Maskhadov is Dead

T

The Commissar

Vault Senior Citizen
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This link sucks and is obviously written by someone who has not spent any time in the region, but it should provide some general information.

I think this is a horrible blow for any potential resolution in Chechnya.
Maskhadov had already promised to bring Basayev to justice in Chechnya for the things he had done, hoping such an action would validate his position with Putin and might inspire Putin to allow some kind of face to face negotiations. Hell, even Ramzan Kadyrov promised to kill Basayev. Basayev is wildly unpopular with anyone who wants to see an end to fighting, and now he is in a position to consolidate alot of power.

I'm very torn about this. I hate Maskhadov and am glad to see him dead, but he was a thousand times better then the alternative that is now the only option. Killing him may have just promised war for another 10 years. Has anyone else been watching this?
 
I can't really say that I know much about this, but from what I've seen on the news here in Denmark, most people seem to agree that Maskhadov was the best (perhaps othe only) chance for a peaceful resolution in Chechnya.

As such it doesn't seem very smart to kill him, unless Putin doesn't want a peaceful resolution.

But apparantly there are rumors that his bodyguards accidentily killed him when trying to defend him, so maybe the Russians didn't want to kill him, but merely capture him. But as I said, I don't know a whole lot about this so I'd appreciate any further thoughts.
 
I can't make those sound files work, so I'm afraid I can't comment on what was said in them.

But Aslan Maskhadov was an awful leader? That is a familier argument here.

He had a really hard time trying to do ANYTHING as president. He couldn't regulate Chechen troops, he couldn't read public opinion well, and he just didn't seem to know what to do with Basayev. As Basayev and his followers continued increasingly brutal attacks he was struggling to maintain the image of control and legitimacy and fighting to reduce Islamic fundimentalism as a source for leadership and internal conflict. So many groups there are split, but generally people fall to either favoring an Islamic state or a more secular state. Maskhadov falls into the second group, and its why he was initially somewhat favored by Moscow.

I don't know if he really was trying to stop Basayev, Gelayev, or any of those "Front commanders" who virtually appointed themselves or if he was letting them continue on, but for the sake of arguments I am willing to go against Russian popular opinion and agree they may very well have been out of Maskhadov's control. However this only adds fuel to the "bad leader" argument. Either he was in control and using terrorism, or he was not in control and terrorism is strengthening because of it. Either way he never consolidated support or validated himself to Russian or Chechen leadership. He was never able to demonstrate control.

I mean, obviously they fought each other alot. Basayev and Maskadov exchanged threats and accused the other of things, but stopped meeting face to face. And yes, there were clashes between their followers, but rarely, and I never got the feeling Maskhadov was trying to stop 'ol One Leg even as he claimed to condemn his actions. However in recent days, and especially after Beslan. He seemed very desperate to talk with Putin, calling the ceasefire, again publicly promising to bring Basayev to justice, as if he felt he was running out of time.

He seemed for a long time content to just wage war and did in fact, carry that war out of Chechnya against civilians in Russia. But again, for the sake of arguments I will allow he was moving away from this and recent attacks against civilians (Both high profile and low profile) were not at his orders. Its not so much that he was a good or bad leader, that he was a good or bad man, but that he was the closest thing to someone Moscow would negotiate with, the closest thing to a moderate in a very extremist situation. It may turn out that some unknown will appear and pull out some kind of deus ex machina and magically solve all the problems in Chechnya. However in reality, Basayev's support will grow, Islamic radicals will continue to pour into the country, and fighting will continue on.

Its very hard for me to accept he was a potential for peace, and at the same time remember the friends and family who he is responsible for killing.
 
I still think this is good for overall situation. Less money for terrs, anyways.
Maskhadov was not a peaceful option - he just tried to look that way, and thus have more political support by the western countries (EU mainly, because US ans Russia seem to understand each other pretty well).
The fastest way to bring the peace is thorough control over the region and good propaganda. Most of the common people living there will praise any stability.
 
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