Aleksey Malashenko: The Amirov case showed that there are no more untouchables in Russia. "The leadership of Chechnya has ceased to be effective"

Former mayor of Makhachkala Said Amirov was arrested long before the resignation of the head of Russian Railways Yakunin, but the goals in both cases were similar, the orientalist believes Alexey Malashenko, member of the scientific council of the Carnegie Moscow Center. “The authorities demonstratively persistently sought a harsh sentence and the complete removal of Said Amirov and his clan from the political life of Dagestan in order to show as clearly as possible that there are no more untouchables in Russia.”

In his commentary for Malashenko, he noted some significant facts of the biography of the ex-mayor of Makhachkala. In 1999, during the breakthrough of detachments Shamil Basaeva and Khattaba in Dagestan, Said Amirov gathered an impressive Dargin militia to resist the Chechens who invaded the republic. For a long time he headed the Dagestan branch of United Russia. Since 1998, he has been the mayor of Makhachkala, the largest city in the North Caucasus with over a million inhabitants. In 2006, the mayor of Makhachkala Amirov was nominated for the presidency of Dagestan, acting as a competitor to the chairman of the People's Assembly of Dagestan Muhu Aliyeva who was appointed President of the Republic. “However, even without the presidency, Amirov retained colossal influence in Dagestan. His power in Makhachkala has been compared to that of former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Amirov's power was even greater, since in Moscow the influence of the head of the capital was limited by the close presence of the supreme federal government,” says the orientalist.

“Makhachkala was Amirov’s personal fiefdom, his hands in the city were completely untied. Somewhat influential administrative posts were occupied by relatives of Said Dzhaparovich and people from his entourage, who were directly subordinate to their patron, - said Alexei Malashenko. “There were legends about Amirov’s fortune, in any case it was estimated at billions of dollars.” As a result, the expert believes, the mayor of Makhachkala gradually began to lose his sense of proportion. “Over time, Amirov believed more and more that he was the master not only of Makhachkala, but of the whole of Dagestan. At some point, he could imagine that almost everything was allowed to him, as Ramzan Kadyrov. However, this was not the case. Dagestan is not Chechnya. In Dagestan, rivalry between clans is much more difficult than in the neighboring republic. Dagestan is a multi-ethnic republic, and competition between ethnic groups is added to the rivalry between clans, and it is dangerous to upset the balance between them. Finally, Amirov did not hold a presidential position, and most importantly, unlike Ramzan Kadyrov, he did not have direct contact with the Russian president.”

According to Malashenko, Amirov's excessive independence irritated the leaders of Dagestan. "Became the head of Dagestan in 2013, Ramazan Abdulatipov, which Vladimir Putin instructed to restore order, clearly could not be satisfied with the autocracy of the Makhachkala mayor. In addition, Amirov risked conflict with law enforcement agencies, which, again, was allowed only to Kadyrov. And not just to conflict, but even to oppose them. An employee of the TFR who collected compromising evidence on the Amir clan Arsen Gadzhibekov, for whose murder Amirov was imprisoned, relied on the federals. The death of Gadzhibekov was considered, among other things, as a challenge to Moscow.”

“The arrest of Amirov in June 2013 looked like a military operation: military equipment was involved, including helicopters. This alone testified to the power of the owner of the Dagestan capital, ”says Malashenko. According to the expert, the federal authorities feared that the arrest (more precisely, capture) of the Makhachkala mayor could destabilize the situation, not only in Makhachkala, but throughout Dagestan. “This, however, did not happen. The operation was sudden, and Amirov's supporters failed to react to it. Yes, we were afraid." Amirov, who was taken to Moscow, at first hoped that his conflict with the authorities could be resolved on a compromise basis, however, realizing that this was impossible, he tried to commit suicide. “The attempt was unsuccessful - the doctors saved his life, and as a result, Amirov was brought to trial,” the expert describes the situation.

“Who is behind the fall of the mayor of Makhachkala, what does this mean for the situation in the region, for Russia as a whole? - asks Malashenko. - Firstly, the “Amirov case” is another confirmation that there are no more inviolable people in Russia. Yes, Amirov was arrested long before the resignation of the head of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin. However, this is indicative of the persistence with which the authorities went to sentence Amirov, to the complete elimination of him and his clan from the political life of Dagestan. The opportunity to reverse, to find some extenuating circumstances existed, but was not used.

