Killed Basayev's Left Hand Man was shown to journalists in Khankala

Russian troops killed the Chechen rebel commander Baudin Bakuyev in the Shatoi district of Chechnya on Saturday. Baudin Bakuyev was considered to be close to the infamous Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev and the federal command is claiming that his death is a heavy blow for Basayev’s camp. Chechen rebels immediately launched several revenge attacks. Baudin Bakuyev gained notoriety through his involvement in numerous crimes, including the abduction of the Russian president’s envoy in Chechnya Valentin Vlassov and General Gennady Shpigun. The Chechen rebels have revenged Bakuyev’s death by launching several acts against Russian servicemen. According to the commander of the unified military group of federal forces in Chechnya General-Lieutenant Valery Baranov, at the beginning of the second military campaign in Chechnya Baudin Bakuyev headed the Chechen separatists’ northwest front. During the federal troops seizure of Grozny in the early spring of 2000, Baudin Bakuyev led the defence of the city’s Staropromyslovsky district. Later he controlled the Shatoi and Itum-Kale districts of Chechnya. In his televised comments on Sunday, the commander of federal forces in the Northern Caucasus Valery Baranov claimed that Bakuyev was involved in the abductions of the Russian presidential envoy to Chechnya Valentin Vlasov and general of the Interior Ministry troops, Gennady Shpigun. On Sunday Bakuyev’s body, along with his personal belongings, were shown to journalists in Khankala, Daghestan. The Kremlin is claiming that Bakuyev’s death is an important step forward in the struggle against the Chechen separatists, Gazeta.ru's staff writer reports.