Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev

Zelimkhan Abdumuslimovich Yandarbiyev (Chechen: Яндарбин Абдулмуслиман кант Зелимха, Russian: Зелимхан Абдумуслимович Яндарбиев, also spelled Yandarbiev) (September 12, 1952 – February 13, 2004) was a Chechen writer and a politician, who served as acting president of the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria between 1996 and 1997. In 2004 Yandarbiyev was killed in exile in Qatar by the Russian military intelligence. Originally a literary scholar... more

Zelimkhan Abdumuslimovich Yandarbiyev (Chechen: Яндарбин Абдулмуслиман кант Зелимха, Russian: Зелимхан Абдумуслимович Яндарбиев, also spelled Yandarbiev) (September 12, 1952 – February 13, 2004) was a Chechen writer and a politician, who served as acting president of the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria between 1996 and 1997. In 2004 Yandarbiyev was killed in exile in Qatar by the Russian military intelligence. Originally a literary scholar, poet and children's literature writer Yandarbiyev became a leader in the Chechen nationalist movement as the Soviet Union began to collapse. In May 1990, he founded and led the Vainakh Democratic Party (VDP), the first Chechen political party, which was committed to an independent Chechnya. The VDP initially represented both Chechen and Ingush until their split after Chechnya's declaration of independence from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. In November 1990 he became a deputy chairman to the newly formed All-National... less