On 20 March 1995, Khatab died suddenly five minutes after opening a letter from his most trusted person, Abraham Alarito.
As soon as Khatab died, some rejoiced and some were sad.
The sad thing is the illegal armed forces in Chechnya, because Khatab, Basayev and Maskhadov are the three leaders of the illegal armed forces in Chechnya, and after the death of Khatab, the illegal armed forces in Chechnya lack a main backbone, which is not conducive to resisting the Russian army;
It is gratifying to note that the Government of the Russian Federation, because the illegal armed forces in Chechnya seriously threaten Russia's territorial sovereignty, and the destruction of Khatab will be one less scourge and of great positive significance to the settlement of the problem of chechen separatism.
So who used the "poison scheme" to kill Khatab, the core leader of the illegal armed forces in Chechnya?
Many people may not have thought that the mastermind behind the use of this "poison message" was the Russian Federal Security Service, known as the "Russian version of the KGB", and it was the Federal Security Service that spent a lot of money to bribe Khatab's close assistant, Ibrahim Allari, as an informant, and only then did Khatab open the letter and die.
To some extent, the Russian Federal Security Service has made an indelible contribution to the neutrality of operations against the Separatist Forces in Chechnya.
As the main successor to the KGB of the USSR, the Security Service of the Russian Federation is responsible for counter-espionage work in the country, but also for combating large-scale organized crime, terrorist activities, illegal arms trafficking and smuggling, illegal armed organizations and groups that endanger national security, and protecting the security of the state's borders.
The scope of the FSB's coverage, including counter-terrorism operations, intelligence operations, customs operations, border operations, public security operations, etc., can be seen from the responsibilities of the agency, so that the FSA can be included in one of the powerful departments under the direct leadership of the president.
Since the reorganization of the Federal Security Service, the director of the federal security service has changed by 8 people in 30 years, and in addition to President Putin, the most favored director of the president is probably Alexander Boltnikov.
Born on November 15, 1951 in Perm, Bortnikov, the capital of Perm Krai, graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Railway Transport, but joined the KGB at the age of 24 as an agent of the counter-intelligence unit in the Leningrad region of the KGB of the SOVIET Union.
Coincidentally.
As soon as Boltnikov entered the KGB on his front foot, Putin stepped into the KGB's door on his back foot.
Putin joined the KGB after graduating from the Law Department of Leningrad University in 1975, and Boltnikov was an agent who joined the KGB in the same year, and the two also worked in the Leningrad region of the KGB, so that Putin and Boltnikov, although not fellow countrymen, established a deep comradeship, laying the foundation for Boltnikov's future soaring.
Why?
Let's look at the many "important ministers" who are now in charge of the powerful departments around President Putin, almost all of whom have KGB experience or the "St. Petersburg Gang" from Putin's hometown.
For example, President Putin's two bodyguards, One is The Federal Emergency Minister General Zinichev, who has a 300,000-strong team, and the other is The Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard, General Zolotov, who is in charge of 400,000 troops, both of whom have KGB resumes.
There is also Prime Minister Medvedev, who has partnered with Putin, and Ivanov, who has served as a senior national security assistant to Putin, who belong to the "St. Petersburg Gang", who are Putin's compatriots.
After all, Putin is a KGB-born politician, not a traditional politician, there is not much experience in governance, when President Yeltsin passed the throne to Putin, in the face of a huge state apparatus, Putin must have a few trustworthy people around him if he wants to firmly steer Russia.
Based on this consideration, since Putin became president, he has always favored the KGB system and the "St. Petersburg Gang".
It is not surprising, then, that Boltnikov, as an old man in the KGB, was highly valued by President Putin.
Moreover, Since joining the KGB, Boltnikov has served in the Russian state security apparatus, almost never changed careers, and has a very rich experience in maintaining Russian national security and fighting against internal outlaws.
It was also an important factor in his ability to be awarded the rank of general by President Putin at the age of 55 and to rise from director of the St. Petersburg City Security Bureau to head of the Federal Security Service. Since then, Boltnikov has been in charge of Russia's two elite anti-terrorist special forces, the Alpha Unit, the Signal Flag Unit and various other special forces of about 8,000 people, and the border guards of 160,000-200,000 people.
We can see from two aspects that Putin has a lot of weight for Boltnikov.
On the one hand: Putin ordered Boltnikov to extend his term of office three times; according to the regulations, the maximum working limit for Russian civil servants is 65 years old, and Boltnikov should have retired in 2016, but Putin has no intention of letting go and continues to let Boltnikov run the Federal Security Service.
After 5 years, Boltnikov celebrated his 70th birthday, and many people thought he would retire, but the truth was just the opposite. Six months before Boltnikov's 70th birthday, President Putin enacted a special law giving the president the power to allow the extension of the working years of senior officials he appointed, which could be extended to the age of 70.
But after Boltnikov passed the age of 70, Putin still did not let him wash his hands, and for the third time ordered the extension of the term of office of General Boltnikov, who has served as the head of the security bureau of the Russian Federation for 14 years, becoming the longest-serving director. As for how long Boltnikov can remain the head of the Russian Federation Security Service, it all depends on Putin's willingness and Boltnikov's work energy.
On the other hand: Putin is accompanied by Boltnikov on vacation; Putin has leisure time every year, usually hiking, fishing and hunting, mainly in the primary forests of Siberia. So who is entitled to enjoy a good time on vacation with Putin?
In addition to Defense Minister Shoigu, the other person is Boltnikov, and even Lavrov, Gerasimov, and Zolotov have to stand aside at this time, and Boltnikov has become one of the few confidants who are still qualified to accompany Putin after work.
Of course, the reason why President Putin trusts and reuses General Boltnikov also stems from Boltnikov's high loyalty to Putin, and he is good at solving problems for President Putin.
One: General Boltnikov often wears a St. George ribbon in public. When the St. George Ribbon first appeared in 2005 as a memorial to the soldiers who defended Russia in World War II, the St. George Ribbon is now more of a symbol of support for Putin.
We can see from the tiny detail of the St. George ribbon worn by General Boltnikov that he did not hesitate to show his loyalty to Putin, preferring to make high-profile declarations.
Second: General Boltnikov led the Federal Security Service to strictly follow President Putin's security concept and combat and prevent all kinds of hidden dangers, so as to ensure Russia's internal stability, so as to cooperate with President Putin in actively facing external security pressures.
Sometimes, he will even perform some special tasks or possibly back the pot. For example, the earlier Russian opposition figure Navarine was poisoned, and the first person in the US-European Western sanctions was General Boltnikov.
Therefore, General Boltnikov and President Putin are superior and subordinate relations at work, but in life they are like brothers and comrades-in-arms, supporting and cooperating with each other.
Putin's ability to meet some close friends who support him on the road to lead Russia forward is the greatest comfort for him.