Ruslan Gelayev | |
|---|---|
Руслан Гелаев | |
 | |
| Prime Minister of Ichkeria | |
| In office 1 January 1997 – February 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Aslan Maskhadov |
| Succeeded by | Aslan Maskhadov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 April 1964 Komsomolskoye (Saadi-Kotar), Chechen–Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union |
| Died | 28 February 2004 (aged 39) Near Bezhta, Republic of Dagestan, North Caucasus |
| Awards |  Qoman Siy (1995) |
| Nickname | Black Angel |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Confederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus Abkhazia Chechen Republic of Ichkeria |
| Years of service | 1992–1993 (Abkhazia) 1993–2004 (Chechnya) |
| Rank | Brigadier General (demoted in 2000) |
| Commands | Borz ("Gelayev's spetsnaz") Sharia Guard |
| Battles/wars | War in Abkhazia First Chechen War Second Chechen War 2001 Kodori crisis |
Ruslan (Khamzat) Germanovich Gelayev[1] (Russian: Руслан Германович Гелаев; Chechen: ГелаевгӀер Герман-воъ Руслан, romanized: Gelaevher German-vo' Ruslan) was a prominent commander in the Chechen resistance movement against Russia, in which he played a significant, yet controversial, military and political role in the 1990s and early 2000s. Gelayev was commonly viewed as an abrek and a well-respected, ruthless fighter.[2] His operations spread well beyond the borders of Chechnya and even outside the Russian Federation and into Georgia. He was killed while leading a raid into the Russian Republic of Dagestan in 2004.
- ^ His name is also often transliterated as "Khamzat" and "Gelaev".
- ^ Milestones, TIME, Mar. 08, 2004