The Khaibakh massacre refers to a report of mass execution of the ethnically Chechen population of the aul of Khaibakh, in the mountaineous part of Chechnya, by Soviet forces under a NKVD colonel Mikhail Gveshiani.
The incident reportedly took place on February 27, 1944 during the Operation Lentil (the mass deportation to Kazakhstan). As it was impossible to convoy deportees to the railway stations on the plain due to a snowstorm, 700 villagers, including women and children, were locked in the stable and burned alive, while those trying to escape were shot.[1]
After the incident, Gveshiani was reportedly congratulated for his success and good work by Lavrenty Beria, who promised him a medal.[2][3][4]
The account of the incident is disputed by certain Russian sources, especially in the Russian media.[5]
The aul of Haibach was rediscovered, through archaeological finds in the Ukraine. Archaeologists have found the bodies of Caucasian scouts who died doing the job in the rear of the Nazis. In his pockets were found letters inscribing the name of the aul Haibach. When the archaeologists, accompanied by a former Soviet general, decided to inform the families that they found their relatives, they learned that such a settlement in Chechnya no longer exists.[6] Continuing their investigation, they discovered the bitter truth that while soldiers from Chechnya were dying on the front, the relatives of theirs were burned alive in their homes by Soviet soldiers.[7]