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The Search for Peace in Chechnya: A Sourcebook 1994-1996
Key Actors in the Chechen Conflict
March, 1997
Chechens, Russians, and Westerners
Yaragi Abdulaev: Candidate for President of Chechnya in the January 27, 1997 elections. Abalaev was formerly Deputy Foreign Minister in Zelimkhan Yandarbiev's government and is now part of Aslan Maskhadov's negotiation team with Russia.
Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev: Chechen field commander. Abdulkhadzhiev is a close ally of Shamil Basaev, and was in charge of the defense of the village of Argun in 1995. Abdulkhadzhiev was an important force in the south of the republic.
Said-Hasan Abumuslimov: The former Vice President of Chechnya under Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, who also served in a number of positions under Dzhokhar Dudaev. He has worked closely with Aslan Maskhadov and was one of the chief Chechen negotiators during the war. He continues in that role in the ongoing peace process.
Zalman Akbulatov: Chairman of the Chechen Central Election Commission. He was the signatory of the October 1991 electoral results for Dzhokhar Dudaev's election as President of Chechnya and has remained in his position since then.
Daud Akhmadov: Senior field commander. Akhmadov has frequently threatened to bring the war in Chechnya to the Russian heartland.
Ruslan Alikhadzhiev: Speaker of the new Chechen Parliament, elected on March 17, 1996. Alikhadzhiev, a Chechen field commander, is also a member of the Chechen National Independence Party and an economist by training.
Isa Alleroev: Representative in Moscow of former Chechen leader, Doku Zavgaev. He asserted throughout the conflict that the war could only be solved by negotiations with all the warring factions.
Kharon Amirkhanov: Deputy Prime Minister in the pro-Moscow Chechen government until his resignation in September 1996.
Vakha Arsanov: Vice President of Chechnya, elected along with Aslan Maskhadov in the January 27, 1997 presidential elections in Chechnya. Arsanov withdrew his presidential candidacy in the weeks before the election to become Maskhadov's running mate. Arsanov is the former commander of the North-Western front, and was active in negotiations with Russia. He served in the Chechen parliament until its dissolution by Dudaev in 1993. Arsanov was charged with kidnapping in the days before the election by acting Chechen President Zelimkhan Yandarbiev.
Isa Astamirov: Minister of the Economy of Chechnya, appointed by Aslan Maskhadov on March 19, 1997. During the conflict, Astamirov was a field commander of the Southwestern front.
Umar Avturkhanov: Head of the Chechen Provisional Council in the Nadterechny district. Avturkhanov formerly served in the Soviet Interior Ministry forces in Chechnya as part of the Transcaucasian Military District. He was backed by Russian forces in an attempt to overthrow Dudaev in early 1994. In 1995, Avturkhanov was appointed Head of the Chechen National Accord Committee, but was later removed by Chernomyrdin. In October 1995 he was offered the post of Russian tax police Deputy Chairman.
Shamil Basaev: Candidate to the post of President of Chechnya in the January 1997 elections, receiving 23.5% of the vote. Having served in the Soviet Army, Basaev was a field commander during the war and a supporter of Dudaev. Basaev was the leader of the assault on the Russian town of Budennovsk in June 1995. Noted for wearing a green satin Islamic headband, he was seen by the Russians as a close adherent of Islam, viewing the Chechen struggle as a "jihad" or "Holy War" (Gazavat in Chechen). However, Basaev emerged as one of the most moderate of all the other leading presidential candidates in the January 1997 elections, rejecting Shariat law and the creation of an Islamic state in Chechnya in interviews. He was quoted in Argumenty I Fakty (January 14-21, 1997) as stating that Chechnya could work within certain frameworks of the CIS and Russia with common defense, monetary and economic systems. He viewed Chechnya as having a "common house with Russia but with their own apartment." He supports independence, but feels that both states can come to an agreement, and that the focus must now be on helping the people of Chechnya to rebuild their lives and nation. He is one of the most popular folk heroes of modern Chechnya. A native of the Vedensky region in the mountains of Chechnya, his great-great-great grandfather was a deputy to Imam Shamil in the 19th century Caucasian Wars, and another great grandfather was killed fighting the Bolsheviks in the 1920s.
Shamil Benno: Social Security Minister in Chechnya's coalition government. A Chechen born in Jordan, Benno was Dudaev's first Foreign Minister after 1991. He resigned in protest at Dudaev's mishandling of Chechen politics and external relations and joined the civilian opposition. Benno later started to drift back toward Dudaev in the light of increasing Russian brutality in the war.
Khusein Biybulatov: First Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen coalition government, responsible for financial and economic issues. On October 14, 1996, Biybulatov was appointed as the Chechen co-chair of the Russian-Chechen Joint Commission for a Settlement in Chechnya.
