Maskhadov advocated armed resistance to what he saw as a Russian occupation of Chechnya but condemned attacks on civilians . He allegedly supported the assassination of pro-Russian Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov in Chechnya , whilst condemning the Russian assassination of Chechen separatist ex-President Yandarbiyev in Qatar in 2004 . Maskhadov often denied responsibility for the increasingly brutal terrorist acts against Russian civilians by Basayev 's followers , continually issuing denunciations of such incidents through spokesmen abroad , such as Akhmed Zakayev in London . However , on 24 October 2002 , radio communications were intercepted from Maskhadov 's messages wherein he called for intensification of terrorist activities and sabotage in Russian territory . Evidence for Maskhadov 's complicity in the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis was provided by its two principal perpetrators , Movsar Barayev and Abu Said . Although he initially denied responsibility for the 2004 Nazran raid , in which 98 police officers/troops were killed , in July 2004 Maskhadov publicly accepted responsibility for the attacks . In the same month , Maskahdov promised similar attacks would happen , and vowed that the winner of Chechnya 's upcoming presidential election would be illegitimate and would be attacked if necessary . He described the rebels behind the Beslan school siege as " madmen " driven out of their senses by Russian acts of brutality and called the terrorist attack an atrocity
Moscow theater hostage crisis
Moscow theater hostage crisis
Aslan Maskhadov