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Hero of the Russian Federation

Alexander Baranov
Hero of the Russian Federation; Alexander Baranov
	Baranov
Native name	Александр Баранов
Born	May 13, 1946 (age 78)
Allegiance	Soviet Union; Russia
Service / branch	Soviet Army; Russian Ground Forces

General of the Army Alexander Ivanovich Baranov (Russian: Александр Иванович Баранов; born 13 May 1946) is a retired Russian Ground Forces officer who commanded the North Caucasus Military District from July 2004 to May 2008. He is a recipient of the title Hero of the Russian Federation.

Yandiev case

In July 2006 the European Court of Human Rights found the government of Russia guilty of the failure to protect from ill-treatment and a violation of the "right to life" of an alleged Chechen rebel fighter, Khadzhi-Murat Yandiev. Key evidence in the case, according to court documents, was video footage filmed by a reporter for NTV and CNN television showing an army officer, later identified as Alexander Baranov, ordering soldiers to "finish off" and "shoot" Yandiev after an argument between the two. Yandiev was then separated from the other prisoners and has not been seen since.

Baranov, who has been questioned twice over the matter, has denied he sent Yandiev to his death. He argues that his "intervention" was meant to calm Yandiev down, and that the soldiers were not his direct subordinates and therefore could not have taken orders from him.[1]