Evidence of the death of the first Chechen president is as small as in 1996

20 years ago, the twisted history of Chechnya took a new twist: the first president of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Major General of Aviation Dzhokhar Dudayev, on April 21, 1996, gave his last order - to live long. In any case, that's how it's supposed to be. Those chroniclers who speak of " official version"The death of Dudaev, either they are mistaken or they are cunning. For in fact there is no official version. Much more honest with readers are the compilers of the Bolshoi encyclopedic dictionary, which crowned the article on the rebellious general with an impeccable fact-checking phrase: “In April 1996, his death was announced under unclear circumstances.”

Exactly. The location of Dudayev's grave, if any, is still not known. The fact that the general lost his life on April 21, 1996 as a result of either a missile or a bomb attack, we know only from the words of representatives of his inner circle. Even less official are the sources of information about the operation of the Russian special services, which allegedly caused the death of the general. In favor of the reliability of this information, however, the fact that Dudayev has not been heard or heard about since then speaks. “If he were alive, wouldn’t he show up?!” - opponents boil alternative versions. The argument, to be sure, is weighty. But by no means closing the topic.

Dzhokhar Dudayev.

Version #1

The main witness in the case of the death of the President of Ichkeria is, of course, his wife Alla Dudayeva - nee Alevtina Fyodorovna Kulikova. According to Dudayeva's "testimonies", recorded in her memoirs, the commander-in-chief of the separatist army, constantly moving around Chechnya, on April 4, 1996, settled with his headquarters in Gekhi-Chu - a village in the Urus-Martan district of Chechnya, located about 40 kilometers to the south-west from Grozny. The Dudayevs - Dzhokhar, Alla and their youngest son Degi, who at that time was 12 years old - settled down in the house younger brother Attorney General Ichkeria Mohammed Zhaniev.

During the day, Dudayev was usually at home, and at night he was on the road. “Dzhokhar, as before at night, traveled around our Southwestern Front, appearing here and there, constantly being next to those who held positions, ”recalls Alla. In addition, Dudayev regularly traveled to the nearby forest for communication sessions with the outside world, carried out through the installation of the Immarsat-M satellite communication. The Ichkerian president avoided calling directly from home, fearing that the Russian special services could pinpoint his location from an intercepted signal. “In Shalazhi, two streets were completely destroyed because of our phone,” he once shared his anxiety with his wife.

Nevertheless, it was impossible to do without risky calls. Chechen War entered a new phase these days. On March 31, 1996, Yeltsin signed a decree "On the program for settling the crisis in the Chechen Republic." Its most important points are: the cessation from 24:00 on March 31, 1996 of military operations on the territory Chechen Republic; phased withdrawal of federal forces to the administrative borders of Chechnya; negotiations about the peculiarities of the status of the republic between the bodies ... In general, Dudayev had something to chat about on the phone with his Russian and foreign friends, partners and informants.

From one of these communication sessions, which took place a few days before Dudayev's death, the general and his retinue returned earlier than usual. “Everyone was very excited,” recalls Alla. - Dzhokhar, on the contrary, was unusually silent and thoughtful. Musik (bodyguard Musa Idigov. - "MK") took me aside and, lowering his voice, whispered excitedly: "One hundred percent are hitting our phone."

However, in the presentation of the general’s widow, the picture of what happened looks, to put it mildly, fantastic: “The night starry sky opened up above them, suddenly they noticed that the satellites above their heads were like on a“ New Year tree ”. A beam stretched from one satellite to another, crossed with another beam, and fell along the trajectory to the ground. It was not clear where the plane emerged from and struck with a depth charge of such crushing force that trees began to break and fall around them. The first was followed by a second similar blow, very close.

Be that as it may, the incident described above did not make Dudayev behave more cautiously. On the evening of April 21, Dudayev, as usual, went to the forest for telephone conversations. This time he was accompanied by his wife. In addition to her, the retinue included the aforementioned Prosecutor General Zhaniev, Vakha Ibragimov, Dudayev's adviser, Khamad Kurbanov, "the representative of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in Moscow," and three bodyguards. We drove in two cars - "Niva" and "UAZ". Upon arrival, Dudayev, as usual, placing a diplomat with satellite communications on the hood of the Niva, removed the antenna. First, Vakha Ibragimov used the phone - he made a statement for Radio Liberty. Then Dudayev dialed the number of Konstantin Borovoy, who at that time was a State Duma deputy and chairman of the Economic Freedom Party. Alla, according to her, was at that time 20 meters from the car, on the edge of a deep ravine.

She describes what happened next as follows: “Suddenly, a sharp whistle of a flying rocket was heard from the left side. An explosion behind me and a flashing yellow flame made me jump into the ravine... It became quiet again. What about ours? My heart was pounding, but I hoped that everything worked out ... But where did the car and everyone who stood around it go? Where is Dzhokhar?.. Suddenly I stumbled. Right at my feet, I saw Musa sitting. “God, look what they did to our president!” Dzhokhar was lying on his knees... Instantly I threw myself on my knees and felt all over his body. It was whole, there was no blood, but when I got to the head... my fingers got into the wound on the right side of the back of the head. My God, it is impossible to live with such a wound ... "

Zhaniev and Kurbanov, who were next to the general at the time of the explosion, allegedly died on the spot. Dudayev himself, according to his wife, died a few hours later in the house they then occupied.

Alla Dudaeva.

Strange woman

Konstantin Borovoy confirms that he spoke with Dudayev that day: “It was about eight in the evening. The conversation was interrupted. However, our conversations were interrupted very often ... He called me sometimes several times a day. I'm not one hundred percent sure that the missile attack took place during our last conversation with him. But he didn’t get in touch with me anymore (he always called, I didn’t have his number). According to Borovoy, he was a kind of political consultant to Dudayev and, moreover, acted as an intermediary: he tried to connect the Ichkerian leader with the Russian presidential administration. And some contacts, by the way, began, although not direct, "between Dudayev's entourage and Yeltsin's entourage."

