Dzhokhar Dudayev

Dzhokhar Dudaev
Dudin Musa-Khant Dʒouxar
Dudayev in 1991
1st President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
In office 1 November 1991 – 21 April 1996
Vice President	Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev (acting)
Prime Minister of Ichkeria
In office 9 November 1991 – 21 April 1996
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev
Personal details
Born	15 February 1944[1] Yaxlara, Chechen-Ingush ASSR, Soviet Union
Died	21 April 1996(1996-04-21) (aged 52) Gexi-Çu,[2] Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Manner of death	Assassination by guided missile
Nationality	Chechen
Political party	CPSU (1968–1990) Independent (1990–1996)
Other political affiliations	NCChP (1991–1996)
Spouse	Alla Dudayeva
Children	Avlur Dana Degi Grandchildren Deni Kamila Shamil Anisa
Profession	Military aviator
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union  Chechnya
Branch/service	Soviet Air Forces  Armed Forces of Ichkeria
Years of service	1962–1990 1991–1996
Rank	Major general
Commands	326th Heavy Bomber Aviation Division (1987–1991) All (supreme commander, 1991–1996)
Battles/wars	Soviet-Afghan War[3] First Chechen War X

Dzhokhar Musayevich Dudayev, born as Dudin Musa-Khant Dʒouxar ^[a][b] (15 February 1944 – 21 April 1996) was a Chechen politician, statesman and military leader of the 1990s Chechen Independence movement from Russia. He served as the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, from 1991 until his assassination in 1996. Previously he had been a Major General of Aviation in the Soviet Armed Forces.

Dzhokhar and his family, along with the entire Chechen nation, had been deported to Central Asia in 1944 by the Soviet regime in a case of genocide as part of a Soviet ethnic cleansing program that affected several million members of ethnic minorities in the Soviet Union between the 1930s and the 1950s. His family was allowed to return to his native Chechnya in 1956, after Stalin’s death. From 1962 he served in the Soviet Air Force, reaching the rank of Major General. He commanded strategic nuclear bomber aircraft divisions located in Poltava and Tartu. For his merits, he was awarded several state orders of the USSR, most notably the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of the Red Star.

In 1991, Dudayev refused orders from Moscow to suppress Estonia's drive for independence and subsequently resigned from the Soviet Armed Forces before returning to Chechnya. A number of streets, squares and alleys in various countries are named after him, such as in Ukraine, Turkey, Poland, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania and Latvia.

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