KHASBULATOV, RUSLAN IMRANOVICH

(1942– )

Politician. As an ethnicChechen, Ruslan Khasbulatov suffered deportation toKazakhstanas a toddler. After secondary school, he moved to the capital where he studied atMoscow State University. He joined theCommunist Party of the Soviet Unionin the mid-1960s, and developed a reputation as a scholar of foreign capitalism. He partnered withBoris Yeltsinduring the early 1990s and was elected to theCongress of People’s Deputiesin 1990. However, the two politicians fell out during and after thedissolution of the Soviet Unionin December 1991. As chairman of theSupreme Soviet of the Russian Federation, Khasbulatov was arguably the most important opposition figure in theconstitutional crisis of 1993. After the violent assault on the White House, Khasbulatov was arrested, though the newly electedState Dumapardoned him later that year. Though he has spoken of returning topolitics, since 1993, Khasbulatov has generally maintained a low profile as an economics professor at the Plekhanov Russian Academy of Economics inMoscow.