Borovoy is firmly convinced that Dudayev was killed as a result of an operation by Russian special services that used unique, non-serial equipment: “As far as I know, specialist scientists took part in the operation, who, using several developments, were able to identify the coordinates of the source electromagnetic radiation. At the moment when Dudayev got in touch, the electricity was cut off in the area where he was located - in order to ensure the isolation of the radio signal.

The words of the irreconcilable critic of the Russian special services are practically one to one with the version that appeared several years ago in the Russian media with reference to retired GRU officers who allegedly directly participated in the operation. According to them, it was carried out jointly military intelligence and the FSB with the participation Air force. Actually, this version is considered official. But the sources of information themselves admit that all the materials of the operation are still classified. Yes, and they themselves, there is such a suspicion, are not completely “deciphered”: it is doubtful that the real participants in the liquidation of Dudayev would begin to cut the truth, the uterus, calling themselves by their names. Risk, of course, is a noble cause, but not to the same extent. Therefore, there is no certainty that what was told is true, and not disinformation.

Nikolai Kovalev, who in April 1996 held the post of deputy director of the FSB (two months later, in June 1996, he headed the service), in a conversation with an MK observer a few years after those events, completely denied the involvement of his department in the liquidation Dudayev: “Dudaev died in the combat zone. There was a fairly massive shelling. I think there is simply no reason to talk about some kind of special operation. Hundreds of people died in the same way." At that time, Kovalev was already retired, but, as you know, there are no former Chekists. Therefore, it is likely that Nikolai Dmitrievich spoke not from a pure heart, but what his official duty dictated.

However, on one point, Kovalev was in complete agreement with those who claim that Dudayev was liquidated by our special services: the ex-head of the FSB called the assumptions that the Ichkerian leader could survive completely frivolous. At the same time, he referred to the same Alla Dudayeva: “Is your wife an objective witness for you?” In general, the circle is closed.

The version presented by Alla, for all its outward smoothness, still contains one significant inconsistency. If Dudayev knew that the enemies were trying to find the direction of the phone signal, then why did he take his wife on that last trip to the forest, thereby exposing her to mortal danger? There was no need for her presence. In addition, many note the strangeness in the behavior of the widow: she did not seem at all heartbroken in those days. Well, or, at least, carefully concealed their experiences. But such composure is extremely unusual for a person of her psychological make-up. Alla is a very emotional woman, which is already clear from the memoirs dedicated to her husband: the lion's share of them is given prophetic dreams, visions, prophecies and different kind mystical signs.

She herself offers following explanation his restraint. “I officially, as a witness, stated the fact of the president’s death, without a single tear, remembering Amkhad’s request, old Leyla and hundreds, thousands of weak and sick old men and women in Chechnya like her,” Alla says about her speech at the press conference. conference held on April 24, three days after her husband's announced death. - My tears would have killed their last hope. Let them think that he is alive... And let those who greedily catch every word about the death of Dzhokhar be afraid.”

But what happened a few weeks later can already be explained by a desire to encourage friends and scare enemies: in May 1996, Alla suddenly appears in Moscow and calls on Russians to support Boris Yeltsin in the upcoming presidential elections. A man who, based on her own interpretation of events, authorized the murder of her beloved husband! Later, however, Dudayeva said that her words were taken out of context and distorted. But, firstly, even Alla herself admits that speeches “in defense of Yeltsin” did take place. The fact that the war brought nothing but shame to the president and that the cause of peace is hindered by the "war party" that substitutes it. And secondly, according to eyewitnesses - among them, for example, political emigrant Alexander Litvinenko, who this case can be considered a completely objective source of information - there were no distortions. Dudayeva began her first Moscow meeting with journalists, which took place at the National Hotel, with a phrase that could not be interpreted in any other way: “I urge you to vote for Yeltsin!”

Nikolai Kovalev does not see anything strange in this fact: "Perhaps she thought that Boris Nikolayevich is an ideal candidate for solving the Chechen problem in a peaceful way." But such an explanation, with all desire, cannot be called exhaustive.

One of the main visual evidence that Dzhokhar Dudayev nevertheless passed away is photographic and video footage depicting Alla Dudayeva next to the body of her murdered husband. Skeptics, however, are not convinced at all: there is no independent evidence that the shooting was not staged.

Operation "Evacuation"

Even greater doubts about the generally accepted interpretation of the events that occurred on April 21, 1996, the MK observer left a conversation with the late president of the RSPP, Arkady Volsky. Arkady Ivanovich was the deputy head of the Russian delegation at the talks with the Ichkerian leadership, which took place in the summer of 1995, after Shamil Basayev's Budyonnovsk raid. Volsky repeatedly met with Dudayev and other separatist leaders and was considered one of the most informed representatives in Chechen affairs. Russian elite. “I immediately asked the experts then: is it possible to aim a half-ton missile at a target on a signal mobile phone? Volsky said. They told me it was absolutely impossible. If the rocket even felt such a subtle signal, it could turn to any mobile phone.”

But the main sensation is elsewhere. According to Volsky, in July 1995 the country's leadership entrusted him with a responsible and very delicate mission. “Before leaving for Grozny, with the consent of President Yeltsin, I was instructed to offer Dudayev a trip abroad with his family,” Arkady Ivanovich shared the details of this amazing story. - Consent to accept it was given by Jordan. The plane and the necessary funds were provided at the disposal of Dudaev. True, the Ichkerian leader then responded with a decisive refusal. “I had a better opinion of you,” he told Volsky. “I didn’t think that you would offer me to run away from here. I Soviet general. If I die, I will die here.”

However, this project was not closed, Volsky believed. In his opinion, later the separatist leader changed his mind and decided to evacuate. “But I do not rule out that people from his entourage could have killed Dudaev along the way,” added Arkady Ivanovich. “The way events unfolded after the announced death of Dudayev, in principle, fits into this version.” Nevertheless, Volsky did not rule out other, more exotic options: "When they ask me how likely it is that Dudayev is alive, I answer: 50 to 50."

