The unexpected death of the Chechen warlord Shamil Basaev, who was responsible for organizing ruthless terrorist attacks in Russia, has again initiated discussions about a possible dialogue between the Russian authorities and the rebels in the North Caucasus. On the eve of the G8 summit... MORE

For the president of the Russian Federation, the past month has been full of good news from Chechnya. It was only on June 17 that information about the death of Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev, leader of the Chechen separatists, had come to light and now, just a... MORE

The circumstances surrounding the July 10 death in Ingushetia of Shamil Basaev, the Chechen rebel military commander and recently appointed vice president of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI), remain murky. At 9:45 AM (Moscow time) that day, Interfax quoted “a source in Ingushetia’s... MORE

Writing in Novaya gazeta on July 13, Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan put forward a series of “questions without answers” about Basaev’s reported death. They asked, first of all, why there has been no official version of Basaev’s death. “Patrushev told the president that Basaev... MORE

Given the contradictory versions of Basaev’s death in the press and the fact that the Russian authorities erroneously declared Basaev dead on a number of occasions in the past, it is not surprising that some observers remained skeptical about whether he was in fact dead... MORE

Observers were split over the impact that Shamil Basaev’s reported death might have on the separatist movement. In an article published by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), Timur Aliev, the IWPR’s Nazran-based Chechnya editor, quoted Radio Liberty correspondent Andrei Babitsky as saying... MORE

On July 13, Chechenpress published a “Manifesto for Peace” signed by Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) Foreign Minister Akhmed Zakaev. According to the separatist website, the manifesto was approved at a July 5 meeting in Berlin of ChRI Foreign Ministry officials and ChRI representatives in... MORE

--IRAQI INSURGENTS EULOGIZE BASAEV The al-Qaeda-linked Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq posted an Internet statement on July 12 expressing condolences on “the martyrdom” of Shamil Basaev. According to the SITE Institute, the group stated, “As Emir Ibn al-Khattab and Abu al-Walid al-Ghambi were killed before... MORE

“Basaev’s death may have been [the result of] a special operation of the Almighty. But no way was it a Patrushev special operation, and when people claim as their own achievement something for which they should thank their lucky stars, one gets the impression that... MORE

This week's issue of Chechnya Weekly contains an exclusive interview with Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev which was obtained by The Jamestown Foundation through its sources in Chechnya before he was killed in Argun on June 17, making this his last known interview with a Western organization. The... MORE