Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad
Special Battalion Vostok Special Battalion Zapad | |
---|---|
Size | 1,200–1,800 active personnel |
Garrison/HQ | Eastern Chechnya (Vostok) Western Chechnya (Zapad) |
Engagements | Second Chechen War Russo-Georgian War |
Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad (
The Special Battalions Vostok and Zapad operated for most of the Second Chechen War, and were briefly deployed by Russia in conflicts outside of Chechnya, until they were disbanded in 2008.
Organization
Vostok and Zapad were organized at the end of 1999,[2] initially as two special companies formed in the structure of the Mountain Grouping of the Russian Ministry of Defence; they were assigned to the commandant's offices (kommendantura) established on the territory of the Chechen Republic in 2002. The Chechen personnel were of diverse origins. Zapad servicemen were loyal to the Russian government, while the core of Vostok were former separatist fighters of the 2nd Battalion of the National Guard of Ichkeria from Gudermes, who had fought against Russian troops in the First Chechen War of 1994–1996; they then switched to the federal side and swore allegiance to Russia. The units were directly subordinate to the GRU, but operationally they were included in the structure of the 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.[3] Following the 2006 Lebanon War, members of both units were sent to protect Russian field engineers on a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.[citation needed]
The two battalions (each about 600-900 strong) were the only ethnic
In April 2008 escalating tensions between Ramzan Kadyrov (by then the Chechen president) and the Yamadayevs—including occasional armed clashes—erupted into an open and violent conflict.
In November 2008, both battalions were disbanded under continued pressure from Kadyrov. It was also announced that a special commission set up by the Ministry of Defence, together with the Military Prosecutor's Office, would investigate the alleged crimes of their former servicemen.[3] The Yamadayevs and their loyalists were chased out of Chechnya, and Ruslan Yamadayev was shot dead in Moscow. Their houses were ransacked and burned, and the mosque they built in Gudermes was dismantled. Four months later, Sulim Yamadayev was assassinated in exile in Dubai—according to the UAE authorities, by order of Kadyrov's right-hand man Adam Delimkhanov. Kadyrov in turn accused the former commanders of Vostok of repeated attempts to kill him and of complicity in the 2004 assassination of his father, Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov, responsibility for whose killing had been officially claimed by separatist commander Shamil Basayev.[17] Kakiyev managed to avoid the fate of the former Vostok leaders by agreeing to resign his command of the Zapad battalion in 2007, since then, he has kept a formal position in the Russian military structure in Chechnya.[18]
See also
- Borozdinovskaya operation
- Dzhabrail Yamadayev
- Sulim Yamadayev–Ramzan Kadyrov power struggle
- Kadyrovtsy
References
- ^ Chechnya: Vostok, Zapad battalions disbanded
- ^ Dossier: Chechen Security Forces 2000 – 2006
- ^ a b No more "Zapad" and "Vostok" battalions in Chechnya, Caucasian Knot, Nov 08 2008
- ^ a b Russian army says to cut size of its Chechen force, Reuters, Jun 25, 2008
- ^ Conflict of "Vostok" battalion versus authorities of Chechnya to continue on the Internet, Caucasus Knot, 16/6/2008
- ^ Tensions in Chechnya Boil Over, The Moscow Times, 17 April 2008
- ^ Rival on run after standoff with Chechen president, The Sunday Times, April 27, 2008
- ^ Chechen MIA: Yamadaevs' involvement in kidnapping and murder confirmed by "Vostok" battalion, Caucasus Knot, 29/4/2008
- ^ Residents of Chechnya rally in front of "Vostok" battalion base, Caucasus Knot, 12/6/2008
- ^ "Memorial" demands to investigate the crimes of "Vostok" battalion fighters in Chechnya, Caucasus Knot, 16/6/2008
- ^ "Kommersant": 300 "Vostok" special fighters changed for Chechen militia, Caucasus Knot, Apr 21 2008
- Lenta.Ru, 12.08.2008
- ^ Kadyrov reports dismissal of Yamadaev from commanding "Vostok" battalion, Caucasus Knot, 12/5/2008
- ^ Chechen MoI announces Sulim Yamadayev in Federal wanted list, Caucasus Knot, 6/8/2008
- ^ (in Russian) Батальон "Восток" из Чечни несет потери в Южной Осетии, Caucasus Knot, 11/8/2008
- ^ Chechnya: search of Sulim Yamadaev, former battalion "Vostok" commander, cancelled, Caucasian Knot, 22/8/2008
- ^ Killings of Leader’s Foes May Test Kremlin’s Will, The New York Times, April 6, 2009
- ^ A Connoisseur's Guide To Chiaroscuro In Caucasus Politics, RFE/RL, June 02, 2009
External links
- Going in hard with the guerrilla hunters of Chechnya, The Sunday Times, May 15, 2005
- Land of the warlords, The Guardian, 13 June 2006
- In the front line of Putin's secret war, The Telegraph, 27 Mar 2007
- Clanning Chechnya: The combat at Gudermes to have been brewing, Novaya Gazeta, 21.04.2008
- Chechnya ambiguous to disbandment of "Vostok" and "Zapad" battalions, Caucasus Knot, 10/11/2008
- (in Russian) 45th '"Запад" есть "Запад", "Восток" есть "Восток", Memorial, 29.07.2005