Ruslan Tagirovich Khuchbarov (1972 – 2004), sometimes spelled Khochubarov, was an Ingush man presumed to be the Islamic militant nicknamed "Polkovnik" (the Russian for Colonel) notorious for his leading role in the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis. Polkovnik's identity is disputed and it is possible he escaped the bloody end to the crisis.[1]
Khuchbarov was an ethnic Ingush and native of the village of Galashki in the republic of Ingushetia near the border with Chechnya. His body was reportedly identified after he was killed during the storming of the school.
According to the FSB information obtained the Russian newspaper Vremya Novostey, Khuchbarov was living with his Russian girlfriend and their son in Oryol Oblast, until he was accused of murder and attempted murder of two members of the Armenian diaspora and declared wanted in 1998. Khuchbarov then went into hiding and moved to Chechnya, where he underwent extensive combat training in a camp of the field commander Ibragimov and took the nickname Colonel, collaborating with Arbi Barayev. Eventually he joined the brigade of Shamil Basayev and became one of his closest associates in Ingushetia. Khuchbarov and one other rebel, Amriev, were responsible for Galashki ambush in Ingushetia on May 11, 2000, killing 18 soldiers and officers and wounding three. The bombing of the Ingushetian Department of the FSB on September 15, 2003, when three people died and 32 were seriously injured, has also been ascribed to Khuchbarov. He was involved in the training of suicide attackers.[2]
Russian sources initially reported "Polkovnik" to be Ali Taziyev, a former Ingush policeman-turned-rebel who was declared legally dead in 2000.[3][4][5] However, this was later refuted by the Russian prosecutors.[6] Investigators then alleged this was the same person as Akhmed Yevloyev, an Ingush terrorist leader also said to be Ali Taziyev, but those reports were declared incorrect later: although he had similar features as Yevloyev, his facial profile was a lot different. In addition, Yevloyev turned out to be still alive.[7]
Shamil Basayev, who claimed organizing the Beslan attack, identified "Polkovnik" as "Col. Orstkhoyev" and not Khuchbarov.[8][1]