Movladi Udugov | |
|---|---|
Удуг-некъан Саид1арби-к1ант Мовлади | |
| FirstDeputy Prime Minister of theChechen Republic of Ichkeria | |
| In office August 1996 – 2 February 1997 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1962-02-09)9 February 1962 (age 63) |
| Nationality | Chechen |
| Political party | NCCP,IU,CPID (currently none) |
| Alma mater | GroznyState University |
Movladi Saidarbievich Udugov (Chechen:Мовла́ди Саидарби́евич Уду́гов, born 9 February 1962 inGermenchuk,Shalinsky District,Chechnya into the Shirditeip) is the former FirstDeputy Prime Minister of theChechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI). As a Chechenpropaganda chief, he was credited for the Chechens' victory on the information front during theFirst Chechen War.
A highly-controversial figure, following a particularlyfundamentalist strain of Islam that is not shared by mostChechens, he is currently one of theideologues and the mainpropagandist behind theCaucasus Emirate (aPan-Islamic militant movement that is rejecting the idea of a merelyindependent Chechen state in favor of anIslamic state encompassing most of the Russia'sNorth Caucasus and based on IslamicSharia law).[1]
Georgi Derluguian has described him as a "wonderfully opportunistic journalist" and an "autodidactic master of Chechen war propaganda" who, outside Islamic sources, also quotes Western authors such asGramsci andHuntington.[2]
Udugov currently lives in exile inTurkey.[3]
From 1983 to 1988, Udugov studied inChecheno-Ingushetia State University. In 1988, he becameeditor in chief of thenewspaperOrientir, which was banned by the regional committee of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union in 1989. Soon after, he became a member of thePresidium of the Executive Committee of theNational Congress of Chechen People (NCCP). In the NCCP, Udugov became the chairman of the Information Committee and simultaneously an employee of the localtelevision station. During the 1991revolution inGrozny, Udugov used this position to broadcast future PresidentDzhokhar Dudayev's address to the Chechen people.
After theChechendeclaration of independence by Dudayev, Udugov joined the ruling structures of the Chechen separatist government, serving aspress secretary. During the 1994-1996 First Chechen War, the ways in which he distributed information about the conflict, although crude byWestern standards, they were still seen as more professional than those ofthe Kremlin and theRussian federal forces. In August 1996, Udugov was appointed First DeputyPrime Minister of Chechen Republic for state policy and information in the war-time cabinet ofZelimkhan Yandarbiyev who became acting president after Dudayev was killed by a Russian missile strike. For his role in the Chechen victory ininformation warfare (and the whole war) Udugov was awarded theIchkeria's highestmedal, Honor of the Nation. Among his Russian enemies, he became known as "the ChechenGoebbels".
Following the end of theFirst Chechen War, Udugov unsuccessfully ran for the post ofPresident of Ichkeria in the January 1997 election, but received less than 1% of the votes (in hiselection campaign he was representing an unpopular radicalIslamist platform). Udugov again became Deputy Prime Minister and of theMinister of Information in the government ofAslan Maskhadov. In 1996-1997 he travelled to Moscow on a number of occasions for talks with members of theSecurity Council of Russia and Russian government, including as part of the Chechen delegation sent for the signing ofpeace treaty at the Kremlin.[4] In August 1997, Udugov founded Islamic Umma party, uniting a number of political movements in Chechnya and neighbouringDagestan. In 1998, together withShamil Basayev and several other radical Chechen and Dagestani figures, Udugov organized the association known as theCongress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan. In March 1999, Udugov helped to createKavkaz Center, a Chechen international IslamicInternet agency; he also sponsored several otherwebsites, among themRussian languageThe Chechen Times. According to anAnti-Defamation League investigator, Udugov propagatedantisemitic ideas in his media.[5]
Russian authorities accused Udugov of being one of the main organizers of theChechen rebel-led attack on Dagestan in August 1999. He has been wanted by the Russian federal government since 20 March 2000, accused of having violated Article 279 of Russia's criminal code, which outlaws "armeduprisings."[4] At the start of theSecond Chechen War in September 1999, Udugov left Chechnya and moved abroad, resulting in a rapid decline of his influence on the Chechen separatist movement. Reports soon emerged about his stay inAfghanistan,Scandinavia,Turkey,Persian Gulf countries and, possibly, theUnited States; although no evidence has been offered to support any of these claims.
Since February 2006, following his victory in a dispute with exiled moderate Chechen leaderAkhmed Zakayev, he once again became an official rebelspokesman, heading the National Information Service (NIS) of theState Defense Council.[6] In October 2007, Udugov was said to be the author of the proclamation of theCaucasus Emirate;[7] during the followingconstitutional crisis, the ChRIgovernment in exile led by Zakayev dismissed Udugov from the post of the head of NIS and abolished the service.[8]
Since 2007, while openly living in Turkey, Udugov has run the Informational-Analytical Service of the Caucasus Emirate.