Abdulla Bugaev: First Deputy Prime Minister in Zavgaev's pro-Moscow Chechen government. Bugaev criticized the Russian military for excessive use of force in operations in March 1996.
Ruslan Chimaev: Foreign Minister of Chechnya under Zelimkahn Yandarbiev. He first worked in the Chechen Foreign Ministry under Dudaev in 1993.
Akhmed Dakaev: Internal Affairs Ministry Chief of Staff in Chechnya's pro-Moscow government. Dakaev was in charge of Doku Zavgaev's militia.
Adam Deneyev: Chairman of the "For the National Rebirth of the Chechen People and Chechnya" movement.
Dzhokhar Dudaev: The leader of the Chechen independence drive until his death in April 1996. A General in the Soviet army, Dudaev commanded a division of Soviet strategic bombers near Tartu, Estonia from 1987 to 1990. In the wake of a mounting drive for Estonian independence, Dudaev showed support toward the Estonian nationalists and refused to carry out the orders of the Soviet government to shut down Estonian television and the Parliament. Dudaev retired from the Soviet military in 1991, and quickly became the leader of the All National Congress of the Chechen People, taking an active role in Chechnya's independence movement. Dudaev was elected Chechen president in October 1991 with 90% of the vote. The following month, on November 1, 1991, Dudaev unilaterally declared Chechnya's secession from the Russian Federation, following on from the Congress of the Chechen People's declaration of sovereignty in September 1991. This was confirmed by the Chechen Parliament on November 2, 1991 and on November 27, the Congress of the Chechen People adopted a formal Declaration of Independence. Dudaev led the Chechen resistance after Russian forces invaded in late 1994. He was killed in April 1996 in a Russian rocket attack on the village of Gekhi-chu, and is now viewed by many Chechens as a martyr for independence and symbol of legitimacy. In his honor, the city of Grozny was renamed Dzhokhar-Ghala.
Badruddin Dzhamalkhanov: Deputy Prime Minister of the pro-Moscow Chechen government.
Magomed Dzhanaev: Dudaev field commander in Bamut--an ammunitions center for Chechen forces in an old Soviet missile base and underground network of silos.
Gersolt Elmuraev: Deputy Prime Minister in charge of social issues in Chechnya's coalition government, formed in accordance with the Khasavyurt accords. Elmuraev formerly served as the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen-Ingush ASSR.
Beslan Gantimerov: Head of a Chechen faction opposed to Dudaev since 1993. Gantimerov served as Mayor of Grozny until he was ousted by Dudaev. He was appointed to the Chechen government under Salambek Khadzhiev by Moscow in 1995. Gantimerov controlled his own 300-strong militia, with a base in the northern town of Urus-Martan. He has spoken out against the peace process, and was suspected of planning the bomb attack on Lobov (see above) to derail the negotiations. Gantimerov is a former Soviet Interior Ministry soldier.
Sultan Geliskhanov: Head of the Chechen Security Service under Dudaev and a key field commander.
Ruslan Gilaev: Former field commander and supporter of Dudaev. Gilaev was in charge of the operation against Grozny in March 1996, which was carried out on Dudaev's orders. He claims that they struck non-aggression deals with the Russian units encircling the city to gain access and that 50% of the Russian military forces around Grozny offered no resistance. Gilaev replaced Maskhadov as interim Prime Minister on January 2, 1997, after Maskhadov stepped down to run for President.
Akhyad Idigov: Chechen Parliamentary Chairman.
Vakha Ibragimov: Formerly the Trade Minister of Chechnya and a close supporter of Dudaev during the war. He survived the April 1996 missile attack which killed Dudaev and others, despite reports that he was also killed and buried. Ibragimov then became one of Basaev's chief advisors in the January 1997 presidential campaign.
Usman Imaev: Former Prosecutor General of Chechnya in the early part of the war and then head Chechen peace negotiator. Imaev was removed from his post by Dudaev in July 1995 for a variety of reasons, including Russian press reports that he was tied to Russian intelligence, and reports to Dudaev that he may have acted in bad faith to members of both negotiating teams and was too conciliatory toward the Russian side.
Khunkar Israpilov: Chechen field commander who assisted Salman Raduev in breaking through the Russian blockade at Pervomaiskoye.
Aslambek Kadiev: A former university professor in economics and political science as well as a member of Dudaev's Foreign Ministry before the war, he became Dudaev's special representative to The Hague and Europe. He was Chechen envoy to the Conference of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) at the Hague in January 1995, although Dudaev later withdrew Chechnya's association with this group. In February 1995, Kadiev spoke before the UN in Geneva as special representative of the President of Chechnya, and in August 1995, he made a statement about the war in Chechnya to the UN Commission on Human Rights' Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities.
