After his death the Times of London published that Arbi Barayev was “perhaps the worst example of a generation of young men who grew up into a world of crime in Chechnya.”
Barayev came of age during a time of great political turmoil. The Soviet Union collapsed. Russia and Chechnya engaged in a brutal war that ran from 1994-96. That war was followed by a second catastrophic war beginning in 1999. Barayev’s world was chaotic and violent and he played his role in making it chaotic and violent.
In 1996 during the interwar period Barayev organized and presided over the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR). The Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation described SPIR as a radical Sunni militant organization that “sought to use its Islamic connections and militant tactics to liberate Chechnya from Russian authority and establish an Islamic caliphate encompassing the North Caucasus, parts of Azerbaijan, and Abkhazia in Georgia.”
Barayev and SPIR had connections to Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. Barayev’s SPIR according to the Center for Defense Information was “regarded as one of the main hostage-taking, kidnapping, and oil-smuggling groups operating in Chechnya.” He boasted about personally killing people and was involved in many acts of violence, which earned him the nickname of Terminator.
Perhaps his most internationally known act of terrorism came in 1998 when 4 international tele-com workers were beheaded. The foreign nationals from Great Britain and New Zealand were kidnapped and ransom negotiations were ongoing when Barayev received a more lucrative offer to have them killed. Barayev had been negotiating for a $10 million ransom but according to the BBC “Barayev told associates the atrocity was part of a jihad and that he would received $30m from his "Arab friends". Once it became more lucrative to kill the men their fate was sealed.
Barayev’s downfall came after he was involved in the murder of the Mayor of Gehki on June 16, 2001. In the aftermath of this murder Russian special forces attacked the village of Alkhan-Kala where a 6 day battle resulted in several casualties on both sides. Among those killed was Arbi Barayev.
Control of SPIR fell to his nephew Movsar Barayev, who led the group until his death in the Moscow Dubrovka Theater attack on October 23, 2002.
Arbi lived a violent life where he ruled by force and coercion. He killed and was ultimately killed in what he called “big politics.” Rossiyskaya Gazetta described Barayev after his death as “a simple bandit who thought only of money and personal gain.” His short reign as a violent warlord came to a violent end with his death on June 22, 2001.
Alexander walked down 7th Avenue for several minutes. The sheer number of people walking down the street was astounding. Many of them held small rectangular devices in their hands. Many of them also had strange ear coverings. Alexander continued to walk and soon found himself in Times Square. The flashing billboards and millions of illuminated pixels were dizzying.
Truly this was a remarkable civilization. The magnitude of their grandeur was unprecedented. Alexander could tell that this square was a shrine. As he had traveled to see the Oracle at Delphi so too had many thousands of people travel to this site. Was there something holy about it? What insights could be gathered from this glittering acropolis?
Amidst the jarring sounds of what must have been music Alexander gravitated towards a crowd that appeared to be watching something. As he drew closer he noticed a performer. Alexander watched the gyrations of the man’s body as the crowd cheered. Alexander was witnessing his first break dancing performance. He watched as the performer skipped around the rectangle formed by the crowd collecting money. Once he had secured the amount he was looking for he continued to perform. Alexander watched dispassionately as the performer spun on his head and then back before jumping onto his feet and concluding ...
