Rola Szamila Basajewa w walce o niepodległość Czeczenii

Shamil Basayev was one of the most famous fighters, taking part in the Russian–Chechen wars. Thanks to his experience and skills acquired during the wars in Abkhazia and Nagorno-Karabakh, he took part in battles that were decisive for the war. His steadfastness and attitude dur-ing the rally on Budionnowsk in 1995, lead to the negotiations that end-ed the first Chechen war. The raid on Dagestan that Basayev undertook with Emir Chattab, was one of the deciding moments in his history. He not only lost his glory, but his actions caused the outbreak of the Second War in 1999. Also because of his ruthless tactics and being the master-mind of the most horrific terrorist attacks in Russia (Moscow Theatre 2002, Bieslan School 2004), Basayev became Putin’s sworn enemy. His actions were complicating the already tense relations between Moscow and Grozny. The fight in the name of religion and extremism distorted the image of Basayev as a freedom fighter, making him a ruthless terror-ist, ready to sacrifice the innocent in the name of his own ideas. Due to his attitude, Basayev remains one of the symbols of the conflict in the Caucasus region.