Sulim Yamadayev

Sulim Yamadayev

Suleiman Bekmirzayevich Yamadayev (Russian: Сулейман Бекмирзаевич Ямадаев; 21 June 1973 – 30 March 2009), or simply Sulim Yamadayev (Сулим Ямадаев), was a Chechen military commander. The fourth of six Yamadayev brothers, he fought for the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria during the First Chechen War before defecting to Russia during the Second Chechen War, in which he commanded Special Battalion Vostok under Spetsnaz GRU. As such, until 2008, he was officially in command of the biggest pro-Kremlin militia beyond those controlled by Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, who has led Chechnya since 2007. From 1 to 22 August 2008, Yamadayev was wanted on an active federal arrest warrant in Russia, but continued to command Special Battalion Vostok uninterrupted during the Russian invasion of Georgia. On 5 March 2003, Yamadayev's older brother Dzhabrail was assassinated in a bombing attack. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 16 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 15 in 2024). Sulim Yamadayev is the 2,052nd most popular military personnel (down from 2,027th in 2024). (down from 4,822nd in 2019)