Ramzan Paskayev () (born March 16, 1947 in Taraz, Kazakhstan) is a Chechen accordionist and folk musician. He is regarded by many as the contemporary successor to late Chechen accordionist Umar Dimayev. Biography Paskayev was born in Taraz to Chechen parents on March 16, 1947. His family been sent to Kazakhstan as a result of the forced deportations of the Chechens and Ingush to Central Asia on February 23, 1944. Ramzan's father Sultan worked as a truck driver and gathered wheat on a collective farm to help support his family. Sultan had managed to bring a German accordion from his home in Chechnya, and during evenings the young Ramzan would constantly bother his father to play the accordion out of curiosity. However, Paskayev recalls that the greatest influence on his career would be the songs of the legendary Chechen accordionist Umar Dimayev: Umar had managed to perform on radio stations in Kazakhstan, and although the radio transmissions would last barely fifteen minutes, the exiled Chechens would gather at the homes of radio owners to listen to Umar's broadcasts. His folk songs reminded the Chechen people of their lost homeland, which the bereaved Chechens longed to return to. At the end of the transmission, the men would hide their wet eyes, and the mothers cried quietly. Ramzan would later speak of Dimayev's music: "They were philosophical tones. Nothing like it in the Chechen folk art exists. Umar Dimayev remained an unbeatable virtuoso. That was the time when I had developed a strong desire to become like Dimayev. Now I realize that no one can match him." By the mid-1950s, De-Stalinization had allowed the Chechens and Ingush to return to their native homelands, and the Paskayev family moved to Grozny, the Chechen capital. Throughout his youth, Ramzan had developed his musical abilities, and in 1960 the young Ramzan was invited into the House of Folklore amateur ensemble. He worked in the ensemble writing melodies, and had decided to receive a vocational education from that group. Also during his youth, Ramzan met with his idol, Umar Dimayev: Dimayev handed Ramzan his accordion, and although Ramzan's feet couldn't yet touch the ground when he sat on his chair, Ramzan surprised the entire audience with his small performance. Umar declared, "He will inevitably become an accordionist." From their encounter, Ramzan later recalled, "His face showed a gracious smile. I think he had realized that I