Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov
| Abdurakhman Genazovich (Ganazovich) Avtorkhanov | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Абдурахман Геназович (Ганазович) Авторханов |
| Born |
October 23, 1908 Lakha Nevri, Chechnya, Russian Empire |
| Died | April 24, 1997 (aged 88) Munich, Germany |
| Occupation | Historian, Political scientist |
| Genre | Academic publishing |
| Subject | Chechen society, Soviet history |
Abdurakhman Genazovich (Ganazovich) Avtorkhanov (Chechen: Абдурахма́н Гена́зович (Гана́зович) Авторха́нов, 23 October 1908, Lakha Nevri, Chechnya – 24 April 1997, Munich, Germany) was an acclaimed historian who worked primarily in the fields of Soviet history and History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).
Avtorkhanov's date of birth is unknown. According to his memoirs he was born between 1908 and 1910 in the small Chechen village of Lakha-Nevri, which was destroyed by Soviet troops during the deportation of the Chechen and Ingush population in 1943. He was given the last name of Avtorkhanov in 1923 when he was registered for an orphanage.
The young Avtorkhanov enthusiastically joined the Communist Party in 1927 and served as a high-ranking party functionary.. He graduated from the elite Moscow Institute of Red Professors with a major in Russian history in 1937, during which time he wrote six books on the history of the Caucasus. He was arrested and falsely accused in 1937 during Great Purge, but released in 1942. The NKVD assigned him to infiltrate the anti-Soviet Chechen movement in which his school friend Khasan Israilov was a leader, but Avtorkhanov crossed the front line to Germans, was arrested by Gestapo, released and lived until the end of the war in Berlin. After the war, Avtorkhanov became a co-founder of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in 1951.
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