Crime 04/12/19 Mercenaries in Chechnya: some foreigners fought for the militants
during both Chechen campaigns, the Federal troops had to face not only local fighters but also foreign mercenaries. Their number was stable and by the end of the fighting has decreased markedly.
For the money and the idea of
In the early 1990s, the North Caucasus became the object of steadfast attention of international Islamic organizations. They quickly recognized the potential of the region with a predominantly Muslim population as a vast and untapped fields for planting ideas of pan-Islamism. Monarchy in the Middle East generously funded the construction of mosques and schools, pay for religious publications and had suggested that Caucasian youth the opportunity to receive education in the Arab countries. As noted by doctor of historical Sciences Alexey Malashenko, “along the southern border of Russia formed a vigorous Muslim belt already with non-Soviet identity and with sporadic manifestations of religious radicalism”.
it is not Surprising that with the beginning of the First Chechen war in certain Islamic circles began to spread the belief that “the Russians oppress the small and proud nation, violate the ancient customs and destroy the faith.” And soon volunteers from dozens of countries flocked to Chechnya to “defend devout Muslims”.
However, everyone’s motives were his: the Kosovo Albanians, for example, never forgave Russia support the Serbs, and the Ukrainian nationalists decided to throw out the accumulated centuries of hatred towards its Northern neighbor. However, for the vast majority of mercenaries, the main motivator of a trip to the North Caucasus was the money promised by sponsors of Islamic funds in the Middle East and Western Europe.
as soon as the increased inflow in the Chechen separatism, and increased the number of Mujahideen, who came to Chechnya from all over musulmanskogo the world. Along with this increased interest in the Chechen war from the international Islamist movement and Arab media, especially in the countries of the Persian Gulf.
the Beginning of the Counterterrorist operation in Chechnya (Second Chechen campaign) in October 1999, many Muslims Wahhabi longer perceived as “direct aggression of the infidels in the lands of Islam.” It was during this period have been recorded the most intense influx of foreign mercenaries joined the ranks of Basayev and Khattab.
In November 1999, the Russian intelligence services have deciphered the documents seized from the emissary “al-Qaeda*” the Saudis Abu Havs, which confirmed the financing of the war by foreign terrorist organizations. Only in January 1999, the cash infusion from abroad exceeded 400 thousand dollars. All, according to media reports, financial assistance to militants in the North Caucasus rose to more than 100 foreign firms and banks, the offices of most of which were located in Western Europe and the United States.
blood Legion
Foreign mercenaries were counted when they became victims of the Federal forces. So, in August 2000, in Sharoi district of Chechnya was eliminated a group of militants numbering 21 people: a heavily wounded commander Abdusalam Source was captured. According to the documents found that all of them are immigrants from Arab countries, the majority from Yemen and Morocco.
In November 2001, at the time Minister of defence of the Russian Federation Sergey Ivanov gave the media a list containing 101 name – it was foreign fighters, killed during combat operations from 1999 to 2001. They represented Tajikistan, UAE, Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkey, Algeria, Tunisia, Afghanistan and Ukraine.
According to General Vladimir Shamanov, in 1999-2000, the commander of the 58th army of the North Caucasus military district, if in the course of the First Chechen campaign the Russian troops were opposed by the Mujahideen of the 15 countries then in the Second they fought against the militants already from 52 States. Among them were Russian citizens – mostly criminals, fugitives from justice beyond the control of the Federal government territory.
According to the Ministry of defence of the Russian Federation, by the year 2000 the territory of the unrecognized Republic of Ichkeria was focused 600-700 foreign militants. According to information provided by Sergey Yastrzhembskiy, assistant to the President of Russia from 2000 to 2008, the maximum number of mercenaries from countries near and far abroad in the North Caucasus has reached 800 people. Unconfirmed sources put the figure much higher than 1,000.
the beginning of the Second Chechen war, the Republic represented an international gangster enclave. She was flooded with mercenaries from all over the world and not all of them professed Islam. The General-the major of FSB Ilya Shabalkin listed non-Muslim countries, mercenaries of which has left its bloody trail in Chechnya. Besides Ukrainians, there were citizens of the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Georgia.
In the course of the counterterrorist operation the ranks of the legionaries gradually thinned, to the end of the war, among them actually has no representatives abroad. The main reason is money. Ichkerian authorities decided to cheat and began to pay mercenaries with fake dollars, that was quickly solved. Moreover, in most of the contracts stipulated that the money will be paid only after the mercenary will provide evidence of the murder of the Russian fighter or destruction of military equipment. Such strict conditions are many people do not like.
Foreign fighters quickly gained notoriety among the local population: regular pogroms of houses and apartments, weaning the residents food, clothing, property, turned them into outcasts. Clashed with them and fighters of the Chechen units. Commanders tried to rein in the uncontrolled Legionnaires, but to no avail.
By 2006 numvalue of foreign mercenaries was estimated by the Russian authorities in no more than 200 people. If earlier the militants had divided along national groups (Ukrainian, Turkish), by the end of the war this structure was completely destroyed.
“Mercenaries” from the Square
Fighters who came to Chechnya from Ukraine, had perhaps the greatest representation in the “foreign Legion”. General Gennady Troshev in his book “My war. The Chechen diary of a trench General” wrote that in 1999 the number of Ukrainian mercenaries in Chechnya has reached 300 people, many of which were banned in Russia as extremist organization UNA-UNSO*. According to Troshev, they were motivated not so much by the desire to make money, how to find adventure. It was mostly a marginal element, thrown to the side of the Ukrainian society. According to UNA-UNSO*, fought in Chechnya about 100 members, 10 were killed and 20 captured.
the Leaders of UNA-UNSO* was one of the first foreigners who in 1993 established contacts with Chechen separatists. Among them, the current Kiev journalist, broadcaster and politician Dmytro korchinskiy, in respect of which in 2014 Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal case. He is suspected of organizing the gangs, which led the fighting against the Federal forces in the North Caucasus. According to the Chairman of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, among the Ukrainian mercenaries were former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
according to witnesses, the Ukrainian “mercenaries” were often more ruthless to the Russian military than the Arabs. For example, they could change into civilian clothes and lure the feds into an ambush, or to “breed” them to surrender, and then brutally kill. “Guests” from the Square, like other mercenaries, Chechens didn’t love.
a Curious episode occurred during the assault by Federal forces Novogroznensky in February 1996. As he told the prisoners the militants after a powerful atAki Russian troops Ukrainian mercenaries suddenly remembered that the term of their contract expired and asked Salman Raduyev to calculate. The warlord agreed. But as soon as they surrendered their ammunition and weapons, Raduyev ordered to let the adventurers “in the flow”.
*- an organization banned in Russia
Taras Repin
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see also: editor’s choice, “Russian Seven”wanted to do General Vlasov, when surrendered at plenary Rommel: what became the best commander Hitlerite not relatives of the deceased on pohorence actually hurt Greta Thunberg Recommended article Share: Comments (1) Comments to the article: “Mercenaries in Chechnya: some foreigners fought for the fighters” 04.12.2019 at 18:01 Vitaly Zhukov wrote:
Yatsenyuk? In Chechnya? Even Ramzan Kadyrov wrote
“I do not believe that Yatsenyuk is the warrior that he is able to fight, I don’t consider him a man. This is a real nerd. If he is a warrior and fought, I don’t know.”
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