Editing Akhmed Zakayev (section)

=== Chechen wars and the interwar period ===

After Russian forces entered Chechnya, starting the [[First Chechen War]], Zakayev left his job and took up arms. Serving at first as a minor commander in the unit of [[Ruslan Gelayev]], he took part in the [[battle of Grozny (1994–1995)|1995 battle of Grozny]] and then led the defence of the village of [[Goyskoye]]. After this the armed group under his command operated in the south-west part of Chechnya with its headquarters in the town of [[Urus-Martan]]. He was eventually promoted to the rank of [[brigadier general]] and appointed commander of the [[Urus-Martanovsky District|Urus-Martan Front]]. In February 1996, Zakayev became commander of the entire Western Group of Defense of Ichkeria. In August 1996, his forces took part in the [[Battle of Grozny (August 1996)|decisive raid on Grozny]],<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/14/world/risky-walk-in-rebel-held-chechen-capital.html?pagewanted=all Risky Walk in Rebel-Held Chechen Capital] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727115648/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/08/14/world/risky-walk-in-rebel-held-chechen-capital.html?pagewanted=all |date=27 July 2018 }}, ''[[The New York Times]]'', 14 August 1996</ref> where he personally led the attack on the city's central [[railway station]].<ref>[http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=8727 Moscow Gives More Evidence On Zakayev] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301121359/http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=8727 |date=1 March 2014 }}, ''[[The St. Petersburg Times (Russia)|The St. Petersburg Times]]'', 3 December 2002</ref> Zakayev's war service paved his way to Chechen high politics. He became the [[acting president]] [[Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev]]'s advisor for the security matters and the secretary of the Chechen [[Security Council]] and represented Chechnya at the [[Khasav-Yurt Accord|peace talks in Khasav-Yurt]], which brought a peaceful end to the first armed conflict between Moscow and Grozny.

After the war, Zakayev became Chechen [[Deputy Prime Minister]] (in charge of education and culture) and a special envoy of elected [[President of Ichkeria]] [[Aslan Maskhadov]] for relations with Moscow, taking part in the delegation that signed the official Chechen-Russian peace treaty at [[the Kremlin]] in 1997.<ref>[http://www.rferl.org/content/Article/1076423.html Chechnya: The Turning Point That Wasn't], [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|RFE/RL]], 11 May 2007  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823204828/http://www.rferl.org/content/Article/1076423.html |date=23 August 2015 }}</ref> During the interwar period, he opposed the rise of radical Islam in Chechnya and co-authored a book entitled ''[[Wahhabism]] – the Kremlin's remedy against national liberation movements'', alleging an association between [[Islamism|Islamist]] extremism and Soviet global "pro-terrorist" policy and support for dictatorships in the [[Muslim world]]. During the early phases of the [[Second Chechen War]] in 1999–2000, Zakayev commanded Maskhadov's presidential guard; he was also involved in negotiations with [[Russia]]n representatives before and during the resumed hostilities. In 2000, having been wounded in a car accident during [[Battle of Grozny (1999–2000)|the new siege of Grozny]], he left Chechnya for treatment. After this he stayed abroad and became President Maskhadov's most prominent representative in [[Western Europe]], while [[Ilyas Akhmadov]] was the Chechen emissary to the [[United States]].