Secondly, the expert says, there is a version that the arrest and sentence of Amirov to life imprisonment is an indirect warning to Ramzan Kadyrov, the most independent regional politician in Russia, demonstrating independence from law enforcement agencies, calling himself "Putin's infantryman" and only obeying him. “However, this version has some weaknesses,” the orientalist believes. - And the first weakness is that Kadyrov, apparently, is still indispensable in Putin's eyes, and his departure (especially removal from office) will certainly lead to significant destabilization in Chechnya: it is simply impossible to imagine a military operation to arrest Kadyrov . In addition, Kadyrov constantly emphasizes not only his loyalty to the Russian president, but also his readiness to come to his aid in any most acute situation - for example, in Ukraine. In this context, Amirov and Kadyrov are figures of different scales, the Makhachkala mayor is clearly inferior to the Chechen leader here.”

The second weakness of the "version with Kadyrov" is that a number of experts believe that the fall of Amirov just plays into the hands of the head of Chechnya, whose relations with the Makhachkala mayor were strained. “It is characteristic that Kadyrov publicly called his brother one of the main Dagestan opponents of Amirov - the head of the local branch of the Pension Fund Sagida Murtazalieva, who was recently accused of financing terrorist activities and fled Russia,” says Malashenko.

First of all, the Carnegie Center expert believes, the epic with the neutralization of the once all-powerful mayor of Makhachkala is a lesson for the regional Caucasian oligarchs, a way to once again emphasize their complete dependence on the federal center. “Amirov, of course, had his patrons in Moscow, but he absolutized their influence, ignoring the fact that the Kremlin has more than one tower. One way or another, but from now on in each republic of the North Caucasus there should be only one boss. Local elites learned even more clearly: the main thing is to follow the rules of the game and not quarrel with the security forces. Ramzan Kadyrov is still the exception,” Malashenko says.

In Dagestan itself, Amirov's departure is viewed for the most part as his own, local disassembly. “The redistribution has already taken place, and the Amirites have lost a lot, but by no means all,” the expert believes. - Let's not forget that Amirov is a Dargin, and it is impossible to offend the second largest people in the republic. However, no one is going to do it.”

The critical statements of the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov against the mayor of Khasavyurt Saygidpasha Umakhanov cannot be explained by the economic interests of the Chechen leadership associated with the markets of Khasavyurt, experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe. Umakhanov will try to become politically active and consolidate the forces close to him, Mairbek Agaev, editor-in-chief of the Chernovik weekly, notes. The conflict flared up against the backdrop of unresolved problems of restoring the Aukh District, political analyst Magomed Magomedov notes.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 23, Ramzan Kadyrov, during a meeting of the collegium of the Chechen Interior Ministry, announced Saigidpasha Umakhanov's connections with the bandit underground. According to Kadyrov, Umakhanov's brother financed the Dagestan armed underground, and his nephew is the current amir. Saygidpasha Umakhanov's official response, circulated on April 24, says that "religious and moral convictions" do not allow him to enter into a dispute with Kadyrov, since he was a close friend of the first president of Chechnya, Akhmat Kadyrov.

There is an opinion among the residents of Chechnya that the origins of the conflict may be the economic claims of the Chechen leadership to the Khasavyurt markets, through which a large cash flow passes. "Perhaps, this is where the root of the problems lies. Our authorities want to return the center of wholesale trade in the North Caucasus to the republic. In addition, one should not forget that a large number of ethnic Chechens-Akkins live in the Khasavyurt district," a representative told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent earlier. Chechen public organization Imran.

Mairbek Agaev: the head of Dagestan may take steps to get closer to Umakhanov

There are about 50 markets in Khasavyurt, where residents of Chechnya are also involved, most of all as buyers, Agayev noted, adding that the cheapness of many goods in the markets may be due to the fact that some of it is brought and sold bypassing taxes, according to gray charts. At the same time, law enforcement officers have repeatedly voiced information "that through the markets of Khasavyurt, money is being laundered that goes to support the militants."

According to Agayev, Saygidpasha Umakhanov will now try to become politically active and consolidate the forces close to him. "In recent years, Umakhanov has distanced himself from big politics. Now, taking into account recent events, he may attempt to collect his political assets," Mairbek Agayev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

As the editor-in-chief of Chernovik believes, there will most likely not be a direct reaction from the leadership of Dagestan to Kadyrov's statement, but the head of Dagestan will most likely take steps towards rapprochement with Umakhanov. "It seems to me that the leadership of Dagestan will respond to Kadyrov through the Kremlin, through some official at the federal level," Agayev said.

It should be noted that on April 16, for the first time in a long time, a meeting was held between the head of Dagestan, Ramazan Abdulatipov, and the mayor of Khasavyurt, Saygidpasha Umakhanov. According to the press service of the head of the republic, it discussed issues "related to the socio-economic development of the municipality in 2013." According to Umakhanov, the city budget revenues in 2013 amounted to 1,482.69 million rubles, which is 30% more than in 2012. The local budget received tax and non-tax revenues in the amount of 221.6 million rubles, or 105% of the target.

