Caucasian Front ( Chechen War ) The Caucasian Front ( ) also called Caucasus Front or the Caucasian Mujahadeen , was formally established in May 2005 as an Islamic structural unit of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria ' s armed forces by the decree of the separatist President of Chechnya Abdul - Halim Sadulayev during the Second Chechen War . History . The organisation united various rebel jamaat groups across the North Caucasus to fight the Russia n rule not only in Chechnya but also in the rest of the Russian Caucasus . It was led by a Chechen commander Shamil Basayev until his death in July 2006 and since then by an ethnic Ingush Akhmed Yevloyev . Yevloyev was captured alive in June 2010 . In October 2007 leaders of the Caucasian Front announced the organization now fights to establish the Caucasus Emirate throughout the North Caucasus of Russia . While the anti - Russia n local insurgencies in North Caucasus started even before the formal creation of the Caucasian Front , two months after Aslan Maskhadov ' s death , the new Chechen separatist leader Abdul - Halim Sadulayev officially announced that they had formed a Caucasus Front within the framework of " reforming the system of military - political power . " Along with the existing Chechen , Dagestani and Ingush " sectors " , the Stavropol , Kabardin - Balkar , Krasnodar , Karachai - Circassian , Ossetia n and Adyghe jamaats were included in it , meaning that in theory most the regions of the south - west Russia ' s would be involved in hostilities . In October 2006 , Dokku Umarov established two new fronts beyond the North Caucasus region – the Volga and the Ural fronts . The Chechen separatist movement had taken on a new role as the official ideological , logistical and , probably , financial hub of the new insurgency in the North Caucasus . Increasingly frequent clashes between federal forces and local rebels continue in Dagestan and Ingushetia , while sporadic fighting erupts in the other southern Russia regions . Before the declaration of the Caucasus Emirate , the movement had conducted two - large scale attacks , the 2004 Nazran raid in Ingushetia ( before the formal proclamation ) and the 2005 Nalchik raid in Kabardino - Balkaria . The movement also launched many smaller attacks such as the 2006 Avtury ambush & 2007 Zhani - Vedeno ambush . Leadership . Leadership rift . In July 2011 , a sharia court ruled in favour of Dokka Umarov to close the rift caused by Umarov ' s reorganisation of the " armed forces " of Chechnya , the disbanding the so - called " eastern and south - western fronts " and dividing Chechnya into " military sectors . " The court asked the rebels to re - swear allegiance to Umarov . Amir Khamzat , the commander of the Riyad - us - Saliheen Martyr Brigade or the organisation ' s suicide battalion who has been named the commander of the western sector . Hussein Gakayev , who had been named to lead the eastern sector , Aslambek Vadalov and Tarkhan Gaziyev consequently followed suit and re - affirmed their allegiance to Umarov . He then warned Russia that it would be the target of a new strengthened insurgency as he promised a year of " blood and tears " as a result of the new unity .