Vladimir Khodov

Vladimir Anatolievich Khodov (Russian: Владимир Анатольевич Ходов; October 9, 1976 – September 3, 2004) was one of the leaders of the hostage-takers in the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis.

Early life

Vladimir was born by medical nurse Alexandra Samoshkina the Ukrainian town of Berdyansk. His father is unknown.[1] When he was three years old, Vladimir's mother married a North Ossetian military engineer, Anatoly Khodov, and moved to Elkhotovo, 40 km from Beslan, where she worked in the maternity ward of a hospital.[2][3]

After separating from her husband, Alexandra moved with her sons to Beslan. According to some sources both sons attended the Beslan School Number One that was later the subject of the attack (Vladimir was known as Samoshkin there). Other sources do not confirm this information.[1]

In 1996 his brother Borik was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in Maykop for murder, following a stabbing incident in the village. While in prison, he converted to Islam. On one of his visits to his brother in Maykop, Vladimir was accused of a rape, and left Russia to live with his grandfather in Berdyansk.[4] Two years later, Vladimir, who was now exclusively known as Khodov, started to frequently return to Elkhotovo to live with his mother and adoptive father Anatoly, and to visit the local mosque.

Later life

According to police records made public after the Beslan incident, after his return from Ukraine, Vladimir got involved in Islam in Adygea, went to a madrassa in Cherkessia and even joined the Chechen insurgence (serving mostly as a cook). He served under Ruslan Gelayev and later Iles Gorchikhanov.[1] Vladimir again moved out at the end of 2002, asking his parents to care for his cat Dima while he was absent.[5]

In 2003, Borik was released from prison a year before his sentence was completed. Borik returned to Elkhotovo, and on July 1 he abducted Sveta Gabisova, a girl he had known earlier, claiming he was in love and wanted to marry her, despite her protests. Relatives rescued Sveta, and her brother Iriston visited Borik to complain about his behaviour - during the resulting fight, Borik was shot and killed. Vladimir returned for the funeral on July 22, but interrupted the funeral to take the body away for a Muslim burial. Vladimir's disturbance caught the attention of the authorities, and after hiding in a local cleric's basement, he was arrested. Despite being a wanted criminal, Vladimir was released by the police shortly after. Shamil Basayev has claimed that this was when Vladimir was given the choice of prison or helping to infiltrate the Chechen warlord's movement.[6]

According to police records, Vladimir had already joined the "Taliban" training camp in Galashki (Ingushetia), and returned to it after his release. On February 3, 2004 an exploding 122mm artillery shell in Vladikavkaz killed an army cadet and a nearby female. By February 21 Vladimir had been declared the prime suspect, after being caught on videotape.[7]

In Elkhotovo, an arsenal of weapons was found at the home of another convert and Vladimir's picture and code name (Abdullah) appeared on the FSB "Wanted" Internet Pages. A failed (and victimless) bomb attack on the Moscow to Vladikavkaz train near the Elkhotovo railway station in May 2004 was also blamed on Vladimir Khodov.[8]

Siege

On the second day of the Beslan siege, Khodov reportedly stopped one of the other hostage-takers from killing a hostage named Larisa Kudzieva, and offered to free her two children if she agreed to wear an explosive belt and hijab in exchange; an offer which Kudzieva refused.[9]

During the siege, authorities got Aleksandra to phone her son, hoping she could convince him to let the children go free.[10]

After the attack

After the siege, there were rumours that he had survived and had been captured, died in custody,[11] or had committed suicide in prison.

After the attacks, his mother Aleksandra was taken into custody by the FSB though released from wrongdoing. She was evicted from Beslan in absentia and went to live in Vladikavkaz.[12]

References
  1. Vladimir Hodov collection of materials by Lenta.ru (in Russian)
  3. Mosnews.com
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-02-10. Retrieved 2006-04-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. theguardian.com
  6. “We got to Beslan thanks to a corridor guaranteed by the Russian secret services”
  7. "Suspect behind Feb 3 bombing in Vladikavkaz named". Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  8. (in Russian) В Северной Осетии взорван поезд Москва-Владикавказ
  9. Farnieva, Zaur. "This Won't Be Another Nord-Ost." Kommersant. July 27, 2005. Russian: ""'Норд-Оста' здесь не будет""
  10. Украина Криминальная - ПОЗЫВНОЙ "AБДУЛЛА”
  11. "Beslan – The Search for the Truth Goes On". Institute for War and Peace Reporting. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  12. "Hunting the Terrorist through His Mother". Archived from the original on 8 November 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
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