"Relations between Kadyrov and Umakhanov have escalated against the background of the problems of restoring the Aukhovsky district"

“It is not clear what Kadyrov was guided by when making such a statement. I believe that in the current situation there are no economic interests, especially those relating to the Khasavyurt markets. Relations between Kadyrov and Umakhanov could have escalated against the backdrop of unresolved problems in the restoration of the Aukhovsky district, the lack of its legal status, the lack of infrastructure Akkin Chechens living in the border regions of Dagestan with Chechnya," Magomedov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Kisriev: Khasavyurt market has become the largest shopping center in the region

At the moment, the Khasavyurt market (more precisely, the markets) has become the largest shopping center in the region, said Enver Kisriev, head of the Center for the Caucasus and Civilizational and Regional Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. "It is in Khasavyurt that the residents of Chechnya and Northern Dagestan buy goods. Goods are delivered there both from Russia and from abroad - from Turkey, both directly and through intermediaries," Enver Kisriev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Tax authorities have previously noted low tax collection in the markets of Khasavyurt

The conflict between Ramzan Kadyrov and the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the TFR has gone public.

The Chechen leader deliberately aggravates, and the confrontation with the security forces is connected with the investigation of the Nemtsov case, experts say.

Shoot to kill

At the end of last week, the conflict between the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, and the leadership of two law enforcement agencies at once, the Investigative Committee of Russia and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, turned into a public debate. The mutual exchange of views began with Kadyrov's harsh public reaction to the operation of the Stavropol police officers in Chechnya, which was not coordinated with the Chechen colleagues, during which a resident of the republic died. “If he appears on your territory without your knowledge, it doesn’t matter whether he is a Muscovite or a Stavropol resident – ​​open fire to kill,” Kadyrov said on Wednesday at a meeting on security issues in the republic with local security forces. In the same place, he gave a personal order to all the heads of local bodies of the FSB, the TFR and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to punish the perpetrators.

On Thursday, in a special statement, the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed the complete correctness of their colleagues and called Kadyrov's words "unacceptable." To this, Kadyrov suggested that Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev was misled by his subordinates, and the Chechen security forces announced that they had opened a criminal case against their colleagues from Stavropol (under Article 286 of the Criminal Code on abuse of power). On Friday evening, the chairman of the ICR, Alexander Bastrykin, intervened in the situation, who by a personal decision canceled the initiation of a case against the policemen.

In turn, on Saturday Kadyrov urged Bastrykin to personally explain to the relatives of the deceased during the special operation and to all residents of Chechnya what are “the true reasons for the cancellation of the case, to tell what violations were committed during its initiation, why there is no need to check if a person died.”

On Saturday, investigators from the department for the North Caucasian Federal District arrived in Chechnya on behalf of the leadership of the ICR to check the circumstances of the incident. “I would like to emphasize that the audit will be carried out objectively, absolutely impartially and in strict accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation,” Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for the TFR, assured.

RBC's interlocutor, close to the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, assures that the department continues to insist on its version of events and fully supports Bastrykin's decision to drop the case against the police.

What happened in Grozny

On Sunday, April 19, police from the Stavropol Territory tried to detain in Grozny a resident of Chechnya, Dzhambulat Dadaev, who was wanted for shooting a rival businessman in Stavropol. The Ministry of Internal Affairs claims that the Stavropol police officers turned to their colleagues in the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Chechen Republic and informed them of the purpose of their trip. The head of the Chechen Criminal Investigation Department and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Chechnya deny this fact.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the detention, Dadaev tried to escape in his car, while ramming the transport of employees who had arrived in Grozny. Trying to stop the car, the police opened fire and mortally wounded Dadaev.

Officers of the Chechen riot police arrived at the scene and surrounded the Stavropol security forces. According to them, the policemen from Stavropol wore masks and refused to show their documents. Surrounded by Chechens, the operatives, in turn, turned for help to the employees of the temporary operational group of bodies and divisions of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, which since 2000 has been based in Khankala and is under federal subordination. After that, they managed to leave Chechnya.

Link to the Nemtsov case

Kadyrov's position logically follows from the contradictions that were exposed during the investigation into the murder of Boris Nemtsov, Vadim Prokhorov, a lawyer for the family of the deceased, believes. “I can state that in Chechnya the investigation, despite the highest level, has faced obvious obstacles. Why do you think [Ruslan] Geremeev has not yet been interrogated? If the leader of one region considers himself equal to others, sooner or later this should have resulted in a conflict with the security forces, ”says Prokhorov.