A vivid example of a not too skillful fake. According to the American magazine that first published this photo, it is a video footage taken by a camera mounted on the rocket that killed Dudayev. According to the magazine, American intelligence agencies received a picture from a Russian missile in real time.

Anatoly Kulikov, president of the Club of Military Leaders of the Russian Federation, who headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia at the time of the events described, is not one hundred percent sure of Dudayev’s death either: “You and I have not received evidence of his death. In 1996, we talked about this topic with Usman Imaev (Minister of Justice in Dudayev's administration, later dismissed. - "MK"). He expressed doubts that Dudayev was dead. Imaev said then that he was at that place and saw fragments of not one, but different cars. Rusty parts... He was talking about a simulated explosion.”

Kulikov himself tried to understand the situation. His employees also visited Gekhi-Chu, at the site of the explosion they discovered a funnel - one and a half meters in diameter and half a meter deep. Meanwhile, the missile that allegedly hit Dudayev carries 80 kilograms of explosives, Kulikov notes. “The rocket would have turned out a much larger amount of soil,” he says. - But there is no such funnel. What really happened in Gekhi-Chu is unknown.”

Like Volsky, former head The Ministry of Internal Affairs does not exclude that Dudayev could have been liquidated by his own people. But not on purpose, but by mistake. According to the version that Kulikov considers very likely and which was presented to him at the time by employees of the North Caucasian regional government in the fight against organized crime, Dudaev was blown up by the fighters of the "leader of one of the gangs." Actually, just this field commander was supposed to be in the place of the separatist leader. Allegedly, he was very dishonest in financial matters, deceived his subordinates, appropriated the money intended for them. And he waited until the offended nukers decided to send him to the forefathers.

A remote-controlled explosive device was installed in the commander's "Niva", which was set off when the avengers saw that the car had left the village. But as a sin, Dudayev took advantage of the Niva ... However, this is only one of the possible versions, and she explains, Kulikov admits, far from all: “Dudaev’s funeral was observed simultaneously in four settlements ... One cannot be convinced of Dudayev's death until his corpse is identified.

Well, some of the mysteries of history were resolved after where more time than in 20 years. And some remained completely unsolved. And it seems that the question of what actually happened in the vicinity of Gekhi-Chu on April 21, 1996 will take its rightful place in the ranking of these puzzles.

(04/15/1944 - 04/22/1996)

native Chechen-Ingush ASSR, Chechen. Born in 1944, the same year when all Chechens were deported to Kazakhstan by order of Stalin and Central Asia. Here he spent his childhood until Khrushchev's permission for the Chechens and Ingush to return to their homeland in 1957.

At one time he graduated from the course of physics and mathematics, then - the Tambov Higher Military aviation school named after M. Raskova and in 1977 - air force academy named after Gagarin. In 1968 he joined the CPSU and did not formally leave the party. Wife - an artist, three children, a daughter and two sons.

From childhood, he was remembered by his peers as a man too hot even for a Chechen (however, later, according to others, Dudayev learned to restrain his emotions and look very cool in all situations), he was a rather straightforward man, not without ambition, bordering on ambitious. This is probably what helped him achieve a rather rare promotion for a representative of his nationality. military service- up to the position of division commander. Moreover, he is the first Chechen general in Soviet army.

Colleagues characterized him as hard, quick-tempered, sharp man, whose handwriting is even nervous: when he wrote, ink splashed in all directions, and sometimes the paper was torn. He was also often reproached for authoritarianism and lust for power. According to his deputy, Yusup Saslambekov, Dudayev became famous among the Estonians (his division was stationed in Tartu) " rebel general", allegedly refusing at one time to comply with the order to block television and the Estonian Parliament.

It was not possible to establish whether this was in reality, but according to those who served with him in previous years, Colonel Dudayev was more than loyal to the CPSU. Very aggressively, in the words of one of the political workers who served under him, "he taught political officers how to love the party": "You are called to serve the party like watchdogs, who were let down by the Central Committee and are paying money for it!"

However, he believed that he had done more for this party than she had done for him.

Dudayev retired in May 1990, when, as they said, the Chechens who came to Tartu asked him to do so, and headed the Executive Committee of the National Congress, which was opposed to the authorities Chechen people(OKCHN). In fact, he came to power on a wave popular uprising, after on August 19, 1991, the Executive Committee, in the very first hours of the putsch, sided with the Russian parliament and President Yeltsin. The parliament of the republic came to its senses only on August 21 and adopted a resolution condemning the GKChP, but it was too late. Freedom Square filled with people. They built barricades. Recruited into the "National Guard".

As a result, the executive committee of the OKCHN disbanded the Republican Armed Forces and almost by hand led the former chairman of the Armed Forces, Doka Zavgaev, out of the building. The dirty work of the revolution was carried out by the national guardsmen - armed detachments of volunteers created by the chairman of the executive committee of the OKCHN, General Dudayev. Thus, he ended up in power, and the Russian Armed Forces faced a dilemma - to recognize or not to recognize: the illegitimacy of the new and initially perceived as an allied regime was undeniable.

However, the dilemma soon resolved itself: after several tough demands by Dudayev to grant Chechnya complete independence from Russia White House in no less harsh terms condemned his regime in a decree of 8.10.91 of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR and the Supreme Court of 10.10.91 "On the political situation in Checheno-Ingushetia." In response, Grozny announced the appointment of parliamentary and presidential elections for October 27, which repulsed the attacks of lawyers: Dudayev was soon legally elected president.

On November 2, 1991, according to the official formula "as a result of a long national liberation struggle of the Chechen people," the "Chechen state" was proclaimed.

Dudayev's supporters expressed their joy at Dudayev's election as president with hunting rifles, submachine guns, machine guns and pistols in the center of Grozny.

