New Elusive

(Photo: Vladimir Barabanov )

Another "militant" was captured by the valiant Russian special services. Khozhakhmed Yarikhanov was detained by the Chechen Organized Crime Control Department in Gudermes in the house of one of his relatives and transported to Nalchik, and from there to Moscow. The official interpretation: “testing for involvement in gangs.” But what is there to check? In Chechnya today they know by name who is fighting and who is not fighting. Khozhakhmed - does not fight. As, however, Apti Batalov, who was once the head of Maskhadov’s administration, who was also “tied up” about three weeks ago, has never fought in reality, and since January he has not fought formally and legally. Yarikhanov, like Batalov, is a political figure. During the negotiations in 1995-1996, he headed the Chechen delegation, after Khasavyurt he headed the fuel and energy complex - it was with him that Moscow negotiated tariffs for the transit of Azerbaijani oil. Yarikhanov's resignation was associated with a change in the foreign policy orientation of Maskhadov's cabinet: when it was decided to place the main bet on the Grozny-Tbilisi oil pipeline, Yarikhanov found himself out of work. The current war has found Yarikhanov not to be an enemy of Russia - rather, he belonged to those Chechens on whom the Russian authorities could try to rely in the fight against criminal tyranny.

After the arrests of Batalov and Yarikhanov, Russian analysts suggested that both were detained “for negotiations.” That is, they seemed to be arresting, but in fact they were taking them under guard, so that no one could interfere with a detailed conversation on topics of interest to both sides. Batalov is one of the people closest to Maskhadov. Yarikhanov is simply a man of quite moderate views, known for his rejection of the Wahhabis. There are, however, serious doubts about the adequacy of such a rational interpretation of what is happening. If it is so necessary to find an intermediary connection with Maskhadov, then is it really impossible to do without arresting people close to him? Ruslan Aushev or, say, Alexander Lebed does not need to be detained with the help of the Organized Crime Control Department - it is enough to simply ask to talk with the Chechen president. Maskhadov’s wife Kusama, who left Russia on the very day Yarikhanov was arrested, could have coped well with this task. No one detained her - on the contrary, Russian and Georgian border guards reasonably explained that they had no reason to prevent her from leaving: Kusama was not wanted, and her right of movement was not limited in any way.

It is easier to assume that both Batalov and Yarikhanov were not arrested to establish contacts with the Chechen president. It’s just that domestic detectives are more accustomed to looking not where they lost it, but under a street lamp. Neither Batalov nor Yarikhanov kept armed guards - they did not expect arrest at all. Taking them is not a thing - it’s either the case of the prominent bandit Arbi Baraev, who recently solemnly celebrated his wedding in Alkhan-Kala, or Ruslan Alikhadzhiev, Ruslan Gelayev and other field commanders, whose place of residence is known to everyone in Chechnya, but whom they cannot “find” in any way. Russian law enforcement officers.