The identity of Geremeev surfaced in the case of the murder of Nemtsov after the testimony of the main accused - his colleague in the Sever battalion Zaur Dadaev - and his alleged accomplice, ex-employee of the Shelkovsky district police department Temirlan Eskerkhanov. The testimony says that Dadaev lived in the Geremeevs' Moscow apartment, received a gun and a car for the crime from a man named Rusik from Geremeev's entourage. Dadaev's lawyer, in an interview with RBC, stated that his client really lived in Geremeev's apartment, but Dadaev was forced to testify against Geremeev under torture. As a result, according to the defender, Dadaev gave the investigators the “mythical” name Rusik.

Novaya Gazeta called Geremeev a relative of State Duma deputy from Chechnya Adam Delimkhanov and senator from the republic Suleiman Geremeev close to Kadyrov. According to the publication, back in the first half of March, the FSB for the Chechen Republic received an order from Moscow to detain Ruslan Geremeev and another suspect, Ruslan M., and bring them in for questioning. The order of the investigation has not been executed so far. The reliable location of Geremeev is also unknown to the special services. Perhaps he is still in the Chechen village of Dzhalka, the ancestral village of deputy Delimkhanov, but he could have left Russia through the international airport in Grozny, using a fake passport to leave, Novaya Gazeta wrote.

Refuge near Kadyrov

In May 2013, Vladislav Surkov, Deputy Prime Minister and curator of the Skolkovo Foundation, criticized the Investigative Committee after the department opened several cases of corruption in the foundation. “The energy with which the UK publishes its assumptions makes ordinary people feel that crimes have been committed. But that's just SK energy. Let them prove that these people are guilty of something, we will see if they prove it or not, ”Surkov said while in London.

In response, the official representative of the Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, published an article in the Izvestiya newspaper, in which he stated that the so-called effective managers and their "curators" "broke fashion" to complain to the West about the Investigative Committee, accusing their colleagues of embezzlement. Surkov called Markin's article "graphomania" and refused to comment on it.

A few days later, Surkov left his post in the government, and at the end of the month, at the invitation of Kadyrov, he arrived in Chechnya. “He is my sworn brother and will remain so forever. What kind of a man am I if I refuse my brother after his dismissal? Even if my friendship with Surkov hurts me, I will be proud of our relationship, ”Kadyrov said then and offered Surkov to work in the republic.

The interlocutor of RBC, close to the investigation team in the Nemtsov case, confirmed the intention of the investigation to interrogate and detain Geremeev, as well as another person involved, who had previously appeared in the case file under the name Rusik, however, according to the source, the investigation is facing serious opposition in Chechnya.

On Friday, Adam Delimkhanov and Suleiman Geremeev, who had previously remained silent on the situation surrounding the murder of Nemtsov, spoke out about the conflict between the Chechen leader and the security forces. They regarded the coverage of the situation in the press as an attempt by some Russian media to use Kadyrov's "emotional and humanly quite predictable reaction" to the "illegal and provocative actions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs" to undermine political stability in Russia.

The interlocutor in the Ministry of Internal Affairs drew the attention of RBC to the plot of Channel One: the police regarded it as support for its position. On Friday, in the evening news release in connection with this conflict, correspondents recalled the attempt by Chechen security forces in Moscow to detain former security guard Akhmat Kadyrov Movladi Baisarov in 2006, he was shot dead on Leninsky Prospekt. “At that time, many questions arose about the actions of the Chechen security forces. But the criminal case was soon closed, ”the author of the story emphasized. Former Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya Bislan Gantamirov and State Duma Deputy Mikhail Markelov stated that the then Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya Adam Delimkhanov was involved in Baisarov's death.

Putin's silence

Kadyrov's latest statements to the security forces look like a game of aggravation, says the editor-in-chief of the "Caucasian Knot" Grigory Shvedov: "Kadyrov certainly feels a threat to his position, this is a well-thought-out strategic communication with the federal center."

Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, in response to journalists' requests to comment on Kadyrov's controversy with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, recalled that the internal affairs bodies of Chechnya are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. “There is nothing to comment on in this case,” Peskov stressed.

Silver coin weighing 1 kg from the "Creators of Russia" series, issued by the Ural factory "Oruzheinik"

Throughout the past week, the conflict between the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, on the one hand, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and the TFR, on the other, has been gaining momentum. This conflict is old. It is based on a Moscow-constructed regime based on Ramzan Kadyrov's loyalty exclusively to Vladimir Putin and to no one else. It took eight years to build a model that, in fact, led to the creation of an autonomous Chechen state within the Russian Federation. The laws of the Russian Federation do not apply in this state, a kind of personality cult has been established, and the independence of the prosecutor's office, the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the FSB has been reduced to a minimum. The main attribute and foundation of this state is a well-armed army of many thousands of Chechens, who formally serve in the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, but are personally subordinate to Ramzan Kadyrov.

