Aslan Maskhadov

Biography

Aslan Maskhadov was the most professionally capable military leader the Chechen separatist movement produced. A former Soviet Army colonel and artillery officer, he brought disciplined military thinking to the Chechen defense, coordinating the resistance during both Battles of Grozny and masterminding the 1996 Operation Jihad that retook the capital and forced Russia to the negotiating table. His combination of tactical brilliance and political pragmatism made him the natural leader of independent Chechnya: he won the January 1997 presidential election with 59% of the vote in polling international observers called free and fair. Maskhadov's presidency was a nightmare of attempted governance in a ruined, lawless republic. He opposed terrorism and repeatedly condemned Basayev's hostage operations, but lacked the power to stop them. When Putin launched the Second War in 1999, Maskhadov retreated into the mountains and led the insurgency, maintaining until his death that he sought negotiated independence, not perpetual war. Russia branded him a terrorist and refused to negotiate. He was killed on March 8, 2005, when Russian FSB forces tracked him to a bunker in Tolstoy-Yurt and detonated explosives at its entrance.

Key Battles