# List of Chechen people

This is a partial list of notable Chechen people.

## Military personnel
### 13th–19th century

* Aguk Shagin, 8th-century Chechen commander from Aukh, participant in the Arab–Khazar wars on the side of the Khazar Khaganate
* Khasi I, prince of Durdzuketi and king of Alania, participant in the Mongol invasions of Durdzuketi
* Khour I, son of the previous, self proclaimed king of Alania and Durdzuketi, leader of the Insurgency in Durdzuketi
* Botur, participant in the Mongol invasions of Durdzuketi on the side of the Mongols, servant in the Mongol army, king of Boturcha
* Ors Ela, participant in the Mongol invasions of Durdzuketi, ruler of the pro-Mongol Durdzuketi
* Chakhig, son of Khour I, leader of the Dedyakov rebellion
* Khour II, 14th century Chechen prince that ruled the Princedom of Simsim
* Surakat, 14th-15th century Chechen prince that ruled the Princedom of Simsim and the Avar Khanate, brother of Khour II, defended Simsim against Timurid Empire
* Aldaman Gheza, elected leader of Chechnya in the 17th century, protected the Chechen borders against several foreign invasions
* Sheikh Mansur, led the resistance against Catherine the Great's imperialist expansion into the Caucasus during the late 18th century
* Beibulat Taimiev, Chechen military leader and diplomat
* Isa Gendargeno, Chechen military leader during the Russo-Caucasian War
* Gubash of Gukhoy, Chechen elder who was known for being anti Caucasian Imamate
* Baysangur of Benoa, Chechen governor and military leader
* Uma Duyev, Chechen military leader during the Russo-Caucasian War. Leader of the uprisings in Chechnya in 1860–1861 and 1877
* Alexander Chechenskiy, Russian major general and participant in the Napoleonic wars
* Talkhig of Shali, governor of the province of Shali in the Caucasian Imamate
* Tovbolat Kurchaloevsky, Chechen abrek
* Shuaib-Mulla of Tsentara, commander in the Caucasian War
* Zelimkhan, legendary Chechen folk hero and abrek

### World War II

* Kanti Abdurakhmanov, Red Army master sergeant, Hero of the Russian Federation
* Dasha Akayev, commander of the 35th Assault Aviation Regiment; also was the first Chechen pilot
* Mahmud Amayev, Soviet junior sergeant and sniper
* Irbaykhan Baybulatov, Red Army battalion commander, Hero of the Soviet Union
* Khansultan Dachiev, Red army Junior lieutenant and Hero of the Soviet Union
* Duda Enginoev, full bearer of the Order of Glory
* Abukhadzhi Idrisov, Red army machine gunner and sniper, Hero of the Soviet Union
* Khasan Israilov, leader of the 1940–1944 uprising against Soviet rule
* Khavazi Muhamed-Mirzaev, Red army senior sergeant and Hero of the Soviet Union
* Khanpasha Nuradilov, highest scoring machine gunner of the Red Army, Hero of the Soviet Union
* Lyalya Nasukhanova, the first Chechen woman pilot and the first Soviet woman to command a fighter jet echelon
* Mairbek Sheripov, prominent leader in the 1940–1944 insurgency against Soviet rule
* Movldi Umarov, Red army lieutenant and Hero of the Russian Federation
* Movlid Visaitov, commander of 255th Chechen-Ingush Cavalry Regiment, and the first one to shake hands with Americans on Elbe river; posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union

### Chechen-Russian war period and after

* Arbi Barayev, nicknamed "The Terminator", founder and first leader of the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment
* Movsar Barayev, militia leader during the Second Chechen War, who led seizure of Moscow theater that led to deaths of 170 people
* Shamil Basayev, militant Islamist and participant of the Chechen resistance movement
* Dzhokhar Dudayev, Soviet Air Force general and Chechen leader, first President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
* Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, writer and a politician, served as acting president of the breakaway Chechen Republic of Ichkeria between 1996 and 1997
* Ruslan Gelayev, commander in the Chechen separatist movement
* Aslan Maskhadov, leader of the Chechen separatist movement and the third President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
* Abdul-Halim Sadulayev, fourth President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