All these years, conflict situations, no matter how resonant they were, were automatically resolved in favor of Kadyrov. So it was with a lot of serious crimes in which people from Chechnya figured, with scandals about spending budget funds in the republic, with all business showdowns in which the participation of Chechens during the years of Kadyrov's rule has grown significantly. There is absolutely no need to talk about violations of human rights in the republic, no matter how flagrant they may be.

The administrative borders of the republic, in which Chechens who have fallen under criminal prosecution receive asylum, have long become impenetrable for the Russian security forces.

Federal intervention in the internal affairs of Chechnya was possible only by agreement with the local leadership. This principle has never been violated in eight years.

But on April 19, the incredible happened: officers of the Stavropol Ministry of Internal Affairs tried to detain Dzhambulat Dadaev, a resident of Chechnya, in Grozny. During the arrest, Dadaev was killed. Judging by the reaction that followed, Kadyrov was not aware of this operation.

The Stavropol security forces chose the day well. On April 19, a delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Khloponin arrived in the republic for the match "Terek" - "Dynamo". All law enforcement forces of Chechnya were involved in ensuring the safety of the guests, primarily from the terrorist threat. No one expected that the shooting in the center of Grozny would be organized by police officers from the neighboring region.

It was not possible to carry out the operation quietly. Dadaev really resisted (in the yard of the investigative department of the investigative committee for Chechnya there are two crumpled cars that Dadaev tried to ram head-on: these cars were shown to an employee of the “Committee against Torture” Sergei Babinets by investigator for especially important cases Igor Sobol). Fire was opened to kill. A traffic police patrol came to the shootout and immediately called the republican riot police. The Chechens surrounded the Stavropol residents, and only the special forces of the TsSN FSB from Khankala, who arrived at the scene promptly and, apparently, on command from Moscow, were able to prevent an armed conflict between the policemen of the two regions of the Russian Federation.

The presence of distinguished guests led by Khloponin, who became unwitting witnesses to this awkward situation, aggravated the emotional state of Ramzan Kadyrov. Stavropol residents (not even the federals!), who are detaining a Chechen in the center of Grozny in masks, aroused the anger of the head of Chechnya. On April 20, Ramzan Kadyrov gathered the leadership of all Chechen power units and ordered: “The times that since 2000 have passed. Someone wanted to make a result - they took a Chechen and killed ... This will not happen ... I officially declare to you: if he appears on your territory without your knowledge, it does not matter - whether he is a Muscovite or a Stavropol resident, open fire to kill. We must be reckoned with ... "

From the point of view of the Criminal Code of Russia, such a statement by the head of the region, especially made publicly, contains signs of abuse of power, as well as incitement to violence and murder against police officers.

However, R. Kadyrov, confident in his own immunity, did not fail to take advantage of the situation and run into the last stronghold of the federal forces in Chechnya - the military base at Khankala, which was not under his control.

“Yesterday I gave a clear instruction to the chief prosecutor, the investigative committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB,” Kadyrov said, “to punish those people who carried out the order of rich people according to the law… money? It doesn't happen like that"

According to Kadyrov, the special operation to detain Dadaev was paid for, and the forces based in Khankala took part in it “for money”. However, the facts testify otherwise: Khankala was turned on at the last moment and precisely in order to prevent a clash between Chechen and Stavropol policemen. Ramzan Kadyrov probably did not know about this, but his desire to get rid of Khankala is too great.

If he hadn’t focused on the fact that the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Chechnya and he personally had not been warned about the operation, if he had clearly explained what was hidden behind the phrase “they used the Stavropol group for money,” the conflict might have been resolved at the initial stage. And in favor of Kadyrov. Perhaps even a criminal case against employees of the Stavropol Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which was the head of the SUSK of Chechnya, General Devyatov, the head of the TFR, General Bastrykin, would not. But out of habit, Kadyrov wanted to show who was the boss in Chechnya.

Whether the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Stavropol Territory informed the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Chechnya is by no means the main issue in this conflict. Something else is more curious. Over the years, a large number of Chechens, put on the federal and even international wanted list, have concentrated in Chechnya in complete safety and inaccessibility. (see reference at the end of the material). The exact number of Chechens who are suspects in dozens of criminal cases and who have become beneficiaries of the principle “Chechnya does not extradite its own” is known only to the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the TFR.

During the reign of Ramzan Kadyrov, only one case of official extradition of a Chechen suspected of a serious crime to the federals is known. On May 31, 2011, in the village of Achkhoy-Martan, the killer who shot Anna Politkovskaya, Rustam Makhmudov, was detained.