The Chechens completely sided with the general. The editor of the Svoboda newspaper, Lecha Yakhyaev, wrote about Dudayev: "He is not like all of us. He has not a penny behind his soul, he does not have a powerful family clan behind him, and the worst thing is that he is honest." His former colleagues were also not inclined to suspect him of violating the second commandment: no one can say, one of his subordinates said, that he was a grabber. In any case, General Dudayev served as the personification of the "new leader" for the activists of the national movement: a military bone, a "firm hand" and a democratic reputation.

However, according to some experts, it was not about a large-scale shift in the values ​​of the Chechens, but about the personal ambitions of Dudayev and those associated with him, around whose demands general dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in the country was localized. Characteristic in this regard are the words of Judge Shepa Gadaev: "Dudaev - fair man, not associated with our corrupt system at all levels, is not embroiled in the mutual responsibility of tribal, selfish nomenklatura ties. Only such energetic and selfless people can change this life." This is also confirmed by Russian analysts: "He did not choose the national idea, it was she who chose him. D.Dudaev came as a guest to the congress of Chechens and was elected chairman of the Executive Committee.

Ever since the General handed over the House of Political Education to the Islamic Institute the day after the assault, various speculations about the "Muslim component" of his policy have continued. Some analysts believed that Dudayev was in fact a ready leader for the Islamic fundamentalist movement. The behavior, statements, and policies of the former orthodox communist seemed to confirm this idea in many ways: from exotic details, such as the fact that, under the threat of criminal punishment, Dudayev banned the practice of male gynecologists, to the persistent search for contacts with Muslim republics former USSR, the Muslim world abroad.

It is curious that it was the "Islamic Way" party that nominated the retired general as a presidential candidate: "D.M. Dudayev is nominated by the "Islamic Way" party as its candidate for the presidency of the Chechen Republic. to democratic reforms," ​​the decision of the Council of this party said. "By the will of Allah and the people, I became the first President of the Chechen Republic," - such was Dudayev's first phrase at the press conference that followed the preliminary vote count.

“I am a Muslim,” Dudayev himself claimed, “this religion has been close to me since childhood. I do not observe the hours of prayer and usually turn to Allah in my soul. Please protect me from evil, vices, evil spirits.”

However, many attentive political scientists believed that Islam was a screen in his politics, and Dudayev stubbornly sought the support of the Muslim world to fight for Chechnya's hegemony in the Caucasus and create under its auspices a kind of "Commonwealth of States and Peoples of the Great Caucasus", as well as in case of a possible serious clash with the metropolis. It was the conflict with Russia that determined the imperatives of the foreign and domestic policy of the President-General.

Presidential candidate Dzhokhar Dudayev built his election program on the main thesis: sovereignty outside of Russia. Dudayev, in turn, aroused fears in Moscow not only with pronounced extremism in achieving independence, but also with threats to start terror in Russia in the event of an attack by the latter on Chechnya. What he himself, however, did not hide, saying: "Those who in the White House give absolutely insane orders and are ready to arrange global bloodshed on our land - I dare to assure you again: we will strike a terrible blow. 30 minutes will be enough to make a mountain corpses. And the grief of the mothers of Russian soldiers will be immeasurable."

As for other aspects of Dudayev's policy, it was characterized by two factors: Chechnya's desire to dominate the North Caucasus and severe pressure on the opposition. Among analysts, the following statements of the President-General were considered more than typical in this regard: “We do not forget that we are responsible for the fate of our brotherly peoples of the Caucasus. and I personally attach special meaning the issue of the unification of the Caucasus. We are obliged to become the initiators of such unity, because we are in the center of interests of the peoples of our mountainous region, both geographically, economically and ethnically. "Dudaev believed that this path also had a good economic basis:" We intend to switch to our own money, rich land, in terms of mineral reserves, soil fertility, climate, we are perhaps the richest in the world. The republic only exports to 140 countries.

However, objective indicators were less optimistic. Despite the fact that Checheno-Ingushetia was, in fact, a monopoly in the production of aviation oils, providing more than 90 percent of their consumption in the CIS, 200,000 able-bodied people in the republic were unemployed. In several settlements, there were up to 80-90 percent of the unemployed. Checheno-Ingushetia occupied the last 73rd place in the CIS in almost all vital important indicators. In terms of child mortality - the second from the end.

Therefore, it is no coincidence that the president intensified his search for ways to increase assistance from abroad, in particular, in organizing the oil industry and obtaining Arab loans. So, in August 1992, at the invitation of the king Saudi Arabia Aravin Fahd bin Abdulaziz and Emir of Kuwait Jabar el Ahded ak-Sabah, he visited these countries. He was given a warm welcome, but his request to recognize the independence of Chechnya was denied. But there was still a tangible propaganda effect from this visit. Especially against the backdrop of Russia's growing difficulties in the North Caucasus.

In relation to Russia, the President General used constantly changing tactics - from emphasized loyalty within the framework of economic relations(not without regular threats, however, to revise such a policy) to rather tough actions within the framework of political relations. His supporters declared that "formally, we have been at war with Russia since 1859, because no treaty was signed then." Some experts considered his words to be programmatic, which he often repeated: "In the event of Russia's aggressive actions against the Chechen people, the entire Caucasus will rear up. And Russia will lose quiet life. Seeing that open violence is being committed against the Chechen people, the entire Muslim world will also rise. Chechnya is the center of three hundred years of confrontation between the Caucasus and Russia."

An interesting detail: instead of a monument to Lenin in Grozny, Dudayev decided to erect a monument to Khrushchev - Nikita Sergeevich returned the Chechens to their homeland. The general declared his great respect for Mikhail Gorbachev. At one time, he also offered political asylum. former leader GDR, persecuted by the justice of the FRG, Erich Honecker: "It is not difficult for us to save and protect one destitute old man."

Dudayev - was a good athlete, an excellent family man. One of the local newspapers called him a messenger of God. Sometimes he was also called the "Chechen Yeltsin".