Salambek Khadzhiev: Former USSR oil and petrochemical industry minister. Khadzhiev was appointed Prime Minister of Chechnya by Moscow in February 1995, and later replaced by Zavgaev in May 1995. He is now Chairman of the Russian State Committee on Industrial Policy. Originally from the Shali region, Khadzhiev was educated at the Grozny Oil and Gas Institute, and received his PhD in chemistry from Moscow University.
Oumar Khambiev: Minister of Public Health Services of Chechnya.
Alaudi Khamzatov: Opposition field commander.
Ruslan Khasbulatov: Former Speaker of the pre-1993 Russian Parliament until the Parliament's run-in with Yeltsin in October of that year. Khasbulatov, an ethnic Chechen, returned to Chechnya in 1994 as a leader of the opposition to Dudaev. Currently, he heads the Chechen political party, "For the Revival of the Republic," which is popular in the northern districts of Chechnya. He also led a consultative body under acting President Zelimkhan Yandarbiev. While active in Chechen politics, he refused to run in the December 1995 Parliamentary elections, which he judged to be "fixed," and also pulled out of the January 1997 Presidential elections. He has center of support in home village region of Tolstoi-Yurt about 20 km from Grozny. During the conflict, Khasbulatov was a frequent commentator on Russia's mishandling of the war and its brutal treatment of the republic.
Nikolai Koshman: Russian General and Prime Minister of the pro-Moscow Chechen government, appointed by Moscow in April 1996, apparently without consulting Doku Zavgaev.
Ruslan Kutaev: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of CIS Affairs in Chechnya's interim government. Kutaev was fired by Yandarbiev in January 1997 for actively supporting Maskhadov for President in the upcoming elections.
Ruslan Labazanov: Head of a Chechen opposition faction. Born in Kazakhstan, Labazanov was a physical training instructor in the Soviet Army and is a martial arts expert. In 1990 he was convicted of murder in Rostov and spent time in jail. For a while he was the head of Dudaev's personal security guard, before switching to the opposition at the head of his own paramilitary unit. Labazanov has reputation as a vicious and corrupt fighter who will change sides quickly if the price is right.
Salambek Maigov: Candidate for President of Chechnya in the January 27, 1997 elections. Maigov was Economics Minister in Chechnya's coalition government, formed in accordance with the Khasavyurt Accords. He serves as co-chairman of the Coordinating Council on Chechnya's Socio-Political Organizations, and is chairman of the Russian "Bashlam" Movement, which is comprised of members of the Chechen and Ingush diaspora in the Russian Federation.
Kazbek Makhashev: Interior Minister of Chechnya under both Yandarbiev's interim coalition government and Aslan Maskhadov's government. He is also part of Maskhadov's negotiation team.
Yaragi Mamodaev: Former Chechen Prime Minister and head of Parliament, before he was ousted by Dudaev in 1993. Born in Kazakhstan, Mamodaev completed his education in Grozny Oil and Gas Institute and then served in Soviet Oil and Gas Ministry.
Aslan Maskhadov: Elected President of Chechnya in the January 27, 1997 elections with 59.3% of the vote. Maskhadov served as Prime Minister of the coalition government in Chechnya from October 17, 1996. He currently serves as both President, Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the military (in place of a Defense Minister). Formerly, he was Chief of Staff of Chechnya's armed forces and the chief Chechen negotiator in the conflict under Dudaev and Yandarbiev. Maskhadov, along with Alexander Lebed, negotiated the Khasavyurt agreement ending the Chechen conflict on August 25, 1996. Maskhadov is from the Nadterechny district (a long-term seat of anti-Dudaev opposition) but distanced himself sharply from opposition forces there. During the conflict, he saw peace among the Chechens as more important than peace with Russia and viewed the civil war between Chechen factions as having been imposed by Moscow. He was publicly opposed to terrorism and the acts of Basaev and Raduev (although he saw the former in private as a "Hero of Chechnya"). He seems to command the respect of both Russians and Chechens but has received threats from radical Chechens regarding his more conciliatory stance. Maskhadov is a former Soviet Army Colonel who was chief of the rocket and artillery forces in Vilnius, Lithuania before 1991. He returned to Chechnya in 1992 when Dudaev called on all Chechen officers to participate in building a Chechen military out of a mass of volunteers.
Zaindi Movlatov: Candidate for President of Chechnya in the January 27, 1997 elections.
Abu Movsaev: Chief of the State Security Department of Chechnya under Yandarbiev and also Maskhadov.
Khozhakhmed Noukhaev: First Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya's coalition government under Yandarbiev.
