ONE FOR PUTIN:

Chechen Rebel Leader Killed, Russia Says (SERGEI VENYAVSKY, 3/08/05, Associated Press)

Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov has been killed, a spokesman for Russian forces said Tuesday. [...]

Maskhadov led the Chechen separatists who fought Russian forces to a standstill in a 1994-96 war and he became the republic's president after the Russian military withdrew.

But he appeared to lose substantial influence to Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, and by the time Russian forces returned to Chechnya in 1999, he was believed to command loyalty among only a relatively small faction of fighters.