The President of the Winner

Through four hundred year long history of military confrontation between the Chechen's Republic of Ichkeria and the Russian Empire, Zelimhan Yandarbiev has been the only Chechen's leader who won in the battle against the Russian

Empire.

Allah the Almighty sent this blessing over Zelimhan Yandarbiev for his piety, true devotion to his people, his honesty and his heroic deed

It the personal qualities of our President that led us to victory in the war.

Zelimhan was free from any compromising relations with Russian statesmen.

Allah the Almighty knew Yandarbiev would be falsely blamed and He awarded Zelimhan a high title - President the Winner in war against the Russian Empire.  Useless were all kind of attempts of Chechen collaborationists and so called patriots of Chechenia to blackmail Yandarbiev. Yandarbiev will ever live in the memory of Chechen people as President the Winner.

Here is one example.

It happened to me once to drop in my brother's house. When I opened the door I saw a number of our district opposition leaders from the city of Dzhoharov. There were some 10-15 people, among them the first Deputy of the General Procurer of the Ichkeria, the Vice Minister of tax department and some others. They all came to my brother on occasion of his birthday.  It happened on 30 August 1994.

When I saw them I was about to turn back and leave the house but they insisted on my stay with them. Just I  down at the table they started to speak badly about Dzhohar and Zelimhan blaming them for all kind of sins, never proving their words with a single real fact. I could not but protest their false statements and expose their made-up stories about these two great leaders of Chechen people, Dzhohar and Zelimhan.

Silence hang in the room for a while, then vice minister of the tax department spoke up, telling the others about his trip to Rostov. During that trip he said to have seen multi-million oil contracts signed by Yandarbiev.

I well understood it was another false accusation and I declared it was a pure lie. Zelimhan Yandarbiev had never done that, I said. Then the man took salt in his hand and swore over it by the name of Allah that he had said the truth. I repeated that it was a pure lie and I said it was wrong to swear by Allah about it. Then my opponent took bread in his hand and another time swore by the name of Allah that his saying  was true.

I was shocked - a man could repeatedly give false oaths in the name of Allah just for sake of blackening the name of Zelimhan Yanderbiev!

His comrades supported him actively, mocking at me: "Do you see now what kind of person is your friend Zelimhan?"  Their faces brightened with glad smiles.

At that very moment Allah made me remember the name of Lechi Yandarbiev, Zelimhan's nephew, his cousin's son.  At a time he was appointed by Salambek Hadjiev to take over the vacancy of General Director of Grozneft, since the ex-director of company had been moved to Moscow for another position.

Then I stood up and said to him: "Now swear by Allah that you saw Zelimhan's signature on those documents." He understood what I meant, he smiled it off and sat down.

I said that the signatures on those papers were in truth signatures of Lechi Yandarbiev and all the oath given by my opponent were false.  I told him that he should be ashamed to wrongly accuse a blameless person.

The glad smiles rolled down from the faces of his friends. They understood they couldn't lie in my presence. I stood up and left the house.

What mean methods were used against the symbol of freedom of Chechen people! What mean methods are still being used by Chechen-speaking European settlers like Murtusaliev and others, those who don't know their forefathers and ancestors! On their web sites they try to put down the name of Zelimhan Yandarbiev and describe him as acting in place of president. They don't want Yandarbiev's name to be written in the history as President of Chechen republic.

Article 75 of the Constitution states that in case President resigns from his duties or been dismissed from his duties, Vice-President becomes President of the country till elections of a new president. 

Zelimhan Yandarbiev lived a life full of heroic deeds and episodes that deserve respect and attention, deserve a word of approval and positive attitude. Yet not many of our compatriots know about it.

One of the bright moments of his life is the way he acted in the headquarters of the enemy, in the Kremlin, where Zelimhan Yandarbiev headed the Chechen delegation and where he forced Russian president Eltsin to have talks with the Chechen delegation on principle of equal status.

As a poet and writer, fearless fighter and patriot, leader of Chechen people and President of ChRI Zelimhan Yandaerbiev, by his good deeds and actions, wrote down his name in golden letters in the history of national movement of ChRI. His name will remain in the memory of future generations, worthy inheritors of their fathers.

Long live his name in the memory of Chechen people!

Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!

Ibba Shapi Sheihi

P.S.

Zelimhan Yandarbiev:

"I came as a leader of the Chechen state to the leader of the Russian state on request of Moscow. This was documented in Russian and in English. I would not have come on any other conditions. But someone has persuaded Eltsin that I could be talked to different than the rank of the country's leader. And he has fallen in it. He had to stand up from his chair and he had to sit down in the chair I pointed to him. And it happened in his own quarters, in the Kremlin!"