Dzhokhar Dudayev (15 February 1944 – 21 April 1996) was a Chechen politician, statesman, and military leader of the 1990s Chechen independence movement from Russia. He served as the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria from 1991 until his assassination in 1996. Dudayev had previously served as a senior officer in the Soviet Air Forces. Dudayev was born in Chechnya in 1944, days before his family and the entire Chechen nation were deported to Central Asia by the Soviet regime in the Chechen genocide as part of an ethnic cleansing program that affected several million members of ethnic minorities in the Soviet Union between the 1930s and 1950s… On 21 April 1996, while using a satellite phone, Dudayev was assassinated by two laser-guided missiles, after his location was detected by a Russian reconnaissance aircraft, which intercepted his phone call. At the time, Dudayev was talking to Konstantin Borovoy, a deputy of the State Duma in Moscow.
“The biggest mistake is to disrespect Ukrainians. Consider Ukrainians weak. Offend Ukrainians. Never offend Ukrainians. Ukrainians are never as weak as you think. Almighty Allah forbid expelling Ukrainians or taking something away from Ukrainians.
Ukrainians always come back. The Ukrainians will return and reclaim what is theirs. However, when the Ukrainians return, they do not know how to calculate the force and how to apply it proportionally. They will destroy everything in their path. Do not offend the Ukrainians. Otherwise, when Ukrainians return to the land where their ancestors are buried, those living on this land will envy the dead,” – Dzhokhar Dudaev.
Update: On May 16, 2025, Russia’s lead negotiator in Istanbul V. Medinsky misquoted a line from the quote above, substituting Ukraine for Russia, and falsely ascribed it to Otto von Bismarck.
“Russia is an Empire of Evil. It has never respected a single treaty it signed. It creates fake opposition and spreads it across the world to deceive the West. Russia is the new fascist, Nazi, racist state. Russism is worse than fascism.”
Dudaev saw clearly that all of Russia’s tactics boil down to one thing: terrorizing the world and attacking its neighbors. Dudayev’s words were dismissed by many in the ’90s as “exaggeration”. Today, they read like prophecy. Nothing has changed. Russia still uses fake opposition. Russia still breaks every agreement. Russia still tries to terrorize the world into submission.
Listen to his speech below — and you’ll understand Moscow’s strategy, its modus operandi, and its aims. Russia is not misunderstood. It is exactly what Dudayev said: An empire of evil built on lies, terror, and endless aggression.
Leo Tolstoy on How Chechens viewed Russians a couple centuries ago >
