Cavalry " flying columns " proved effective, or at least cost-effective, in many campaigns — although an astute native commander ( like Samori in western Africa, Shamil in the Caucasus, or any of the better Boer commanders ) could turn the tables and use the greater mobility of their cavalry to offset their relative lack of firepower compared with European forces.

The Russian government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta reported that Basayev was an agent of GRU, and another publication by journalist Boris Kagarlitsky said that " It is maintained, for example that Shamil Basayev and his brother Shirvani are long-standing GRU agents, and that all their activities were agreed, not with the radical Islamists, but with the generals sitting in the military intelligence offices.

In the course of the prolonged Caucasian War, the Chechens, along with many peoples of the Eastern Caucasus, united into the Caucasian Imamate and resisted fiercely, led by the Dagestani commanders Ghazi Mohammed, Gamzat-bek and Imam Shamil.

Shamil was an Avar who practiced a form of Islam that was largely foreign to Chechnya, and in the end, he ended up happy in Russian custody, demonstrating furthermore his lack of compatibility with the leadership of the cause.

Shamil was actually childhood friends with the Mollah, and would become his disciple and counsellor.

On August 25, 1859 Shamil and his family, by agreement with the Russian Czar, were guests for some days.

In 1859 Shamil wrote to one of his sons: " By the will of the Almighty, the Absolute Governor, I have fallen into the hands of unbelievers ... the Great Emperor ... has settled me here ... in a tall spacious house with carpets and all the necessities ".

Together with the Invasion of Dagestan launched from Chechnya in August 1999 by Islamist militia led by Shamil Basayev and Ibn al-Khattab, the bombings caused the Russian Federation to launch the Second Chechen War.

The Russians ' institution of heavy taxation, coupled with the expropriation of estates and the construction of fortresses, electrified the Avar population into rising under the aegis of the Muslim Imamate of Dagestan, led by Ghazi Mohammed ( 1828 – 32 ), Gamzat-bek ( 1832 – 34 ) and Shamil ( 1834 – 59 ).

In an interview with Echo Moskvy, in which she was discussing the 2008 South Ossetia War, Novodvorskaya said that Shamil Basayev was a democrat, given his support of Boris Yeltsin during the 1991 Soviet coup d ' état attempt and his participation in the government of Aslan Maskhadov in 1997, who had appointed Basayev Deputy Premier of the Ichkerian government.

Russian sources have also repeatedly blamed him for some of the most deadly attacks on security forces in Ingushetia and neighbouring regions, including the raids of Nazran and Nalchik, in which he worked closely with Shamil Basayev, Dokka Umarov, Ilyas Gorchkhanov and Anzor Astemirov.

For his campaign against Shamil, and especially for his difficult march through the dangerous forests of Chechnya, he was raised to the dignity of prince, with the title of Serene Highness.

During the war the Imamate would see support from other Muslim tribes, eventually amalgamating with Chechnya, parts of Ingushetia and the rest of Dagestan during the Imamship of Imam Shamil.

In 1859, Shamil wrote to one of his sons: " By the will of the Almighty, the Absolute Governor, I have fallen into the hands of unbelievers ... the Great Emperor ... has settled me here ... in a tall, spacious house with carpets and all the necessities.

* Interview with Shamil Basayev on Abkhazia

* Video Interview with Shamil Basaev during the battle for Gagra

Alexander's association with the Avars gave origin to legend widespread in the area in the 19th century, according to which Imam Shamil, the future leader of Caucasian resistance to the Russian expansion, was his natural son.

He was also credited with persuading radical warlord Shamil Basayev not to carry out any major terrorist attacks since Beslan.

Because of the Russian's bad faith, he decided to throw his lot in with Imam Shamil, who bestowed upon him the rank of naib.

After his capture, Shamil was sent to Saint Petersburg to meet the Emperor Alexander II.

Its banner was again picked up by the Avar Imam Shamil, who fought against the Russians from 1834 until 1859.

The bloodiest incident by far was the September 2004 Beslan hostage crisis, in which Chechen insurgents attributed to Shamil Basayev ( who alternatingly denied and claimed responsibility ) seized control of a school.

:* Shamil Basayev: Chechen warlord given Decline as a gift by a Russian radio journalist.

According to Azeri Colonel Azer Rustamov, in 1992, " hundreds of Chechen volunteers rendered us invaluable help in these battles led by Shamil Basayev and Salman Raduyev ".

Thus, Shamil was regarded by many Chechens as simply being the lesser evil.

Capture of Shamil, by Theodor Horschelt

When the latter was murdered by Hadji Murad in 1834, Shamil took his place as the premier leader of the Caucasian resistance and the third Imam of the Caucasian Imamate.

Shamil seemed to have liked his luxurious detainment, as well as the city ; this is confirmed by the letters he sent from Kiev.

* 9 August, — heads of Shura of Muslims of Chechnya and Dagestan Shamil Basayev, Dokku Umarov, Khattab, Adallo Mukhammed declared establishment of an independent Islamic state of Dagestan, which included settlements in Tsumadinsky and Botlikhsky districts captured by militants.

Yandarbiyev stood in the presidential election held in Chechnya in February 1997, but was defeated by the Chechen separatist top military leader, General Aslan Maskhadov, getting 10 per cent of the votes and landing third behind Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev.

On October 13, 2005, Nalchik was attacked by a large group of Yarmuk Jamaat militants led by Shamil Basayev and Anzor Astemirov.

In 2004, a force of Chechen and ethnic Ingush rebels carried out a large-scale raid on Ingushetia, led by Shamil Basayev.

The hostage-takers were the Riyadus-Salikhin Battalion, sent by the Chechen separatist warlord Shamil Basayev, who demanded an end to the Second Chechen War and Russian withdrawal from Chechnya.

The attack which killed 334 civilians, including 186 children, was masterminded by Shamil Basayev.

In 2006, he was incorrectly reported as being killed by the FSB operation that allegedly killed Shamil Basayev.

The Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis took place from 14 June to 19 June 1995, when a group of 80 to 200 Chechen separatists led by Shamil Basayev attacked the southern Russian city of Budyonnovsk ( pop.

In the years following the hostage taking, more than 30 of the surviving attackers have been killed, including Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev in 2002 and Shamil Basayev in 2006, and more than 20 were sentenced by the Stavropol territorial court to various terms of imprisonment.

In 1859, the Russians had finished defeating Imam Shamil in the eastern Caucasus, and turned their attention westward.

Once the forces of Aleksandr Baryatinsky had captured the legendary Chechen rebel leader Shamil in 1859, the army resumed the expansion into Central Asia that had begun under Nicholas I.

But he would continue to rule until 1859, when the Emperor of Russia would offer Shamil a peaceful surrender, he would even be a guest of the royal palace.

* 1859: Imam Shamil laid down arms before Russian forces and the Islamic State of Dagestan became a Russian province.

Imam Shamil, leader of the Chechen and Daghestani tribes, made his last stand against the Russians at Gunib, where he gave himself up to the Russian commander, Prince Alexander Baryatinsky, on August 25, 1859.