Murdered Colonel’s brother: “Chechen President not involved”

Sulim Yamadaev, a brother of Colonel Ruslan Yamadaev who was killed in Moscow on September 24, says that believes people who want to create a clash between his family and Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov are behind the murder. He was speaking to Russia’s

The Hero of Russia and former head of the Vostok battalion added: “Such murders are very dangerous in Chechnya, and Ramzan knows it. And I think many people knew that recently we have had a conflict with Kadyrov. And those people have killed Ruslan to cause a clash between me and Ramzan Kadyrov.”

The Vostok battalion is a special Chechen military unit taking orders directly from Russia's General Staff and is considered to be one of Chechnya’s most efficient military units.

He insisted he hasn’t declared a vendetta against anybody, as blood revenge is ‘a very serious matter’, and he doesn’t know who murdered his brother -‘yet’. 46-year-old Ruslan Yamadaev was shot ten times by a masked man when his car stopped at a red light in the centre of Moscow.

Sulim said he was shocked to read a post on the Internet saying ‘Sulim Yamadaev has attended his brother’s funeral in the Chechen town of Gudermes and said he would kill Kadyrov after the holy Muslim month of Ramadan finishes.’

Yamadaev said he hadn’t been there and moreover, his cell phone was shut off:

“Everyone there refers to Reuters news agency, but I repeat – I haven’t spoken to anybody and I haven’t been to Gudermes.”

He also rejected claims that his brother’s business affairs were behind his murder:

“Our business – an absolutely legal one -is in Chechnya but it has come to a standstill in April. As for Moscow, Ruslan had no business there – no casinos or whatever some people say.”