Portrait of terrorist Shamil Basayev, who was awarded the medal of “Hero of Abkhazia”, was removed from the stand in the State Museum of the Republic after a call from the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Konstantin Zatulin. Zatulin himself reported on this.
“As soon as this information appeared online, I immediately contacted the Abkhaz leadership, in particular my old friend, the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Sergei Shamba“Measures were already taken yesterday, it was unexpected for them,” the deputy is quoted by Ukraine.ru.
According to Zatulin, “this is the result of a wrong approach in preparing the exhibition, and not an attempt to harm Russia.”
“As far as I know, these portraits are on a stand dedicated to the heroes of Abkhazia who participated in the 1992-1993 conflict,” – the deputy pointed out.
Zatulin stressed that the creators of the exhibition should have paid attention to the perception of Basayev in Russia, where he is considered a terrorist.
“They have lost sight of how important it is to consider how this person appears in the eyes of Russian society.” – the deputy pointed out.
As reported EADailyOn September 23, the Hard Blog telegram channel reported on the “appearance” of Basayev’s portrait in the museum, emphasizing that the State Museum of Abkhazia itself was restored with funds received from Russia. Museum employees explained that Basayev’s photograph has been hanging in the museum since 2012 and will not be removed until there is a court decision or until Basayev is deprived 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.
On September 24, it became known that the State Museum of Abkhazia temporarily closed the modern history hall with an exhibition to the public that included a photograph of Shamil Basayev with the title “Hero of Abkhazia.” The Russian embassy in Sukhum reported that they considered the display of the portrait of a terrorist unacceptable and contacted the museum. The management of the site pledged to “correct the current situation as soon as possible,” the embassy reported.
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.
