Said-Magomed Kakiyev

Who is Said-Magomed Kakiyev?

Said-Magomed Shamaevich Kakiyev is the leader of the GRU Spetsnaz Special Battalion West, a pro-Moscow Chechen military force. Inside Chechnya his men are sometimes referred to as the Kakievtsy. Unlike the other Chechen pro-Moscow forces in Chechnya, Kakiyev and his men are not former rebels and during the First Chechen War were one of the few Chechen militants who fought on the Russian side.

Kakiyev has been declared a Hero of the Russian Federation four times, has twice received the Medal for Courage and was awarded two specially engraved guns from the Russian Ministry of Defense. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Russian Army.

He has been engaged in violent power struggles for overall military authority with the president of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and Sulim Yamadayev.