He, too, was put on the federal and international wanted list and lived for many months in Chechnya at his parents' house. Nevertheless, the Chechen police did not take any operational-search measures to detain Makhmudov. The detention of Makhmudov was the result of the most complicated agreements between the federals and the Chechen authorities. They did not participate in the special operation. Makhmudov was detained by the FSB special forces.

But the case of Rustam Makhmudov is exceptional. In the case of the murder of Boris Nemtsov, the FSB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the TFR failed to reach an agreement with the Chechen authorities, and no one allowed Ruslan Geremeev, suspected of involvement in the murder of Nemtsov, to be detained. Geremeev could be sent to Dubai, having made him a new passport (the same passports were made at one time to the killer Makhmudov, Dukuzov, suspected of killing Paul Khlebnikov, and Sulim Yamadayev, who lived in the same Dubai with documents in which Sulim's surname was not I madayev, and BUT madayev).

In none of the high-profile cases, the federals can agree with the Chechen authorities on extradition. No attempt is being made to carry out a special operation in Gudermes, Urus-Martan or Dzhalka. But the Stavropol police suddenly decide to detain a certain Dzhambulat Dadaev.

The question is, who is Dadaev and what did he do, even if they did not dare to detain Geremeev, but Dadaev - yes?

Dzhambulat Dadaev was put on the wanted list eight months ago in a criminal case for causing grievous bodily harm (Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). It is known that there was a conflict on the basis of business. In the course of a showdown, Dadaev shot twice at a man whose name and surname none of the conflicting parties names. Why? After all, it was the investigative measures in this ordinary, in fact, criminal case that became the trigger mechanism for the most serious public clash between Kadyrov and the federals. So what kind of person is this, for whose sake the political immunity of Chechnya was finally violated?

Hotel "Continent" in Stavropol, owned by Maga Manassky

It turned out that Dadaev had a conflict with a certain Maga Manassky. No one could name Magi, which is typical only for criminal authorities, who are known by nicknames, and not by surnames. Then information was received that Maga Manassky, a Dagestani, Dargin, was part of the group of a relative of the former mayor of Makhachkala, Said Amirov. It was possible to calculate the identity of Maga Manassky only from information about the property he owns, in particular, they talked about the Continent Hotel in Stavropol.

It turned out that people call Magomed Khasbulatovich Tazirov Magomed Manassky - indeed a Dagestani. It was him, as a result of a quarrel over an undivided tender, that was shot twice by Dzhambulat Dadaev - and then fled to Chechnya.

All the while he was holed up in the republic, Dadaev's relatives tried to reconcile with Tazirov. Today there are reports from Tazirov's representatives that he had no intentions to kill Dzhambulat Dadaev. That is, the intention was only to delay, is that how these comments should be understood? In general, the fact remains: Magomed Tazirov had a desire to get even with the offender (he, apparently, did not agree to reconciliation), and on April 19 a group of Stavropol police officers went to Grozny to detain Dzhambulat Dadaev. During the arrest, Dadaev was killed. After that, Kadyrov said that "the Stavropol group acted for money." This is understood very clearly: the detention of the suspect Dadaev was stimulated. It looks like it. That is, crime did what the federal security forces could not dare to do for years. This is if Kadyrov's version is correct. If not, then one can only admire the madness of the brave Stavropol policemen.

After Kadyrov's order to "shoot at the security forces" operating on the territory of Chechnya without approval, a chain reaction began. Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Kadyrov - he. SUSK Chechnya criminal case against the Stavropol policemen - Bastrykin order of his subordinate, the head of SUSK General Devyatov... For several days now Kadyrov has been appealing to the main distributing officer - Vladimir Putin. He calls himself a personal infantryman, declares that he is ready to retire.

Only quite recently the head of Chechnya has already used all these arguments. Then, in December, it helped. Balancing the situation after the assassination of Boris Nemtsov was much more difficult. Both sides of the conflict made sacrifices. Kadyrov will no longer be able to pull out the detainees in this case, but apparently no one else will be detained.

Today, judging by the clear position of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the TFR and the reciprocal posts on Kadyrov's Instagram, the situation is in no way resolved in favor of the latter.

History of the conflict

In Stavropol, many people know about what happened. Dzhambulat Dadaev and Mohammed Khasbulaevich Tazirov knew each other and were on good terms. But in the middle of last September, they had a conflict in the Perspective District of Stavropol. Dzhambulat Dadaev fired two shots at Magomet Tazirov. He survived, but is still being treated in Moscow. He has already undergone about ten operations. Not so long ago, Dadaev's relatives came from Chechnya to Stavropol to find out what kind of satisfaction Tazirov wants. But he assured them that he was not going to take revenge.

