases on our territory, even on temporary basis;
- not to support (in any way, including financing) any groups or organizations that are engaged in armed conflicts with the Russian Federation;
- to enter the single currency (ruble) zone;
- to enter CIS.

We can also sign Collective Security Agreement, although we would prefer to maintain the neutral state status.

We can make sure that all Russian Muslims will give up armed methods of struggle against the Russian Federation for at least 10 – 15 years, on condition that freedom of religion is maintained (which, by the way, is stated in the Russian Constitution).


We were not involved in houses explosions in Moscow and Voldgodonsk, but we can claim responsibility for them too in acceptable statement.

The Chechen people are involved in national liberation struggle for their freedom and independence, for their self-preservation, but not to destroy Russia or humiliate Russian people. Once we become independent, to have a strong neighbor is in our best interests. We offer you peace and it is you who must make a choice.

Àëëàõó Àêáàð! Signature illegible. Dated August 30th».

In Beslan records there is another note with the terrorists’ demands:

“We demand negotiations … with the republic’s president Dzasokhov, Zyazikov, president of Ingushtia, Rushailo, child doctor. If one of us is killed, we will kill 50 people. If one of us is wounded, we will kill 20 people. If five of us are killed, we will blow everything up. If light is turned off or connection cut off … for a minute, we will kill 10 people”.

Northern Ossetia’s parliamentary committee states, that by the end of the second day none of the prominent federal officials, who are even partially competent in discussing the forwarded demands, came to negotiate with terrorists.

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PACE gives up the idea of preparing a report on human rights situation in Chechnya

On June 26th, on the meeting of Bureau of Parliament Assembly of the Council of Europe, a group of members, headed by Erik Urgense from the Netherlands put forward an initiative on preparing a separate report on the human rights situation in Chechnya. “We voted against because both PACE and the Chechen government are conducting constructive dialog. President Alkhanov has been to France three times this year, where he conducted negotiations and met PACE representatives”- said Kosachev.

According to him, an article on Chechnya can be included into a big report on monitoring of Russia’s obligations to the Council of Europe, which is presented once in two years. “The next report can be expected next summer”, - concludes Kosachev.

As a result, PACE decided not to prepare a report on human rights situation in Chechnya.

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