Salman Raduev: Chechen field commander from the Gudermes region with a history of engaging in terrorist acts. In January 1996, Raduev led a group of militants in occupying a hospital in Kizlyar, Dagestan, taking 3000 people hostage before releasing most. Upon their escape from Kizlyar, Raduev's group was stopped by Federal troops in the Dagestani village of Pervomaiskoye. Raduev and his militants took more hostages and provoked a stand-off with Russia that culminated in the Russian bombardment of the settlement. Raduev has since threatened to conduct a bombing campaign against Russian railways and three Russian cities, if Russia does not recognize Chechen independence. On December 14, 1996, Raduev took 22 Russian policemen hostage, releasing them four days later. Raduev is related to Dudaev by marriage. After April 1996, he claimed that Dudaev was still alive, which would make the results of the January 1997 presidential election invalid. Raduev has recently inferred that Dudaev is dead when he made public threats against Russian cities to mark the forthcoming first anniversary of Dudaev's assassination in April 1997.
Khavazh Sagbiev: General prosecutor in the coalition government of Chechnya.
Mumadi Saidaev: Chairman of Chechnya's Central Electoral Commission.
Yousef Shamseddin: Ethnic Chechen from Jordan, and erstwhile Foreign Minister in Dudaev's government. He remained outside Chechnya for three years representing Chechnya's interests in the Arab world and Turkey, but was in continual rifts with Dudaev. Spending most of his time in Turkey, Shamseddin resigned from his position in late February 1996, partly under pressure from the Turkish government, and partly as a result of disagreements with Dudaev over strategy and Dudaev's own pressure for him to resign.
Yusup Soslambekov: Candidate for President of Chechnya in the January 27, 1997 elections. Soslambekov is Chairman of the Confederation of Peoples of the Caucasus (formerly called the Confederation of Mountain Peoples.) Soslambekov was also the head of the Chechen Parliament disbanded by Russia in 1991.
Ibraghim Suleimenov: Chechen opposition field commander. Suleimenov was elected to the Russian State Duma in December 1995 as part of the "Our Home is Russia" faction.
Anatoly Taranov: Interior Minister of the pro-Moscow Chechen government.
Vagap Tutakov: Representative of Chechnya's parliament and a deputy field commander for the Chechen southwestern front. Previously, Tutakov was a personal advisor and official spokesman for Dudaev, based in Moscow.
Movladi Udugov: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Policy Issues under Maskhadov. He is also head of the Chechen Government Commission negotiating "inter-state" relations with Russia and has been an active participant in the peace process since Summer 1996. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of the interim Chechen government under Yandarbiev until December 27, 1996. Before the war Udugov was an information minister and educator and became the press spokesman for Dudaev in the early years of the conflict. He was later made the general spokesman in charge of updating the international press on events. Udugov was a candidate for President of Chechnya in the January 27, 1997 elections and campaigned for the creation of an Islamic state. While his diplomatic skills are welcomed by Moscow, his radical and uncompromising support for Chechen independence is also a problem for the Kremlin. Udugov's negotiating team on the Chechen Government Commission consists of: Khozhakhmed Yarikhanov (deputy head), Yaragi Abdulaev, Akhmed Zakaev, Kazbek Makhadev and Said-Hasan Abumuslimov.
Yunadi Usamov: Deputy Prime Minister in the pro-Moscow Chechen government.
Najmuddin Uvaisaev: Chairman of the National Bank of Chechnya.
Mayerbek Vachagaev: Aslan Maskhadov's official spokesman and formerly an official in Dudaev's Foreign Ministry.
Zelimkhan Yandarbiev: Candidate for President of Chechnya in the January 27, 1997 elections, receiving 10.1% of the vote. Yandarbiev had been acting Chechen President and head of the interim Chechen coalition government since the death of Dzhokhar Dudaev in April 1996. A writer and nationalist ideologue, Yandarbiev previously served as Vice-President of Chechnya--appointed by Dudaev in recognition of his early contributions to the independence movement. In May 1990, Yandarbiev founded the pro-independence Vainakh Democratic Party, which, along with the Congress of Chechen Peoples, set up the provisional government in Chechnya in September 1991, after forcing the pro-Moscow government of Doku Zavgaev to resign. Formerly, Yandarbiev was a member of the USSR Writer's Union, and worked as a consultant in literature in the Chechen-Ingush Union of Writers.
Khozhakhmed Yarikhanov: Chief Chechen negotiator in the summer 1995 peace talks, after Dudaev's dismissal of Imaev, and one of Dudaev's main field commanders. Currently, Yarikhanov is President of Chechnya's Southern Oil Company --"Yunko"--and serves on the Chechen negotiation team with Movladi Udugov.