Representative of the Republic of Dagestan in the Stavropol Territory Abdul Omarov:

- I know for sure that Magomet Tazirov had no intentions to kill Dzhambulat Dadaev. The fact is that several delegations from Chechnya addressed me in order to reconcile them. Not relatives, but acquaintances. Mohammed had meetings with the delegations, at which he said that he was not going to kill Dzhambulat Dadaev or take revenge on him. And he also forbade his brothers to do anything. I heard all this from him personally. I have great respect for Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov. I am sure that now someone is artificially inflating the situation, giving him not entirely correct information. We need to calmly deal with everything.

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"Inaccessible" Chechens

Lechi Bogatyrov, put on the international wanted list for the murder of Umar Israilov in Vienna. Serves in the Chechen police.

Plenipotentiary of Kadyrov Ramzan Tsitsulaev, who pulled off a very strange special operation with LifeNews journalists in Ukraine. At the end of last year, a criminal case was opened against Tsitsulaev for fraud. During the arrest, Tsitsulaev's guards resisted the officers of the MUR, the suspect was able to leave Moscow and get to Chechnya. Tsitsulaev lives quietly in the village of Urus-Martan, despite the fact that he has been put on the federal wanted list.

Kadyrov's adviser Shaa Turlae c, put on both the international and federal wanted lists (for the murder of Umar Israilov, Ruslan Yamadayev, the attempted murder of Isa Yamadayev and the mayor of Khasavyurt Umakhanov), has been living quietly in his house in Gudermes for many years.

The case against Sagid Murtazaliev, an influential Dagestani politician and former head of the Kizlyar district, and his protege, 33-year-old Andrei, who became head of the district in 2010, is gaining momentum. They are suspected of financing terrorism and involvement in the murders.

The detention of Vinogradov took place in the best Caucasian traditions. In the early morning of July 27, the KTO regime was announced, the special forces stormed Vinogradov's house, disarming his guards and, according to some media reports, employees of the Kizlyar police department who tried to resist. After that, Vinogradov was promptly transported by helicopter to the Ossetian city of Mozdok, and then to Moscow.

Searches were carried out in the houses of three defendants - Vinogradov, Murtazaliev and a deputy of the People's Assembly of Dagestan Omar Asadaluev.

The criminal case in which they are involved was initiated on the fact of the murders in 2010 of the head of the operational gas service of the Kizlyar district of Dagestangazservis LLC, the deputy head of the center for countering extremism in the Republic of Dagestan and the attempted murder of the deputy head of the administration of Kizlyar, reports. In addition, they are suspected of financing terrorism. The case is being investigated by the Main Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia.

On July 29, the Basmanny Court of Moscow issued a decision to arrest Vinogradov for two months. Murtazaliev, according to the investigation, is hiding in Dubai. According to the press service of the Pension Fund, Sagid Murtazaliev is on sick leave, as he was operated on after a ligament injury. The UK announced its intention to put him on the international wanted list.

At the same time, the residents of Kizlyar gathered a meeting in support of Murtazaliev and Vinogradov, calling the criminal prosecution a political order.

According to the publication "Caucasian Knot", about 2 thousand people took part in it. "Statistically, that's a lot," says the senior researcher. - On the one hand, there are groups in the Kizlyar region that actively support Murtazaliev and, apparently, will continue to do so. And there are those who are unlikely to stand up for his support, ”he explains.

The last "informal"

The Kizlyar region is a place of intensive migration, and a significant part of its population is migrants. Murtazaliev's supporters are mainly people from the western regions of mountainous Dagestan, primarily Tsumadinsky and Tsuntinsky.

But even in this part of the region, far from everyone supports him, judging by at least a number of conflicts between Murtazaliev's supporters and other people from these regions. The most high-profile case occurred in March 2012: as a result of a shootout in the Kizlyar market, Andrey Vinogradov's guards killed people from a village in the Tsumadinsky district - a deputy of the city assembly, his three brothers and a nephew. Relatives of those killed then blocked the federal highway and demanded Vinogradov's resignation. The guards were eventually acquitted by a jury. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation also upheld the verdict.

Historically, the municipal heads of districts and cities in Dagestan have largely remained self-sufficient figures.

This applies, first of all, to cities in which economic activity is concentrated, allowing local elites to have their own sources of income.

Although Murtazaliev can hardly be called a typical political figure for Dagestan. A former freestyle wrestler and Olympic champion, he entered politics only at the beginning of the 2000s. “Such informal leaders were typical for the region in the 1990s. Murtazaliev is the last informal who appeared here, who was integrated into the political structure of Dagestan, ”says Konstantin Kazenin.

According to the expert, Murtazaliev has several levers of political influence.

First of all, this is the presence of a tough and organized team in the Kizlyar region, in which his supporters "could count on an informal force resource."