O personal life the general did not usually spread.

Once he said, however: “After I entered politics, I don’t have a personal life. Everyone in the family loves painting, my wife is a fashion designer, she draws a lot. I love music, the poetry of Lermontov, Pushkin, Decembrist poets, Russian writers -classics - Tolstoy, Chekhov ... I do karate, and my teacher with a black belt is always with me.

In April 1996, a missile strike in Chechnya carried out the liquidation of the "first president of Ichkeria." For a long time, information about the operation to eliminate Dzhokhar Dudayev was strictly classified. However, two years ago...

In April 1996, a missile strike in Chechnya carried out the liquidation of the "first president of Ichkeria." For a long time, information about the operation to eliminate Dzhokhar Dudayev was strictly classified. However, a few years ago two former officers special services shared the details of a special operation to eliminate the main Chechen separatist.

Separatist charismatic

Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Dzhokhar Dudayev was an Air Force officer, as some like to emphasize, the only Chechen general in the USSR. Those who spoke with Dudayev personally recall the "incredible charisma" of the separatist leader - in a short time, from the general of the Soviet army, he becomes the leader of Ichkeria. Dudayev, in addition to political and completely gangster methods of coming to power, played on the religious and historical feelings of the inhabitants of the region, not preventing the expulsion and murder of the Russian population in Chechnya. Following the Russians from "Ichkeria", the Chechen intelligentsia flees.

City hospital of Budyonnovsk, 1995

Separately, two rather characteristic episodes of the time of Dudayev's power should be noted. The first is the seizure of power in September 1991, when the "Dudaevites" beat and threw deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic into the window (as a result, 40 people were injured, and the mayor of Grozny died). The second is a raid by militants in Budyonnovsk led by Shamil Basayev in June 1995. Terrorists took over the hospital Stavropol Territory, putting women in the window openings to make it impossible for snipers and assault squads to work. Almost 150 people died as a result of the terrorist attack, and Dzhokhar Dudayev solemnly presented Basayev and his gang for "Ichkerian" awards.

Elusive Joe

The first Chechen campaign as of April 1996 was considered a failure. Against the backdrop of the approaching presidential elections, the federal government was interested not only in ending the hostilities that had taken the lives of thousands of Russian soldiers and officers, but at least some tactical victory on the Chechen front.

The ex-deputy of the State Duma and constant interlocutor of Dudayev in those days, Konstantin Borovoy, claims that the militant leader wanted to resolve the military conflict by peace. According to Borovoy, Dudayev was going to make any concessions in order to end military operation, however, here the words diverge from the deeds - the terrorist attack in Kizlyar and the village of Pervomaisky in January 1996, in mid-April, the column of the 245th motorized rifle regiment was defeated. After these events, Yeltsin rejects negotiations with the militants and gives the go-ahead to the special services to eliminate Dudayev.

The task of eliminating Dudayev was faced by all special services from the very beginning of the first Chechen campaign, ex-special service employees admit. However, from time to time, all attempts to eliminate the leader of the militants failed. There was even a popular tale that every time Dudayev was “just about” to be shot by snipers, from somewhere “above” there was an order to stop the operation. Nevertheless, the snipers and their leadership had a rather high motivation to eliminate Dzhokhar - they were promised high rewards for the operation.

In total, Dudayev survived three attempts on his life. For the first time, the human factor worked - the sniper simply missed, hitting only the hat on the militant's head. The second time the equipment failed - a mine laid on the route only overturned the car of the separatist leader. The third attempt (the explosion of a residential building where Dudayev was with guards) also failed - the Ichkerians left the house five minutes before the explosion. GRU officers blame Dudayev's "fox instinct" for everything, Borovoy claims that "moles" in law enforcement agencies worked for Dudaev, who warned him about the impending action. Be that as it may, on April 21, 1996, Dudayev was nevertheless liquidated.

Bought integrity

It was difficult to organize the liquidation of Dudayev for several reasons.

Firstly, it was impossible to simply “remove” him from a sniper rifle - the guards of the president of “Ichkeria” tightly held the ring within a radius of 3-4 kilometers of Dudayev’s location, which made the work of a sniper impossible. Secondly, the leader of the separatists, who cared about his life, surrounded himself only loyal people and it was not possible to “grind” into his confidence. According to the REN TV channel, they tried to assign three people from the FSB to Dudayev, but each time the agents failed. Thirdly, local residents simply refused to work with the security forces - the fear of Dudayev and Basayev's thugs was stronger than the temptation to get a lot of money.

Yuri Aksenov, one of the participants in the operation to liquidate Dzhokhar, said that in the end, “moles” were still found among the militants:

“Chechens are people too and they have their weaknesses. And principles can sometimes be a very profitable commodity. If they sell well."

The informants agreed to tell where Dudayev could be caught, but according to the officer, work with the embedded agents took a long time - it was necessary to make sure that the "sellers" did not lead the special services by the nose, that the information would be reliable and Dudayev would really appear in the right area. In the end, the deal took place and the security forces had at their disposal the data on where the disgraced Soviet general should appear.

Dzhokhar Dudayev - leader of the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from 1991 to 1996, major general of aviation, commander of a strategic division of the Soviet army, military pilot. The combat general made defending the independence of Chechnya the meaning of his life. When this goal could not be achieved peacefully, Dudayev took part in the military conflict between Chechnya and Russia.

Take with you:

Childhood and youth

The exact date of birth of Dzhokhar Dudayev is unknown, but it is generally accepted that he was born on February 15, 1944 in the family of a veterinarian in the village of Pervomaisky (Galanchozhsky district of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). He comes from the taip (genus) Tsechoy.

