March, 14th 2010

Among the national leaders born in our land Aslan Maskhadov is one of the most distinguished. He will enter the history of the Chechen nation not only as its main hero, but as one of its founders. The generation of Chechen freedom fighters Aslan Maskhadov belonged to had a very acute sense of history and their own involvement in it.  

The present day history of our nation inevitably takes us to our past, to previous decades and centuries, because the fight for our freedom has been a permanent feature of our national history as far back as records go. Each time Chechens rise up against aggressors they find spiritual strength in their history and try not only to emulate national heroes of the past but to surpass them in fortitude and courage. It is this that constitutes the firm link between our past and present, their indissoluble unity in the mind of every Chechen. This is the reason why all our national heroes are ranged alongside each other, as a single cohort of fighters, ready for sacrifice, who have given their lives for the sake of the Chechen people’s faith, freedom and honour.

Aslan Maskhadov was not just one such hero also but a national leader. This means that apart from the usual qualities of a hero –selfless courage and fortitude – he had to display other qualities such as composure, calculation, the art of compromise. In the eight years that Aslan Maskhadov was President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeriya he only sought peace for his nation. Despite his skills as a military strategist and commander Aslan Maskhadov died not for the sake of military success but in the name of  dignified peace with the enemy -  which for him constituted success. He died having believed the Kremlin’s false promises to start negotiations for a peaceful resolution of the war.

Our investigation has established that the Russian secret services, having staged bogus peace talks on the orders of the political leadership of the Russian Federation, treacherously murdered the ChRI President Aslan Maskhadov on 6 March 2005. It was yet another political assassination committed by the Russian leadership.

Therefore, based on article 80 of the ChRI Constitution, the ChRI Cabinet of Ministers:

HAS DECREED:

1)  March 6 should be observed as the anniversary of the ChRI President Aslan Maskhadov’s death and as Memorial Day for the Victims of Russian Aggression against the Chechen State;
2) This should be commemorated annually with sacrificial offerings (sag’a) and public events in the part of the ChRI which is free from occupation and in the areas of compact settlement of Chechens abroad;
3) An Aslan Maskhadov State Prize should be established in honour of the Memorial Day
4) Every year an annual literary competition should be held by 6 March for the best book on the subject of the Russian-Chechen war, with the award of the Aslan Maskhadov State Prize to the winners;
5) A.Viskhanov, Minister for Information, Media and Communications, should prepare within two weeks a proposal for holding the literary competition and to present the estimate of costs to the ChRI Cabinet of Ministers for approval;
6) Alim-Pasha Saltykhanov, Deputy Chariman of the ChRI Government, should responsible for overseeing the implementation of this resolution;
7) Resolution enters into force upon signature.

Chairman of the ChRI Cabinet of Ministers
Akhmed Zakaev.