Sharip Yusupov: Official Chechen representative for President Maskhadov in Moscow.
Vakha Zagaev: Deputy Prime Minister in the pro-Moscow Chechen government. Zagaev resigned from his post in September 1996.
Akhmed Zakaev: National Security Advisor and Minister of Culture in Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov's government. Zakaev was National Security Advisor to acting Chechen President Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, and candidate for President of Chechnya in the January 27, 1997 elections. Formerly, Zakaev was the commander of Chechen separatist forces in the southwest of the republic. He now serves on Movladi Udugov's negotiating team with the Russian Federation.
Doku Zavgaev: Former Soviet head of Chechnya, ousted by Dudaev in 1991. Zavgaev was appointed by Moscow to head the Chechen government in May 1995, and later elected by the Chechen Supreme Soviet to the post of Prime Minister, and then Head of State, in October and November 1995. However, his authority was extremely limited. By one group of Chechens Zavgaev was seen as a traitor, collaborator and enemy, and by others as someone trying to save his people from genocide by making a pact with the devil. Throughout his tenure, he was reported to be under the direct supervision of Yeltsin's representative in the republic. After the January 1997 Presidential elections, Zavgaev lost his seat in the Russian Federation Council. After two months of silence, Zavgaev was reported to have called on all Chechens to support President Maskhadov in a press conference in Moscow on March 17, 1997.
Rizvan Zukhairaev: Chechen Security Council Spokesman.
Ramazan Abdulatipov: From Dagestan, a Deputy of the Russian State Duma. In 1995, he was elected in a single-mandate district as the co-chairman of the "Russian Regions" group. Abdulatipov is a member of the Duma Committee on Federation Affairs and Regional Policy, and Chairman of the Commission for returning hostages and finding those missing in action in Chechnya ("The Commission for Freeing the Forcibly Detained"). Formerly, Abdulatipov served as Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council.
(Gen. ret.) Ruslan Aushev: President of Ingushetia, elected in February 1993 and reelected in March 1994. Aushev also serves as deputy of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. He was opposed to the war in Chechnya but also opposed to Chechnya's standoff with Moscow. During the Chechen conflict, Aushev remained chiefly concerned with preventing the spread of the war onto the territory of Ingushetia, but he also presented himself as a mediator on different occasions, capitalizing on the close relationship he had established with Dudaev. Aushev is a former Afghan veteran and "Hero of the Soviet Union."
Mikhail Barsukov: Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) from July 19, 1995 until June 20, 1996. Formerly assigned to Kremlin security under Gorbachev and then head of Kremlin Security under Yeltsin. Barsukov was in charge of the anti-terrorist operation during the hostage crisis in Pervomaiskoye, but failed to negotiate the release of the hostages.
Yuri Baturin: President Yeltsin's National Security Advisor from January 6, 1994 to June 1996. In July 1996, Baturin was appointed Secretary of the newly created Defense Council, which implements decisions of the Security Council and helps to draft military policies.
Boris Berezovsky: Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council, appointed on October 29, 1996, and a prominent Russian businessman. Berezovsky's duties include continuing the peace process after the dismissal of Alexander Lebed, and working toward the economic reconstruction of Chechnya.
Konstantin Borovoi: Duma Deputy, businessman, founder of Moscow commodities exchange and member of Abdulatipov's commission--assigned to head up the commission's mission in the South of Chechnya. In March 1996 Borovoi put forward a proposal in the Duma to give amnesty to Dudaev and asserted that only negotiations with Dudaev would solve the conflict. The State Duma defeated the proposal.
Viktor Chernomyrdin: Russian Prime Minister. Opposed to the war in Chechnya, Prime Minister Chernomyrdin headed one of four commissions taxed with finding a solution to the conflict. He succeeded in negotiating the end of the hostage crisis in Budennovsk in June 1995. In March 1996 Chernomyrdin's press secretary laid the blame for the brutal activities of the Russian military in Chechen villages on the Defense and Interior Ministries which are directly subordinate to the President and not the Prime Minister, and stressed Chernomyrdin's preference for a negotiated solution.
(Gen.) Pavel Grachev: Russian Defense Minister until June 1996. Grachev was in charge of the Defense Ministry forces in Chechnya, and is widely believed to have persuaded Yeltsin to launch Russia's military intervention in the republic in December 1994.
(Gen.) Boris Gromov: Former Deputy Defense Minister. Gromov's public opposition to Russia's military intervention in Chechnya led to his removal in February 1995. In December 1995, Gromov was elected to the Russian State Duma.
Stanislav Kavun: Deputy commander of the Russian Interior Ministry troops.
