The strange death of the rebellious general ("Il Manifesto", Italy)
A spokesman for the Russian armed forces announced the death of General Vladislav Achalov, who died in a Moscow hospital “after a long illness” at the age of just 65 years. Achalov was one of the most restless and anomalous characters in the Russian armed forces. He was always in open confrontation with the power established in the country after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and even a little earlier, due to his active participation and not a secondary role despite his young age in the failed putsch against Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991. Two years later, in 1993, Achalov became one of the main actors in an attempt to organize an armed insurrection, or at least in armed resistance against Boris Yeltsin, when the latter dissolved the parliament, first issuing a corresponding presidential decree, and then resorting to guns. Just a few months ago, he was named (without subsequent denial, but without disciplinary or judicial consequences) as the main instigator of the military’s protest against the current regime, or rather against the head of the Russian military apparatus, Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. Achalov distributed via the Internet a video call to the officers and ensigns of the paratroopers corps he commanded in his last years of service, urging them to gather in Moscow on November 9, on the anniversary of the revolution of the Bolsheviks, to a large manifestation of protest against the reform of the armed forces that Serdyukov wanted, and also President Medvedev. He believed that this reform was demeaning to the traditional power of the Russian armed forces. This appeal was viewed by many as a real call for a coup d'état. But nothing followed him, or more precisely, almost nothing: indeed, it was rumored from all sides that at least two high-ranking officers associated with Achalov died a mysterious death in the days preceding the date of the alleged coup d’état. the third miraculously escaped death in another mysterious incident. Nationalists blame the FSB secret services for this.
Achalov, born in 1945, received a general's rank very young, in 1980, and then was always distinguished by great political activity as a member of the CPSU. He joined the party of twenty. There is no information that he served in Afghanistan, but his track record includes severe repressive measures taken by armed units under his leadership, first in Baku, in Azerbaijan in January 1990 during ethnic clashes between Azerbaijanis and Armenians, and then in Vilnius Lithuania in January 1991 year after the proclamation of independence of this Baltic republic from the USSR. In August 1991, at the time of the coup against Gorbachev, Achalov was the Acting Deputy Minister of Defense. After the bloody clashes near the parliament building in September 1993, Achalov was arrested, tried and convicted, but after several months in prison he returned under amnesty and was even returned to his military rank. There were no further fights with the Kremlin, and the general founded and was for a long time the chairman of the extreme right-wing nationalist organization Rodina, which was later transformed into the Union of Officers. Recently, while remaining associated with the most extreme nationalist movements, the general founded the Union of Russian Paratroopers organization with clearly subversive goals.
Dark character and dark death. The official announcement speaks of a “long lasting illness”, without going into further details. In November last year, the general was in good health. It may not be entirely coincidental that his death followed shortly after the death of another military ultranationalist, former Colonel Yuri Budanov, who was killed near his home two weeks ago. There is no indication that these two characters had direct contacts, but the connection between them was made by another General, Vladimir Shamanov. He is believed to be the main person responsible for violence and violation of human rights in Chechnya (his boss called him a “butcher”). Shamanov openly defended Budanov during the process and subsequent release for the rape and murder of a Chechen girl, stating that Budanov is a hero. At the same time, Shamanov was a high-ranking officer close to Achalov (he inherited his post at the head of the paratrooper forces and participated in the supposed last year's rebellion). Shamans miraculously escaped death in an 30 October 2010 road accident when a truck collided with his car.
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