The Chechen terrorist Rezvan Chitigov did not live exactly one month before his 41st birthday. Since childhood, preparing to become a warrior, he became one. Only now he defended not his own country, women and children, but as a brigadier foreman of the CRI, he fought on the side of the militants, was one of the leaders of the unrecognized Ichkeria, having earned the highest award - the Order of Kyoman Siy. A participant in many terrorist acts, in fact, he was the third most important field commander. How was his fate?
What is known about Chitigov before leaving for the USA
A native of Chechnya was born in 1964, on April 22. His birthplace is the village of Shali. It was here that his childhood and youth passed. What did Rezvan Chitigov dream of becoming? The biography indicates that in the 80s, many wanted to connect life with the army, were brought up at special forces schools: airborne troops, the FSB, and the SOBR. Among the guys of his generation, he was one of the most motivated and cool. He was fond of shooting, while he made home-made guns, which he then exchanged for real weapons. He trained his body to the point of exhaustion, read specialized literature.
With pleasure he went to serve in the SA, from where he returned as tank commander. He did not become a special forces officer, in the fire department he sat behind the wheel of a ZIL-130 car. For him he built a train whistle, announcing the movement and scaring the locals.
American period
During the years of perestroika, Rezvan Chitigov became a supporter of Islam, thanks to which he left his homeland under the auspices of cooperation with the international religious foundation. It would seem that he should have chosen Turkey or Jordan as his place of residence, but he moved to the USA.
Here he lived at the expense of financial fraud, until he joined the volunteers of the National Marine Corps. He studied mine explosives, having completed sabotage training courses. After obtaining a residence permit, he served as a marine under contract. According to Chitigov himself, an enviable career in the US Navy was waiting for him, but a meeting with Emir Khattab turned his whole life upside down.
A native of Jordan called on his co-religionist to return to Chechnya at a difficult time for her. In 1994, he appeared in his native Shali and took an active part in the First Chechen campaign.
Rezvan Chitigov: Brigadier General
Among his fellow countrymen, the marine assembled a small detachment from among those oriented towards Wahhabism. His name was American, although Ramzan was the official pseudonym. Chitigov is also known as “Miner” and “Buran”. Soon he headed the only tank unit, which was destroyed during the military operations with the federals. However, in battles, Rezvan Chitigov proved himself a desperate and rather cruel commander. His war machine was called the "death tank." That is why he received the above award.
During the second military campaign, Rezvan Chitigov with his detachment was among the defenders of Grozny. Later he appeared in the mountains, participated in the defense of Oak-Yurt and Alkharuzovo, after which he moved to the territory of Georgia. At first he fought under the leadership of Khattab, then he began to act independently. He settled in the Shali region, becoming a member of the leadership of the self-proclaimed Ichkeria.
Terrorist activity
Back in 1995, Rezvan Chitigov took part in the hostage-taking operation in Budennovsk, his name is associated with the explosion on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow (1999) and the invasion of Dagestan the same year. As an explosive specialist, he trained the militants, which allowed R. Kadyrov to say that in 90% of the cases, exactly Chitigov was behind any terrorist attack in the republic. He was also suspected of real ties with the CIA. The field commander had financial income from abroad, which allowed him to quickly get on a par with Basayev and Khattab.
In the summer of 2001, they started talking about Chitigov in connection with the discovery on the base of the Gudermes district of a potent poison - ricin, which was planned to be used against federal troops. Leaflets and radio intercepts really pointed to the hero of the article.
He is attributed to the organizers of the loss of four employees of the OSCE mission, the bombing of cars with military personnel and republican police officers (2001-2002). Since that time, the security service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya unsuccessfully tried to get on the trail of the criminal.
Appearance
Rezvan Chitigov, a Chechen by nationality, stood out among the militants for his appearance. He was known as a real dandy, most often appearing in a leather American jacket. Short, fit, he always looked neat and well-groomed, even when he appeared at one of the forest bases. It always seemed that the day before he had just taken a shower and changed his clothes. Possessing a cheerful and sociable character, he nevertheless did not easily converge with people and could not manage large human formations. In his native Shali, he had many friends, but even more - enemies.
Liquidation
March 20, 2005 Rezvan Chitigov returned to Chechnya from Baku, having appeared in his native village. The security service immediately became aware of this. Exits were made to all alleged addresses, but Chechen law enforcement officials missed the criminal.
Noticing surveillance, he hid in a shelter hidden in the wall of his uncle's apartment. It is unlikely that anyone else could hold out there for three days. It was possible to stay indoors only standing. On the 23rd, the terrorist sent a radio message asking for help, where he reported that he was with Ali.
The radio interception again brought intelligence officers to the street. Frunze, and again they did not find anyone. But Chitigov left the shelter a little earlier than it should, while he dropped the hatch door. Hearing the sound, security fighters began to storm the apartment. A shootout ensued, during which the gunman received seven wounds that became fatal.
Chitigov never appeared in court, he answered for his crimes with his own life.