New theory on murder of Chechen poet Akhtakhanov

Chechen poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov might have been murdered by the same assailants as Russian Colonel Yuri Budanov, Interfax reports.

Both murders were carried out in lighted public places in the city center, the victims took final shots to the head. The assailants then left the scenes in a car and burned it. Both murders happened using an Izh pistol. The vehicles had no number plates.

Ruslan Akhtakhanov was found shot dead in the yard of his house at 2 Begoyev Street in Moscow this morning. The assailant left the area in a Ford Focus. The assailant's car was found burnt out in the Southern District of Moscow, together with an Izh and ammunition. A spokesman for the Investigative Committee, Vladimir Markin, says that the injuries to the victim and a final shot in the head means that the murder was most likely paid for.

Budanov was shot at Komsomolsky Avenue on June 10. A Chechen local, Magomed Suleimanov, was suspected in the murder.

Budanov was jailed for over 10 years for kidnapping and murdering 18-year old Chechen woman Elsa Kungayeva in July 2003. He was granted early release in mid-January 2009.