### Diaspora

* Ahmad Aladdin, Jordanian Major general, two time Hero of Jordan
* Mümtaz Çeçen, Ottoman officer
* Ahmad Ramzi, general in the Jordanian Armed forces, minister of interior of Jordan, he was also a friend of the first Jordanian King
* Mahmud Shevket, Ottoman Grand vizier known for the founding of the Ottoman airforce
* Muhammed Bashir Ismail ash-Shishani, major general in the Jordanian Army, former minister of Agriculture, mayor of Amman and director of Military intelligence

## Politicians
### Soviet Union

* Ruslan Khasbulatov, Speaker of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet, 1991–1993
* Doku Zavgayev, Russian ambassador to Slovenia

### Russian Federation

* Alu Alkhanov, Russian politician, former president of Russia's Chechen Republic
* Vladislav Surkov, Businessman and Politician, former advisor to the President of Russia
* Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of the Chechen Republic
* Akhmad Kadyrov, First president of the Pro-Russian Chechen republic

### Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

* Ilyas Akhmadov, former foreign minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
* Akhmed Zakayev, leader and prime minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

### Diaspora

* Abdul Baqi Jammoh

## Business

* Ruslan Baisarov, Chechen entrepreneur and businessman
* Musa Bazhaev, president of Alliance Group
* Malik Saidulaev, businessman and politician
* Tapa Tchermoeff, politician and oil magnate
* Ziya Bazhayev, founder of Alliance group and a philanthropist
* Umar Dzhabrailov, businessman and politician

## Sports
### Footballers

* Zaur Sadayev, attacking Midfielder for Turkish club Ankaragücü
* Dzhabrail Kadiyev, plays for FC Legion Dynamo Makhachkala
* Adlan Katsayev, attacking midfielder who plays for FC SKA-Khabarovsk
* Magomed Mitrishev, striker, attacking midfielder and winger for FC Akhmat Grozny
* Khalid Kadyrov, left winger for the Russian Premier League team FC Akhmat Grozny
* Rizvan Utsiyev, captain of FC Akhmat Grozny
* Lechi Sadulayev, plays for FC Akhmat Grozny
* Mohammad Omar Shishani, striker for Al-Faisaly
* Murad Tagilov, plays for FC Druzhba Maykop
* Sergei Tashuyev, currently a coach, he is of Chechen and Belarusian descent
* Rassambek Akhmatov, Chechen football player from France

### Wrestlers

* Islambek Albiev, Russian wrestler, a gold medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling
* Buvaisar Saitiev, Russian wrestler of Chechen heritage, he is a six-time world champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling
* Adam Saitiev, wrestler, a gold medalist at the 2000 Summer Olympics
* Dzhamal Otarsultanov, wrestler, won the gold medal in men's freestyle 55 kg at the 2012 Summer Olympics
* Razambek Zhamalov, wrestler, won the gold medal in men's freestyle 74 kg at the 2024 Summer Olympics
* Anzor Boltukaev, accomplished wrestler, beat Kyle Snyder in 2016
* Albert Saritov, bronze medalist of the 2016 Olympics
* Adlan Varayev, freestyle wrestler, won a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics
* Rasul Dzhukayev, won a silver medal in the 66 kg division at the 2009 FILA World Championships
* Bekkhan Goygereyev, freestyle wrestler, won the gold medal at the 2013 World Wrestling Championships
* Salman Hashimikov, freestyle wrestler, won two European and four World Championship gold medals in freestyle wrestling (1979, 1981, 1982, 1983)
* Bekhan Tungaev, wrestler who won the European championship back in the 1970s
* Elmadi Zhabrailov, won silver in freestyle wrestling at the 1992 Summer Olympics
* Chingiz Labazanov, Greco-Roman wrestler and world gold medal holder
* Ramazan Şahin, a gold medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 2008 Summer Olympics
* Zelimkhan Huseynov, silver medalist at the 2009 World Wrestling Championships
* Lukman Zhabrailov, gold medalist at the 1994 World Wrestling Championships
* Zagir Shakhiev, gold medalist at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships
* Akhmed Chakaev, two time bronze medalist at the World Wrestling Championships
* Alikhan Zhabrailov, bronze medalist at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships
* Roland Schwarz, bronze medalist at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships

### Boxers

* Artur Beterbiev, Unified light-heavyweight boxing champion
* Umar Salamov, professional boxer who held the IBO light-heavyweight title in 2016
* Zaurbek Baysangurov, professional boxer and former WBO and IBO light middleweight champion
* Khuseyn Baysangurov, professional boxer who held the WBA Continental (Europe) and the IBF International light-middleweight titles from 2017 to 2018
* Apti Davtaev, Professional boxer
* Imam Khataev, Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist

### Mixed martial artists

* Adlan Amagov, formerly competed in the UFC, where he is the first Chechen mixed martial artist to compete
* Mamed Khalidov, currently competing in the KSW
* Mairbek Taisumov, formerly competed in the UFC
* Zubaira Tukhugov, formerly competed in the UFC
* Ismail Naurdiev, currently competing in the UFC
* Khamzat Chimaev, currently competing in the UFC

### Weightlifters

* Apti Aukhadov, weightlifter, 2013 World Champion and silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics

### Judo practitioners

* Hüseyin Özkan, gold medalist at the 2000 Summer Olympics
* Bashir Varaev, bronze medalist at the 1988 Summer Olympics
* Shamil Borchashvili, Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medalist
* Tamerlan Bashaev, Tokyo 2020 Olympics bronze medalist
* Yakub Shamilov, bronze medalist at the 2021 World Judo Championships
* Salamu Mezhidov, 2007 european champion
* Islam Matsiev
* Bektaş Demirel
* German Abdulaev
* David Margoshvili

## Musicians and dancers

* Said Dimayev, orchestral music composer
* Umar Dimayev, accordionist and folk music composer
* Ali Dimayev, musician and composer
* Sultan Islamov, actor and singer
* Timur Mutsurayev, musician and bard
* Makka Sagaipova, popular singer
* Xava Tashaeva, popular singer
* Makhmud Esambayev, actor and dancer, was regarded as one of the most famous dancers of the Soviet Union
* Imran Usmanov, folk singer
* Ramzan Paskayev, accordionist and folk musician
* Imam Alimsultanov, folk singer

## Writers and poets
### Writers

* Azdeen Vazar, writer and historian
* Musa Geshaev, writer
* Abuzar Aydamirov, novelist and poet
* Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov, Chechen historian of the communist period

### Poets

* Magomet Mamakaev, one of the founders of modern Chechen literature
* Raisa Akhmatova, poet
* Yamlikhan Khasbulatov, writer and poet. Brother of Ruslan Khasbulatov

## Scientists
### Historians

* Ibragim-Bek Sarakaev, writer and historian
* Khozh-Akhmed Bersanov, ethnographer and author
* Aslanbek Khasbulatov, historian and director at University of Grozny, brother of Ruslan Khasbulatov
* Zulay Khasbulatova, ethnographer and historian, sister of Ruslan Khasbulatov
* Dalkhan Khozhaev, historian and field commander

### Physicist

* Akhmed Tsebiev, Physicist and inventor

## Medicine
### Surgeons

* Khassan Baiev, Chechen-American trauma surgeon

## Activists and journalists

* Natalya Estemirova, human rights activist
* Salavdi Gugaev, activist for the rehabilitation of Chechens from Aardakh
* Oyub Titiev, human rights activist
* Hadijat Gatayeva, humanitarian activist and nurse
* Amina Okueva, deceased Euromaidan activist and soldier in the Russo-Ukrainian war

### Journalists

* Musa Muradov, journalist
* Milana Bakhaeva (pen name Terloeva), journalist and author
* Adlan Khasanov, photographer and journalist

## Artists and painters

* Pyotr Zakharov-Chechenets, first professional painter of Chechen origin
* Aslan Goisum, contemporary artist