The confusion with the date of birth of the Chechen leader is explained quite simply. The fact is that in 1944 Chechen population were deported from their native places because of the unfair accusation of them in connection with the Germans. The Dudayev family was sent to Kazakhstan, where little Dzhokhar grew up. His parents Musa and Rabiat had 13 children, seven in common (four sons and three daughters), and six children of Musa from his first marriage (four sons and two daughters). Dzhokhar was the youngest of all. When moving to Kazakhstan, the boy's parents lost some of the documents. Among them was the metric of the youngest son. And later, his parents, due to the large number of children, could not accurately remember the date of birth of their youngest son.

Dzhokhar Dudayev's father, Musa, died when the boy was about six years old. This greatly affected the psyche of the child and he had to grow up ahead of time. Almost all the sisters and brothers of Dzhokhar studied poorly at school, often skipped classes and did not give of great importance lessons. But Dzhokhar, on the contrary, understood from the first grade that he had to master knowledge and studied diligently. He immediately became one of the best in the class, and the guys even chose him as head boy.

In 1957, the Dudayev family, along with others deported Chechens returned to native land and they settled in the city of Grozny. Here, Dzhokhar studied until the ninth grade and then went to work as an electrician in the fifth SMU. At the same time, the teenager had a precise goal and he knew that he was obliged to receive a diploma of higher education. Therefore, Dzhokhar did not drop out of school, attended evening classes at school and still graduated from the 10th grade. After that, he applied to the North Ossetian Pedagogical Institute (Faculty of Physics and Mathematics). However, after studying there for a year, the young man realized that he had a different calling. He secretly left Grozny from his family and entered the Tambov Higher Military Aviation School.

True, he had to go to the trick and lie admission committee that he is Ossetian. At that time, the Chechens were equated with enemies of the people, and Dzhokhar was well aware that by making public his personal data, he simply would not enter the chosen university.

During the training, the young man did not change his principles and threw all his strength into mastering the chosen specialty to perfection. As a result, cadet Dudayev received a diploma with honors. At the same time, it is worth noting that he was a patriot, and it was extremely unpleasant for him to hide his nationality, which he was actually proud of. Therefore, before handing him a document on the higher education he had received, he insisted that it must be indicated in his personal file that he was a Chechen.

After graduating from college, Dzhokhar Dudayev was sent to serve in the armed forces of the USSR, as an assistant commander of an airship and joined communist party. Without looking up from his immediate duties, in 1974 he graduated from the Yuri Gagarin Air Force Academy (command department). In 1989, he was transferred to the reserve with the rank of general.

Former colleagues spoke of Dudayev with great respect. People noted that he, despite his emotionality and temper, was very obligatory, decent and honest man who you could always rely on.

Political career of Dzhokhar Dudayev

In November 1990, within the framework of the national Chechen congress, held in Grozny, Dzhokhar Dudayev was elected chairman of the executive committee. Already in March next year, Dudayev demanded: The Supreme Council The Chechen-Ingush Republic must voluntarily resign.

In May, Dudayev was transferred to the reserve with the rank of general, after which he returned to Chechnya and stood at the head of the growing national movement. Later, he was elected head of the executive committee of the National Congress of the Chechen People. In this position, he began to form the system of authorities of the republic. At the same time, the official Supreme Soviet continued to work in parallel in Chechnya. However, this did not stop Dudayev, and he openly declared that the deputies of the council were usurping power and did not justify the hopes placed on them.

After the August coup that took place in the Russian capital in 1991, the situation in Chechnya also began to heat up. On September 4, Dudayev and his associates seized the television center in Grozny by force, and Dzhokhar addressed the residents of the republic with a message. The essence of his statement boiled down to the fact that the official government did not justify the trust, therefore, democratic elections will be held in the republic in the near future. Until they take place, the leadership of the republic will be carried out by the movement headed by Dudayev and other political all-democratic organizations.

A day later, on September 6, Dzhokhar Dudayev and his comrades-in-arms entered the building of the Supreme Council by force. More than 40 deputies were beaten by militants and injured varying degrees gravity, and the mayor, Vitaliy Kutsenko, was thrown out the window, the man died. On September 8, Dudayev's militants blocked the center of Grozny, captured the local airport and CHP-1.

At the end of October of the same 1991, elections were held. Chechens almost unanimously (more than 90% of the vote) supported Dzhokhar Dudayev and he took the post of president of the republic. The first thing he did in his new position was to issue a decree according to which Chechnya becomes independent republic, and also separated from Ingushetia.

Meanwhile, the independence of Chechnya was not recognized either by other states or by the RSFSR. Wanting to take the situation under control, Boris Yeltsin planned to introduce a special position in the republic, but due to bureaucratic nuances, this was impossible. The fact is that at that time only Gorbachev could give orders to the armed forces, since the Soviet Union still existed “on paper”. But, in fact, he no longer had real power. As a result, a situation developed in which neither the former nor the current leader of Russia could take real measures to resolve the conflict.

In Chechnya, there were no such problems, and Dzhokhar Dudayev quickly seized power over the relevant structures, introduced martial law in the republic, removed pro-Russian deputies from power, and also allowed local residents to acquire weapons. At the same time, ammunition was often stolen from the destroyed and plundered military units of the RSFSR.

In March 1992, under the leadership of Dudayev, the Chechen constitution was adopted, as well as other state symbols. However, the situation in the republic continued to heat up. In 1993, Dudayev lost some of his supporters and people began to organize protest rallies, demanding the return of the rule of law and power capable of restoring order. In response to the expressed dissatisfaction, the national leader held a referendum, during which it became clear that the population was dissatisfied with the new government.

Then Dudayev removed the government, parliament, city leadership, etc. from power. After that, the leader took all power into his own hands, organizing direct presidential leadership. And during the next protest rally, his supporters opened fire on opposition-minded citizens and killed about 50 people. A couple of months later, the first attempt was made on Dudayev. Armed men burst into his office and opened fire to kill. However, the personal guards of the Chechen leader arrived in time to help and tried to shoot the attackers, as a result, they fled, and Dudayev himself did not receive any injuries.

After this incident, armed clashes with the opposition become the norm, and for several years Dudayev has to defend his power by force: with weapons in his hands.

