Ruslan Khazbulatov is dead.
Former Russian parliamentary speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov is dead. The Chechen died at his home on the outskirts of Moscow at the age of 80, Russian state television reported on Tuesday, citing relatives.
Human rights activist Alexander Cherkasov confirmed that Khazbulatov died on Tuesday, but did not give a cause of death. The deceased will be taken to his Chechen hometown of Tolstoy-Yurt and buried there, he wrote on the online service Facebook.
Close ally of Yeltsin
Khazbulatov was one of former President Boris Yeltsin’s closest allies in the last days of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, he was appointed Speaker of Parliament. Both opposed the coup of August 1991 side by side, but later became political rivals. (AFP)