Briefs
Publication: North Caucasus Weekly Volume: 9 Issue: 37
Law-Enforcement Official and His Son Killed in North Ossetia
The head of the first directorate of North Ossetia’s criminal investigation department, Vitaly Cheldiev, was killed along with his 20-year-old son on October 1, Kavkazky Uzel reported. According to a spokesman for the Investigative Committee for North Ossetia, Chermen Zangiev, unidentified attackers fired automatic weapons at a car in which Cheldiev and his son were driving on the outskirts of the republic capital, Vladikavkaz. A car presumably used by Cheldiev’s killers was later found burned out in the area where the attack took place. A law-enforcement source told RIA Novosti that Cheldiev had headed the anti-banditry department of the republic’s anti-organized crime directorate (UBOP) up until two months ago. The head of North Ossetia’s UBOP, Mark Metsaev, was shot to death in a similar attack in Vladikavkaz this past March (North Caucasus Weekly, March 13).
Serviceman Killed in Chechnya
A serviceman was killed by militants in Chechnya’s Shali district on October 3. According to RIA Novosti, the soldier was killed shortly after midnight when gunmen opened fire on his Lada car using automatic rifles. The gunmen stole his Kalashnikov gun with a rifle-attached grenade launcher, along with his Makarov pistol and ammunition.
Kadyrov Poses for Fashion Magazine
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has posed for a glossy magazine wearing designer clothes from a number of leading fashion houses, RIA Novosti reported on October 3. Kadyrov is featured in the monthly Icons magazine in clothes designed by Giorgio Armani, Polo Ralf Lauren, Alexander McQueen and Baldessarini, as well as in sunglasses and shoes by Louis Vuitton. “It’s very relaxed with Ramzan,” the chief editor of the magazine, Svetlana Bondarchuk, told RIA Novosti. “It’s amazing that a person who holds such an important post can chat so freely. All the photo shoot session staffers were charmed by him.” The photo shoot took place this summer. A Chechen presidential spokesman was unable to say if Kadyrov would participate in any more photo sessions. As RIA Novosti noted, Kadyrov and his personal security service have been accused by human rights groups of involvement in kidnappings, torture and extortion.
