Kadyrov Foe Yamadayev Slain in Dubai
Sulim Yamadayev, a former Moscow-backed strongman and member of a clan that challenged Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s authority, was shot dead in Dubai on Saturday in an apparent assassination.
Dubai police chief Dalfan Tamim said in a statement Sunday that a 36-year-old Chechen man was gunned in the parking lot of the apartment building where he was living.
Sergei Krasnogor, Russia's consul in Dubai, told Reuters on Monday that relatives of the victim had confirmed that it was Yamadayev, former commander of the elite Vostok battalion in Chechnya, who was killed in the attack.
"I just received confirmation from the Dubai police that he was killed," Krasnogor said, Reuters reported. "We haven't alone seen any papers or a passport yet."
Police sources said Yamadayev was shot as he walked to his car parked at the luxury Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai Marina, the Abu Dhabi daily newspaper The National reported on its web site.
Dubai authorities attempted to detain a Russian citizen in bond with the attack, but the suspect was able to flee, Kommersant reported Monday.
The chief ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, is to arrive in Moscow on Monday on call from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and will meet with President Dmitry Medvedev, the Kremlin press service said.
Yamadayev and his brothers Ruslan and Badrudi headed a powerful clan that had a falling out with Kadyrov after enjoying warm relations with Kadyrov's father, former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, who was assassinated in Grozny in 2004.
Ruslan Yamadayev, a former State Duma deputy from Chechnya and member of its United Russia faction, was gunned down in central Moscow in September. It is unclear whether any suspects have been detained in connecting with his slaying.
Sulim Yamadayev is the fifth Chechen exile killed abroad over the past six months in apparent assassinations. Three former rebels were killed in Turkey, while another was shot dead on the streets of Vienna, Austria, where he has received political asylum.
Like the Kadyrovs, Yamadayev and his brothers initially supported Chechnya's sovereignty from Russia in the 1990s. They fought against federal troops during the first Chechen war but switched sides during the second military campaign and supported Kremlin efforts to end Chechnya's de facto self-direction.
With Akhmad Kadyrov, the Yamadayevs arranged for their bastion — the Chechen city of Gudermes — to be taken over by federal troops without a fight. In return, a grateful Kremlin allowed the Yamadayevs to use their commandos to form the elite Vostok battalion under the auspices of the Defense Ministry.
Both Sulim and Ruslan Yamadayev were awarded Hero of Russia medals for fighting with federal forces against Chechen rebels.
Sulim was made commander of Vostok, while Ruslan was elected to the State Duma on the pro-Kremlin United Russia ticket in 2003. He was not re-elected in December 2007 in what insiders said was a sign that Chechen authorities no longer wanted him in such a high-profile post.
The Yamadayevs were believed to be the only political and military force in Chechnya capable of acting independently of Kadyrov, who became president in February 2007.
A standoff between the two clans culminated in April 2008 when a Vostok convoy failed to yield to Kadyrov's motorcade. A furious Kadyrov also afterward ordered a crackdown on the Yamadayevs.
Chechen prosecutors opened an quest into Sulim Yamadayev on murder charges, and he was later put on a wanted list. Kadyrov's press service distributed a flurry of statements accusing the brothers of organizing extrajudicial killings, torture, extortions and kidnapping. Among the allegations, the brothers were accused of raiding a St. Petersburg company owned by a Chechen businessman and then kidnapping his relatives.
Sulim Yamadayev had lain low ever since the conflict with Kadyrov and was believed to have been living in Moscow for several months.
His killing would hardly mark a change in the Chechen political landscape dominated by Kadyrov, who stood to gain little from this death, said Nikolai Silayev, a Caucasus analyst with the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
"But this murder could be a warm revenge by any of Yamadayev's enemies, and he had plenty of them," Silayev said.
Kadyrov's efforts to undercut the clan, however, did not stop Sulim Yamadayev from commanding the Vostok battalion during Russia's military operation to push Georgian troops out of South Ossetia in early August. He even granted interviews to the Russian media in South Ossetia.