Culmination of military conflict with Russia

In 1993, Russia holds a referendum on the constitution, and this further inflames an already difficult situation. The independence of the Chechen Republic was not recognized and, accordingly, its population had to take part in the discussion of the most important state document. However, Dudayev perceives the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria as an autonomous unit and declares that the Chechen population will not take part in either the referendum or the elections. Moreover, he demanded that the constitution should not refer to Ichkeria, since it had seceded from Russia.

Accordingly, on the basis of all these events, the situation in the republic is even more tense. And in 1994, Dudayev's opposition creates a parallel temporary council of the Chechen Republic. The leader of the Chechen Republic reacted very harshly to this, and in the near future about 200 oppositionists were killed in the republic. Also, the Chechen leader called on the local population to start a holy war against Russia and announced a general mobilization, which marked the beginning of active hostilities between Chechnya and Russia.

Throughout the military conflict, the authorities tried several times to eliminate Dudayev. After three failed attempts, he was killed. On April 21, 1996, a special unit tracked his conversation on a satellite phone and launched two missile strikes at this point. Later, the wife of the Chechen leader, Alla Dudayeva, said in an interview that one of the missiles literally destroyed the car in which Dzhokhar was. The man was seriously wounded in the head, he was taken home, where he died from his injuries.

The burial place of Dzhokhar Dudayev is still unknown to this day, and rumors periodically appear that the Chechen leader may be alive.

In fact, the only evidence of Dudayev's death is the words about his death, voiced by representatives of the general's inner circle, as well as his wife. That is, people who were absolutely devoted to Dudayev and always acted in his interests.

True, there is also a photo where Alla Dudayeva was taken next to the body of her husband. But at the same time, it is possible that these frames can be staged. They depict a woman next to a dead man who lies with his eyes open. At the same time, Dzhokhar's face is covered in blood, but his wounds are not visible. Accordingly, such a frame can be made with a living person.

It is also doubtful that on the day of his death Dudayev took his wife with him to the forest. The fact is that, according to Alla, her husband was well aware that the special services could track his location by phone. Therefore, he never conducted conversations from home, and did not arrange long communication sessions from one point. If the dialogue dragged on, he interrupted it, and then called the interlocutor again from another place. And here the question arises: “Why Dzhokhar, knowing that at the moment telephone conversation he is in increased danger, took his wife to a communication session?

Moreover, many were amazed at how calmly and impartially Alla Dudayeva behaved after the death of her husband. Given the emotionality of the woman, this behavior looked very strange. Even more surprising was the fact that, having arrived in the Russian capital in May 1996, she was very loyal to Boris Yeltsin in her statements, and almost called on the Russians to support his candidacy in the presidential election. Later, the woman explained her statements by saying that the victory of the politician would ensure a peaceful life for the Chechen people and that she acted solely in the interests of her fellow citizens. However, even taking into account these nuances, the words expressed in support of the person who ordered the liquidation of her husband looks very strange.

In any case, rumors that Dzhokhar Dudayev might be alive have never been confirmed. And what's more, even if the Chechen leader had survived, he would not have left the work he had begun, since he never stopped halfway and always went to his goal. That is why his “silence” for many years can safely be considered the main confirmation that Dzhokhar Dudayev really died.
Dzhokhar Dudayev

Dzhokhar Dudayev - leader of the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from 1991 to 1996, major general of aviation, commander of a strategic division of the Soviet army, military pilot. The combat general made defending the independence of Chechnya the meaning of his life. When this goal could not be achieved peacefully, Dudayev took part in the military conflict between Chechnya and Russia. Childhood and youth The exact date of birth of Dzhokhar Dudayev is unknown, but it is generally accepted that he was born on February 15, 1944 in the family of a veterinarian in the village of Pervomaisky (Galanchozhsky district of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic). He comes from the taip (genus) Tsechoy. The confusion with the date of birth of the Chechen leader is explained quite simply. The point is that in…

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The general left three children: two sons, Avlur and Degi, and a daughter, Dana.

Dudaev Dzhokhar Musaevich

Major General of Aviation, who led the movement for the secession of Chechnya from the Soviet Union, the first president of Ichkeria (1991-1996), the supreme commander during the First Chechen War.

Biography

Dzhokhar Dudayev was born on February 15, 1944 in the village of Yalkhori (Yalkhoroy) of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Chechen, a native of the teip Yalkhoroy. was thirteenth youngest child in the family of Musa and Rabiat Dudayev. Johar's father worked as a veterinarian.

February 23, 1944 population of the CHIASSR subjected to repression and was deported to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Dzhokhar Dudayev and his family were able to return to Chechnya only in 1957.

Dudayev graduated from the Tambov Military Aviation School and the Yu.A. Gagarin Air Force Academy in Moscow.

Military career

In 1962 he began serving in the Soviet Army. He rose to the rank of Major General of the USSR Air Force (Dudaev was the first Chechen general in the Soviet Army). He took part in military operations in Afghanistan in 1979-1989. In 1987-1990 he was commander of a heavy bomber division in Tartu (Estonia).

In 1968 he joined the CPSU and did not formally leave the party.

In the autumn of 1990, being the head of the garrison in the city of Tartu, Dzhokhar Dudayev refused to follow the order: to block television and the Estonian parliament. However, this act had no consequences for him.

Political activity

Until 1991, Dudayev visited Chechnya on short trips, but he was remembered at home. In 1990, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev convinced Dzhokhar Dudayev of the need to return to Chechnya and lead the national movement. In March 1991 (according to other sources - in May 1990), Dudayev retired and returned to Grozny. In June 1991, Dzhokhar Dudayev headed the Executive Committee of the National Congress of the Chechen People (OKCHN). According to the BBC, Boris Yeltsin's adviser Gennady Burbulis subsequently claimed that Dzhokhar Dudayev assured him of his loyalty to Moscow in a personal meeting.

