Former Russian speaker of parliament Ruslan Khasbulatov has passed away
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 Facebook online service.
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 the Parliament. Both side-by-side opposed the August 1991 coup, but later became political rivals. (AFP)