Shortly after the Georgian war, he was fired from the Vostok battalion, but his arrest warrant was also canceled by Chechen prosecutors.
Dubai police chief Dalfan Tamim said in a statement Sunday that a 36-year-old Chechen man was gunned in the parking lot of the apartment building where he was living.
Sergei Krasnogor, Russia's consul in Dubai, told Reuters on Monday that relatives of the victim had confirmed that it was Yamadayev, former commander of the elite Vostok battalion in Chechnya, who was killed in the attack.
"I just received confirmation from the Dubai police that he was killed," Krasnogor said, Reuters reported. "We haven't alone seen any papers or a passport yet."
Police sources said Yamadayev was shot as he walked to his car parked at the luxury Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai Marina, the Abu Dhabi daily newspaper The National reported on its web site.
Dubai authorities attempted to detain a Russian citizen in bond with the attack, but the suspect was able to flee, Kommersant reported Monday.
The chief ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, is to arrive in Moscow on Monday on call from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and will meet with President Dmitry Medvedev, the Kremlin press service said.
Yamadayev and his brothers Ruslan and Badrudi headed a powerful clan that had a falling out with Kadyrov after enjoying warm relations with Kadyrov's father, former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, who was assassinated in Grozny in 2004.
Ruslan Yamadayev, a former State Duma deputy from Chechnya and member of its United Russia faction, was gunned down in central Moscow in September. It is unclear whether any suspects have been detained in connecting with his slaying.
Sulim Yamadayev is the fifth Chechen exile killed abroad over the past six months in apparent assassinations. Three former rebels were killed in Turkey, while another was shot dead on the streets of Vienna, Austria, where he has received political asylum.
Like the Kadyrovs, Yamadayev and his brothers initially supported Chechnya's sovereignty from Russia in the 1990s. They fought against federal troops during the first Chechen war but switched sides during the second military campaign and supported Kremlin efforts to end Chechnya's de facto self-direction.
With Akhmad Kadyrov, the Yamadayevs arranged for their bastion — the Chechen city of Gudermes — to be taken over by federal troops without a fight. In return, a grateful Kremlin allowed the Yamadayevs to use their commandos to form the elite Vostok battalion under the auspices of the Defense Ministry.
Both Sulim and Ruslan Yamadayev were awarded Hero of Russia medals for fighting with federal forces against Chechen rebels.
Sulim was made commander of Vostok, while Ruslan was elected to the State Duma on the pro-Kremlin United Russia ticket in 2003. He was not re-elected in December 2007 in what insiders said was a sign that Chechen authorities no longer wanted him in such a high-profile post.
The Yamadayevs were believed to be the only political and military force in Chechnya capable of acting independently of Kadyrov, who became president in February 2007.
A standoff between the two clans culminated in April 2008 when a Vostok convoy failed to yield to Kadyrov's motorcade. A furious Kadyrov also afterward ordered a crackdown on the Yamadayevs.
Chechen prosecutors opened an quest into Sulim Yamadayev on murder charges, and he was later put on a wanted list. Kadyrov's press service distributed a flurry of statements accusing the brothers of organizing extrajudicial killings, torture, extortions and kidnapping. Among the allegations, the brothers were accused of raiding a St. Petersburg company owned by a Chechen businessman and then kidnapping his relatives.
Sulim Yamadayev had lain low ever since the conflict with Kadyrov and was believed to have been living in Moscow for several months.
His killing would hardly mark a change in the Chechen political landscape dominated by Kadyrov, who stood to gain little from this death, said Nikolai Silayev, a Caucasus analyst with the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
"But this murder could be a warm revenge by any of Yamadayev's enemies, and he had plenty of them," Silayev said.
Kadyrov's efforts to undercut the clan, however, did not stop Sulim Yamadayev from commanding the Vostok battalion during Russia's military operation to push Georgian troops out of South Ossetia in early August. He even granted interviews to the Russian media in South Ossetia.
Shortly after the Georgian war, he was fired from the Vostok battalion, but his arrest warrant was also canceled by Chechen prosecutors.