Sergei Kharlamov: Deputy National Security Council Secretary until October 29, 1996. Kharlamov was part of the joint Russian-Chechen commission set up under the Khasavyurt agreement to coordinate the reconstruction of Chechnya in the interim before new elections in early 1997.
Valery Kokov: President of Kabardino-Balkaria, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council, and one of Security Council Secretary Ivan Rybkin's deputies in the Federal Joint Commission on Chechnya charged with developing a power-sharing agreement between the Russian Federation and Chechnya. Kokov faces a separatist movement himself in his republic. In November 1996, the Balkar People's Congress declared Balkaria a sovereign republic within the Russian Federation, marking the culmination of several years of disagreement between the Balkar minority and Kabardinian majority in the republic.
Nikolai Kovalev: Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB). Kovalev was appointed on June 20, 1996 after the dismissal of Mikhail Barsukov. He formerly served as Deputy Director of the FSB with responsibility for economic counter-intelligence.
Sergei Kovalev: Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Human Rights until his resignation on January 23, 1996. Since 1990, Kovalev also served as the head of the Russian delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva and Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation. Kovalev was removed from his post as human rights commissioner by the State Duma on March 10, 1995. As Human Rights Commissioner, Kovalev was an activist for a peaceful settlement of war in Chechnya and condemned the many human rights violations during the conflict. In his numerous extended stays in the region, Kovalev provided detailed accounts of civilian casualties and monitored the plight of civilians and conscripts in the war.
General Anatoly Kulikov: Minister of Internal Affairs since July 1995, and a commander of the Russian military campaign in Chechnya since February 1995. During the conflict, Kulikov was also a member of the Russian negotiating team. Kulikov was in charge of the botched anti-terrorist operation in Pervomaiskoye in January 1996 along with Mikhail Barsukov, Director of the FSB. This operation failed to release all of the hostages, destroyed the village and allowed the leader of the hostage-takers, Salman Raduev, to escape. In a bitter dispute with Security Council Secretary, Alexander Lebed, throughout the summer and fall of 1996, Kulikov was blamed for mishandling and prolonging the war in Chechnya. Kulikov was instrumental in Lebed's dismissal as Security Council Secretary. On February 4, 1997, Kulikov was promoted by President Yeltsin to the post of Deputy Prime Minister, in charge of the Tax Police, the Customs Service, and economic security. He retains his position as Interior Minister, in addition.
Georgy Kurin: Permanent representative of the Russian Federal Government in Chechnya, appointed in November 1996.
Lt. Gen. Anatoly Kvashnin: Commander of the North Caucasian Military District, in charge of Russian Interior Ministry troops in Chechnya.
(Gen. ret.) Alexander Lebed: Controversial Russian Presidential candidate, who served as Secretary of the Security Council and Presidential Security Advisor from June to October 17, 1996. Outspoken in his position against the war in Chechnya, Lebed succeeded in bringing about a negotiated settlement to the conflict. The accords, signed in Khasavyurt on August 25, 1996 after several weeks of intensive negotiations with Chechen commander Aslan Maskhadov, postponed for five years a decision on the status of Chechnya.
Oleg Lobov: Secretary of the Russian Security Council from September 1993 to June 1996, and chief representative of President Boris Yeltsin to Chechnya from August 1995. Lobov was the target of a bomb attack in Chechnya in Fall 1995. He was in favor of a more moderate approach toward the conflict and for promoting the reconstruction of the republic in a serious manner.
Yuri Luzhkov: Extremely popular but also controversial Mayor of Moscow and one of a small group of Russian political figures emerging as contenders for the post of Russian President after Boris Yeltsin. In 1992-1993, the Moscow city authorities cracked down on vendors and traders from the Caucasus, blaming them for the rise of crime in the capital. After August 1996, Luzhkov emerged as a harsh critic of the Khasavyurt accord brokered by Alexander Lebed. More recently, Luzhkov has become more active in the peace process and has advocated letting Chechnya go.
Leonid Mayorov: Russian Security Council Deputy Secretary, appointed on October 29, 1996. Mayorov was formerly First Deputy Commander of the CIS armed forces.
Victor Medveditskov: Russian Presidential Envoy in Chechnya and Security Council Deputy Secretary.
Vyacheslav Mikhailov: Russian Nationalities Minister since July 1995, replacing Sergei Shakhrai. (In March 1996, the Ministry of Nationalities and Regional Policy was renamed as the Ministry of Nationalities and Federal Affairs, and Mikhailov was reconfirmed as Minister.) During the conflict, Mikhailov, along with Arkady Volsky, was a leader of the Russian delegation at talks with Chechens. In October 1996, Mikhailov was appointed to a new joint Russian-Chechen government commission charged with conducting negotiations with the Chechen leadership.