In early September 1991, Dudayev led a rally in Grozny, demanding the dissolution of the Supreme Council of the Chi ASSR, due to the fact that on August 19 the leadership of the CPSU in Grozny supported the actions of the USSR State Emergency Committee. On September 6, 1991, a group of armed supporters of the OKChN, led by Dzhokhar Dudayev and Yaragi Mamadaev, broke into the building of the Supreme Council of Checheno-Ingushetia and forced the deputies to stop their activities at gunpoint.

On October 1, 1991, by decision of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, the Chechen-Ingush Republic was divided into the Chechen and Ingush Republics (without borders).

On October 10, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, in its resolution "On the Political Situation in Checheno-Ingushetia", condemned the seizure of power in the republic by the Executive Committee of the OKChN and the dispersal of the Supreme Soviet of Checheno-Ingushetia.

President of Ichkeria

On October 27, 1991, Dzhokhar Dudayev was elected President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI). Even after becoming the president of Ichkeria, he continued to appear in public in a Soviet military uniform.

On November 1, 1991, by his first decree, Dudayev proclaimed the independence of the CRI from Russian Federation, which was not recognized by either the Russian authorities or any foreign states.

On November 7, 1991, Russian President Boris Yeltsin issued a decree declaring a state of emergency in Checheno-Ingushetia. In response to this, Dudayev introduced martial law on its territory. The Supreme Soviet of Russia, where Yeltsin's opponents held most of the seats, did not approve the presidential decree.

At the end of November 1991, Dzhokhar Dudayev created the National Guard, in mid-December he allowed the free carrying of weapons, and in 1992 he created the Ministry of Defense.

On March 3, 1992, Dudayev announced that Chechnya would sit down at the negotiating table with the Russian leadership only if Moscow recognized its independence, thus leading possible negotiations to a dead end.

On March 12, 1992, the Chechen Parliament adopted the Constitution of the Republic, declaring the Chechen Republic independent. secular state. The Chechen authorities, meeting almost no organized resistance, seized the weapons of the Russian military units deployed on the territory of Chechnya.

In August 1992, at the invitation of King Aravin Fahd bin Abdel Aziz of Saudi Arabia and Emir of Kuwait Jabar el Ahded ak-Sabah, Dzhokhar Dudayev visited these countries. He was given a warm welcome, but his request to recognize the independence of Chechnya was denied.

On April 17, 1993, Dudayev dissolved the Cabinet of Ministers of the Chechen Republic, the Parliament, the Constitutional Court of Chechnya and the Grozny City Assembly, introduced direct presidential rule and a curfew throughout Chechnya

In November 1994, formations loyal to Dudayev successfully suppressed the armed uprising of the pro-Russian Chechen opposition. The column of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles that entered Grozny, partially manned by Russian contractors, was defeated.

On December 1, 1994, a decree of the President of the Russian Federation "On certain measures to strengthen law and order in the North Caucasus" was issued, which ordered all persons illegally possessing weapons to voluntarily surrender them to the law enforcement agencies of Russia by December 15.

On December 6, 1994, in the Ingush village of Sleptsovskaya, Dzhokhar Dudayev met with Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev and Interior Minister Viktor Yerin.

First Chechen War

December 11, 1994, on the basis of the decree of the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin "On measures to suppress the activities of illegal armed groups on the territory of the Chechen Republic and in the zone Ossetian-Ingush conflict"Units of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia entered the territory of Chechnya. The first Chechen war began.

According to Russian sources, by the beginning of the first Chechen campaign under the command of Dudayev there were about 15 thousand fighters, 42 tanks, 66 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, 123 guns, 40 anti-aircraft systems, 260 training aircraft, so the advance of the federal forces was accompanied by serious resistance from the Chechen militias and guardsmen Dudayev.

By the beginning of February 1995, after heavy bloody battles, Russian army established control over the city of Grozny and began to advance in southern regions Chechnya. Dudayev had to hide in the southern mountainous regions, constantly changing his location.

Assassination and death

According to media reports, the Russian special services twice managed to introduce their agents into Dzhokhar Dudayev's entourage and mine his car once, but all assassination attempts ended in failure.

On the night of April 22, near the village of Gekhi-Chu, Dzhokhar Dudayev was killed. According to one of the versions, when D. Dudayev got in touch with the deputy State Duma Russian Federation K.N.

According to the Constitution of Ichkeria, Vice President Zelimkhan Yandarbiev became Dudayev's successor as president.

Family status

Dzhokhar Dudayev was married and had three children (daughter and two sons). Wife - Alla Fedorovna Dudayeva, daughter Soviet officer, - artist, poetess ( pseudonym- Aldest), publicist. Author of the books "One Million First: Dzhokhar Dudayev" (2002) and "Chechen Wolf: My Life with Dzhokhar Dudayev" (2005), co-author of the collection "The Ballad of Jihad" (2003).

Memory of Dzhokhar Dudayev

In a number of cities in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine, streets and squares are named after Dzhokhar Dudayev.

Notes

1. According to Dzhokhar's wife, Alla Dudayeva, her husband was born in 1943, and exact date birth is unknown, since all documents were lost due to deportation, "and there were so many children that no one remembered exactly who was born when" (Ch. 2): Dudaeva A.F. Million first. M.: Ultra. Culture, 2005.
2. Dudaeva A.F. Million first. M.: Ultra. Culture, 2005. Ch. 2.
3. Obituary: Dzhokhar Dudayev / Tony Barber // Independent, 04/25/1996.
4. Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia / edited by Bernard A. Cook. Routledge, 2014. P. 322.
5. Kort M. The Handbook of the Former Soviet Union. Twenty-First Century Books, 1997; Chronicle of the armed conflict. Comp. A.V. Cherkasov and O.P. Orlov. M.: HRC "Memorial".
6. Chronicle of the armed conflict. Comp. A.V. Cherkasov and O.P. Orlov. M.: HRC "Memorial".

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