Temirlan Abutalimov, who has been accused of participating in the execution of Ukrainian POWs, has been appointed Daghestna’s acting Minister for National Policy and Religious Affairs.
The announcement was made by the head of the republic, Sergei Melikov, on Tuesday.
Abutalimov, who holds the title of Hero of Russia, took part in the presidential programme Time of Heroes, becoming a participant in its first intake in May 2024. The programme was launched on the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin and is aimed at preparing the participants in the war with Ukraine distinguished on the battlefield for careers in public service and government.
Since then, he has undergone an internship in the administration of the head and government of Daghestan under Melikov’s personal mentorship. During the internship, he ‘spent more than a year studying public administration, working in government bodies, meeting with relatives of soldiers, engaging with public organisations, and travelling to municipalities’, according to the Melikov administration’s Telegram channel.
According to Melikov, one of the main challenges of the ministry is ‘constant attempts by hostile structures from outside to destroy interfaith and interethnic harmony in the republic’. He recalled the attack in June 2024 on synagogues and churches in Daghestan, describing it as aimed at creating a religious divide.
‘But the fact that young people of other faiths came to help rebuild the Orthodox church shows that our unity was not broken. We saw how consolidated our society is when faced with such threats and dangers. But nevertheless, problems remain’, Melikov said.
Abutalimov, 28, was born in the village of Temiraul in Daghestan’s Khasavyurt district and graduated from the law faculty of Daghestan State University in 2019. Before his military service, he worked as an investigator in the Khasavyurt police department. He went to the front as a volunteer after the announcement of partial mobilisation in autumn 2022 and served in the 70th motorised rifle regiment based in Shali, Chechnya. In December 2023, he was awarded the title Hero of Russia, a month after receiving the Order of Courage.
Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (HUR) has named Abutalimov as one of five commanders involved in the execution of four Ukrainian POWs in May 2024 near the village of Robotyne in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. The accusation is based on intercepted radio communications.
Drone footage published at the time shows four men, reportedly Ukrainian soldiers, surrendering unarmed with their hands raised. The captors, believed to be Russian soldiers, force the Ukrainians to lie face down before shooting them at close range.
The HUR also reported that Russian troops, including Abutalimov, may have been involved in the killing of several more Ukrainian POWs at the end of May 2024.
Elizaveta Chukharova