(Lt. Gen.) Alexander Naumov: Commander of Russian Defense Ministry forces in Chechnya.
General Andrei Nikolaev: Head of the Russian Border Guards from December 30, 1994. Nikolaev offered his resignation to Yeltsin as a result of the hostage crisis at Pervomaiskoye in Dagestan, but was retained in his position. He was a member of the Chernomyrdin Commission on a settlement for Chechnya.
Emil Pain: Presidential Advisor on Chechnya. Pain is also a member of the Presidential Council, heading the working group on regional and inter-ethnic problems, and Deputy Director of Inter-ethnic and CIS Problems at the Presidential Analytical Center. He was a member of Chernomyrdin's State Commission for Resolving the Chechen conflict, which was disbanded after the appointment of Russian Security Council Secretary, Alexander Lebed, as Yeltsin's envoy to Chechnya.
(Lt. Gen.) Konstantin Pulikovsky: Acting commander of Russian troops in Chechnya from July 1996 until the return of General Tikhomirov in August, and Deputy Commander of the Northern Caucasian Military District for Emergency Issues.
(Lt. Gen. ret.) Lev Rokhlin: Russian commander in Chechnya from December 1994 to February 1995. Currently, Rokhlin is a member of the Russian State Duma and Chairman of the Duma Defense Committee. After leaving Chechnya he called on the Russian government to negotiate an end to the military campaign.
(Lt. Gen.) Anatoly Romanov: One of Russia's senior Interior Ministry commanders. Romanov was commander of Russian Federal Forces in Chechnya until he was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in October 1995.
Ivan Rybkin: Security Council Secretary since October 19, 1996, replacing Alexander Lebed. In February 1997, Rybkin was appointed head of a commission charged with developing a power-sharing agreement between the Russian federal government and Chechnya.
Nikolai Semyonov: Appointed Governor of Chechnya by Moscow in February 1995.
(Lt. Gen.) Vladimir Semyonov: Commander of the Russian ground forces until his dismissal in December 1996. Semyonov commanded the ground troops in Chechnya.
Mintimer Shaimiev: President of Tatarstan and one of the most respected regional leaders in the Russian Federation. Early in the conflict, Shaimiev emerged as one of the most dedicated proponents of a negotiated settlement, based on his own experiences of working out a new post-Soviet relationship between Tatarstan and the Russian Federation. In 1992, Tatarstan, along with Chechnya, refused to sign the new Federal Treaty delimiting powers between the federal government and the regions and republics. However, in February 1994, Tatarstan signed the first bilateral treaty on "Mutual Delimitation and Delegation of Authority" with Moscow--focusing primarily on economic issues and leaving the contentious question of the republic's ultimate status with the Federation in abeyance. Shaimiev has since been an advocate of the "Tatarstan model" in resolving disputes between the center and the regions, and emerged in 1995-1996 as an active mediator in the evolving Chechen-Russian peace process.
Sergei Shakhrai: Former Russian Minister for Nationality and Regional Policy, architect of the Russian Constitution and of the "Tatarstan model" for regulating relations between the Russian Federation and its units. Erstwhile head of administration for the Ossetian-Ingush conflict zone in 1992, where he had a confrontation with Dudaev. Shakhrai was an advocate of removing Dudaev from Chechnya and reinstating former Chechen leader, Doku Zavgaev, prior to the Fall of 1994. He serves as Chairman of the Commission on Separation of Powers between subjects of the Federation, and Chairman of the Russian State Committee on Ethnic Policy. On December 7, 1996, Shakhrai was appointed as Yeltsin's Deputy Chief of Staff and representative to the Constitutional Court. He is also deputy head, under Rybkin, of the Federal Joint Commission on Chechnya, and part of the Russian negotiating team on developing a power-sharing agreement between the Russian Federation and Chechnya.
(Lt. Gen.) Anatoly Shkirko: Interior Ministry General. Shkirko was appointed to Chechnya in October 1995 to replace Anatoly Romanov as commander of Federal Forces in Chechnya. He, in turn, was replaced by Vyacheslav Tikhomirov in January 1996. Formerly, Shkirko was deputy commander of Russia's Interior Ministry troops.
Sergei Slipchenko: Head of the Press Service of the Russian State Commission for the Settlement of the Chechen Conflict.
Roman Sokolovsky: Chief Spokesman for the Federal Forces in Chechnya.