In addition, the Republican, which Murtazaliev headed in 2007, having received a position in the federal structure. And, finally, the impact on the neighboring regions of Northern Dagestan and serious ties outside the region.

Next after

In June 2013, after an assault by federal security forces, the mayor of Makhachkala, Said Amirov, the most influential Dagestani politician, who for a long time was considered unsinkable, was taken out. Among the charges brought against him was an attempt on Murtazaliev's life: Amirov and his nephew planned to shoot down Murtazaliev's plane using the Strela-2M anti-aircraft missile system at the Makhachkala airport.

The fall of Amirov happened shortly after the appointment of Ramzan as the head of Dagestan, who announced the start of a campaign to clean up the Dagestan authorities.

“Expectations were very high,” says Ekaterina, an expert at the International Crisis Group. - It seemed that the first important step had been taken towards the decriminalization of the Dagestan elite. But after the arrest of Amirov, there were no new high-profile detentions, the rest of the local barons remained in their places.

According to the expert, many had a feeling of unjustified expectations, and soon Abdulatipov's authority fell sharply.

Sokiryanskaya suggests that the cases against Vinogradov and Murtazaliev are “the next step in dismantling the Dagestan clan system.” In part, this could have been done to support Abdulatipov. And a slight decrease in tension in the region, caused by the outflow of militants to Syria, could seem like the right moment to clean up from the clans.

Political implications

Kizlyar is a densely populated, multi-ethnic region with a difficult intra-Islamic situation and fertile lands, for which there is a constant struggle, but Murtazaliev somehow kept the situation under control.

Now the responsibility for the difficult region will largely fall on the republican leadership of Dagestan.

And here an important question arises: will he have at his disposal such personnel that can replace Murtazaliev. “As Ramzan Abdulatipov’s experience of fighting some other municipal leaders in southern Dagestan shows, things aren’t going too well with municipal-level cadres who would replace strong leaders who are being removed from the districts,” says Konstantin Kazenin.

A possible consequence of the change of elites will be an increase in instability in a difficult area of ​​one of the most problematic regions of the North Caucasus, where the problem of the jihadist underground is acute.

However, two years ago it also seemed to many that “if Amirov is detained, people will take to the squares and the part of Dagestan controlled by him will explode,” recalls Sokiryanskaya. “But only a small group of people came out, just like now, in support of Sagid. There was no destabilization: they arrived, took him away by helicopter, and no one especially twitched.”

It is also impossible to say that then the republican authorities completely took control of Makhachkala. This is evidenced by at least the personnel leapfrog around the post of the head of the city.

For the first time, acting Murtazali Rabadanov, rector of DSU, became the mayor, whose main task was to maintain control over the city without Amirov (on the one hand, he was loyal to Abdulatipov, and on the other hand, he was not completely alien to local officials). Then he was replaced by a prominent representative of one of the influential groups in Dagestan. “He was already acting quite harshly, and the growth of his influence was not to the liking of Makhachkala. They couldn’t find a common language, and he was removed from the post of acting,” says Kazenin.

At the moment, the post of acting mayor of Makhachkala is occupied by the former minister of construction and housing and communal services of the republic, who is considered a man from the team of the prime minister of Dagestan, Abdusamad Gamidov. Murtazaliev, who at one time was called one of the candidates for the post of head of Dagestan, was a direct competitor.

“Before the criminal prosecution began, there were suggestions that Murtazaliev could compete with Musaev for the post of mayor of Makhachkala,” says Kazenin.

Although, according to him, even now there is no guarantee for the republican leadership that the elections will be easy. “A counterbalance may well appear,” Kazenin believes. If Musaev becomes mayor, this will mean that the city has finally come under his control.

"True Patriot"

Many experts believe that Murtazaliev was the conductor of the influence of the head of Chechnya, Ramzan, on the border regions of Dagestan.

“There are informal relations between the most influential figures in Dagestan and the authorities in Chechnya,” says Vadim Mukhanov, a senior researcher at the Center for Caucasian Problems. - Various, let's say, shady things that existed on the territory of the North Caucasus could not be carried out without normal interaction with neighbors. Murtazaliev and two or three other Dagestan figures were in contact and had, if not the format of trust, then the format of warm relations with Grozny. Therefore, if not directly, then indirectly, if all cases related to Murtazaliev’s team are investigated, they can lead to the Chechen direction.”

“Naturally, the arrest (of Vinogradov. - Gazeta.Ru) was sanctioned at the highest level. It is possible that certain groups of influence were involved in pushing through such a decision, but Sagid also has a very powerful lobby. For example, he has a very good relationship with Ramzan Kadyrov - there was someone to put in a good word for him, ”says Sokiryanskaya.

Ramzan Kadyrov has repeatedly demonstrated his affection for Murtazaliev, who flaunted his connections.