Maskhadov is Elected President

Abstract

The credit and glory for the battle of Grozny belongs to two men, Shamil Basayev and Asian Maskhadov. Maskhadov was the strategic thinker, the one who developed and planned our strategy and Shamil was the head of the garrison, which meant that everyone bearing arms in Grozny was under his command. Everything the Chechen fighters accomplished was the result of Shamil’s leadership. The character and talents of these two men complemented each other during the war and both were indispensable to our victory. The authority of General Dzhokhar Dudayev, whom both men served loyally, and the necessity to overcome differences in order to wage war effectively, overrode any competitive instinct. However, after Dudayev’s death the differences between these two war heroes took on a fractious character during the Presidential election.