Sergei Stepashin: Executive Secretary of the State Commission for the Settlement of the Chechen Conflict. In this capacity, Stepashin was a member of the Russian negotiating team which concluded the May and June 1996 agreements with Chechnya. Since his appointment in November 1995 by Prime Minister Chernomyrdin, Stepashin has also served as head of the Administrative Department of the government, a position which involves the oversight of interdepartmental coordination among Russian security and intelligence services. Previously, Stepashin served as head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), until his dismissal in late June 1995 in the wake of the Budennovsk hostage crisis. As FSB director, Stepashin was blamed for mishandling the initial stages of the Russian campaign against Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudaev. Stepashin was appointed to the Federal Counter-Intelligence Service (FSK), the precursor to the FSB, in March 1994. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Security and as Deputy Director of the FSK.
(Maj.-Gen.) Vladimir Sukhoruchenko: Commander of the Russian Federal Forces in Chechnya in late 1996.
(Lt. Gen.) Vyacheslav Tikhomirov: Ministry of Defense General. Replacing General Anatoly Shkirko, Tikhomirov was appointed in January 1996 to command the joint Russian Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry armed forces in Chechnya.
Valery Tishkov: Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute for Ethnology and Anthropology and one of Russia's leading academics on nationalities issues. In March 1992, Tishkov was appointed Chairman of what was then the State Committee on Nationality Policy (Goskomnats), which was later upgraded to a full-fledged Ministry for Nationalities and Regional Policy. Tishkov resigned from this post in October 1992 and was replaced by Sergei Shakhrai, but has remained an influential commentator on Russian nationality and regional policy. He emerged during the Chechen conflict as a forceful advocate of a negotiated solution and has been active in the peace process.
(Gen.) Nikolai Tkachev: Russian military commander in charge of operations against Sernovodsk and other Dudaev strongholds in Chechnya.
Valentin Vlasov: Russian co-chairman of the Russian-Chechen Joint Commission for a Chechen settlement, appointed in October 1996.
Arkady Volsky: Deputy Russian negotiator for talks between Russia and Chechnya in 1995. Volsky was apparently close to reaching an agreement with Dudaev prior to the resumption of hostilities in October 1995. An opponent of military intervention, Volsky has described the Russian "Party of War," including Pavel Grachev, Nikolai Yegorov, and Alexander Korzhakov, as the "Party of Fools."
(Col. Gen. ret.) Eduard Vorobev: Former Russian military commander who resigned from the army in protest after being asked to lead the assault on Grozny in December 1994. Now a Deputy in the State Duma and a member of the Duma commission headed by Abdulatipov to free hostages and prisoners. Vorobev is heading the Grozny mission of the commission.
Nikolai Yegorov: Currently governor of Krasnodar Krai, Yegorov was head of the Presidential Administration from January to July 1996. He served as the Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Nationalities, and as the President's representative in Chechnya from 1994 until his dismissal after the Budennovsk crisis in June 1995. Yegorov was a Kremlin hard-liner and a hawkish advocate of Russian military intervention in Chechnya.
Boris Yeltsin: President of the Russian Federation. Yeltsin ordered thousands of troops into Chechnya in December 1994 to stop the separatist's independence drive. As the Chechen crisis escalated, Yeltsin backed Prime Minister Chernomyrdin's decision to begin peace talks, and admitted that the war in Chechnya was the biggest disappointment of his Presidency.
Viktor Yerin: Deputy Director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, appointed by President Yeltsin on July 5, 1995. Yerin was Russia's Interior Minister until late June 1995, when he was dismissed due to the Budennovsk hostage situation. Yerin's Interior Ministry troops had carried out the unsuccessful storming of the Budennovsk hospital, where Chechen rebels were holding hostages. During the conflict, Interior Ministry troops were responsible for policing the captured areas of Chechnya, where they were accused of looting and other atrocities against civilians.
Viktor Zorin: First Deputy Director of the FSB, appointed in August 1995. Zorin also heads the FSB's anti-terrorism center, which was created in September 1995 in response to the Budennovsk crisis. Formerly, Zorin served until July 1995 as FSB head of counter-intelligence.
Vladimir Zorin: Deputy Head of Moscow's territorial administration in Chechnya, and Deputy head of the Russian negotiating team in Chechnya until late 1995. Zorin was elected to the State Duma in December 1995 as a member of the "Our Home is Russia" faction. He is Chair of the Duma Commission on Chechnya (set up earlier in the conflict).
Tim Guldiman: Head of the Chechen mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Throughout the conflict, from its base in Grozny, the OSCE monitored the human rights situation and worked to mediate the peace process. The OSCE mission supported the January 1997 elections in Chechnya with technical assistance and international election monitoring.
Michael Van Walt: Secretary-General of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO). In the early stages of the war, the UNPO provided an international forum for the Chechens, issuing appeals, reporting on human rights, and searching for ways to manage the conflict. In mid-1995, Dudaev removed Chechnya from UNPO membership after disagreements over strategy and goals.
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