Poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov buried in Chechnya

The funeral of the poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov killed in Moscow was conducted in the village of Znamenskoye of the Nadterechny District of Chechnya, where he was born. Opinions of the representatives of the Chechen Diaspora on the causes of murder have differed: some people explain it by the nationalists' revenge for Colonel Yuri Budanov's murder; the others blame representatives of the very Chechen Diaspora.

"About 1000 people arrived to carry the killed poet to his last journey. People from all regions of the republic came to the house of the deceased poet's family to express their condolences over the tragedy. People were joining the procession during the entire way to the cemetery; thus, the procession expended for more than a kilometre," says a participant of the ceremony.

The poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov, Vice-Rector of the Modern Humanitarian Academy, the famous figure of the Chechen culture, the member of the Union of Russia's Writers and the laureate of the Artyom Borovik award, was killed at night on November 16 in Moscow. Earlier, Vladimir Boyarinov, Chairman of the Board of the Moscow branch of the Union of Russia's Writers, suggested that the Ruslan Akhtakhanov's murder could be caused by his public activities and his civic position.

"Not only republic's residents, but also people from another cities of the country, who knew Ruslan Akhtakhanov, who studied together with him during his student years, his colleagues and friends attended the funeral," the RIA "Novosti" quotes a friend of the deceased poet's family.

Representatives of Chechen Diaspora claim that Russian nationalists murdered Ruslan Akhtakhanov

According to representatives of the Diaspora, the reason that could lead Russian nationalists to kill the poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov might be a revenge for the Colonel Yuri Budanov's murder.

"Ruslan Akhtakhanov was a public figure, one of the most active representatives of the Chechen Diaspora in Moscow. And this fact could make him a target for nationalists," says Khamzat Gerikhanov, the member of the executive committee of the Association of Chechen Public and Cultural Organizations.

Khamzat Gerikhanov also pointed to some similarities in the execution of murders of Colonel Yuri Budanov and Ruslan Akhtakhanov: in both cases, killers had used transformed gas pistols and burned cars. Khamzat Gerikhanov does not exclude that the poet has become a symbolic victim, and in his face the nationalists took revenge for the Colonel Yuri Budanov's death on all Chechens, the "Kommersant" reports.

Let us note that the investigators have also revealed similarities between the Colonel Yuri Budanov's and the poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov's murders; however, they have made a different conclusion - it is possible that the same persons were involved in both crimes.

Writer Arslan Khasavov believes that Ruslan Akhtakhanov could be murdered by representatives of Chechen Diaspora

Arslan Khasavov, the young Chechen writer, the winner of the "Debut" award, believes that the assassination of the poet have been committed by representatives of the Chechen Diaspora and not by the Russian nationalists.

The writer has emphasized that it was not the first attack on Chechen writers. He has stressed that, at present, "we face no situation when Chechen people do not attack other Chechen people." "Russians represent no threat to us," Arslan Khasavov stated. According to him, the threat is represented by people from the North Caucasus because of ideological discrepancies.

The young writer pointed out that before his death Ruslan Akhtakhanov played a significant role only in the Chechen community, and his name meant nothing to the majority of Russians (especially the nationalists).

Some Khasavov's friends claimed that the poet's assassination could be committed by militants; however, the writer does not agree: the Ruslan Akhtakhanov's murder cannot affect the balance of power in Chechnya, which is sought by members of the armed underground.

Besides, the writer doubts that the murder of Ruslan Akhtakhanov, the Chechen poet and social activist, will be solved, the "RBC" reports.