The State Museum of Abkhazia has temporarily closed the modern history hall with an exhibition to the public, which also includes a photograph of Shamil Basayev with the title “Hero of Abkhazia.”
The Russian embassy in Sukhum told RBC that it considers the display of the portrait of a terrorist unacceptable and has contacted the museum. The management of the site has pledged to “correct the current situation as soon as possible,” the embassy said.
As reported EADailyThe appearance of Basayev’s portrait in the museum was reported by the Hard Blog telegram channel, emphasizing that the State Museum of Abkhazia itself was restored with funds received from Russia.
Museum employees told RIA Novosti that the photograph of Basayev has been hanging in the museum since 2012 and will not be removed until a court decision is made or until Basayev is stripped of the title of Hero of Abkhazia.
“During the Patriotic War of the Abkhaz people, he helped us defeat the army of the State Council of Georgia. He is part of our history.” – said the museum.
In 1992, Basayev commanded a detachment of the Confederation of Peoples of the Caucasus, which fought on the side of Abkhazia against the Georgian army. For some time he was deputy defence minister of the unrecognised republic and was awarded the title of “Hero of Abkhazia”.
Basayev later became one of the main organizers of a series of terrorist attacks in Russia, including the seizure of a hospital in Budennovsk, an attack on the Dubrovka theater center in Moscow, and the assassination of the president of Chechnya. Akhmat Kadyrovthe seizure of a school in Beslan. He was included on terrorist lists, including in the US and the EU. In 2006, he died in a truck explosion in Ingushetia.
