Last Saturday, a certain Adam Belyavsky posted a photo on his Facebook page from the center of Moscow with Vladimir Zhirinovsky, with the caption «Me and dear grandpa». It may seem like it’s nobody’s business to see one of the millions of selfies on social networks, even if it’s taken with a celebrity who can be asked to take a photo by a random passerby. In fact, there would be nothing to it. If it weren’t for the fact that the photo shows a person who bears a striking resemblance to Ruslan Aliyev, the well-known exposer of Islamic preacher Abu Umar Sasitlinsky, who claims to be his former colleague.
But first, let’s recall that Abu Umar Sasitlinsky, or rather his real or perceived connections, is currently at the center of a high-profile case involving the financing and recruitment of terrorism. As part of this case, exceptional Muslims from all over the country are now being «shut down,» such as journalist and Islamic enlightener Abdulmumin Gadzhiev from Dagestan, businessman and philanthropist Kemal Tambiev from Moscow, and KCR. And this list is obviously not exhaustive, because according to available information, there are other well-known Islamic preachers, journalists, etc. who are being targeted in connection with this case.
But what does Aliyev have to do with it? According to him, he was accused by the authorities when he allegedly collaborated with Sasitlinsky in 2013, «before it became fashionable.» They came to the madrasa in Kislovodsk where he worked. But the story continued. In 2017, a Salafist resource published a video of him in Ukraine, in which he not only talked about being forced to flee Russia due to persecution by the FSB, but also about how Sasitlinsky’s supporters did not believe this version and declared him a mole for the special services, which led to alleged attempts on his life.
And now a new twist — recently a person very similar to Ruslan Aliyev appeared in a new role — a certain Adam Belyavsky, who positions himself as a representative of the Russian-Turkish dialogue platform in Russia. In itself, this is not sensational, as well as Mr. Belyavsky’s active secular life, captured in various photos — people change their views and lifestyles in the modern world.
Many have questioned Mr. Belyavsky’s close ties (presumably as Aliyev) with the Russian Consulate General in Istanbul. But in our view, this is still not critical, because not every citizen of a particular state facing problems at home is kidnapped and killed in foreign consulates, as was the case with the Saudi journalist Khashoggi. The consulate itself is an institution with specific functions, dealing with a variety of people without delving into their biographies. So that in itself doesn’t mean anything.
But it is quite another thing for a person who resembles someone who recently claimed to have fled Russia due to persecution by the FSB to appear in the capital of Russia. And not just one person, but someone who, judging by his photos and the image he creates, clearly meets representatives of the Russian establishment not randomly on the street, but at official events.
In this regard, the question arises — how does a recent revelation of Abu Umar Sasitlinsky, who claimed to be his former colleague (whom, according to his own words, other colleagues considered a mole for the special services) and declared that he was forced to flee from the FSB, not only appear in Russia, but openly publicize it and gain access to the highest political circles, not as an Islamic preacher or public figure, but in a completely new capacity?
Unfortunately, we have not been able to get answers to our questions from Mr. Belyavsky, nor have we been able to find the former Ruslan Aliyev to determine whether they are the same person or not. Therefore, in this case we can only speak of a 99% similarity and an assumption with the same degree of probability… Namely, an assumption that coincides with the assessments of many veterans of the KGB regarding the catastrophic decline in the competence of their current colleagues, who are incapable of properly creating legends for their agents and not exposing their own high-profile cases, which are stitched together thanks to such agents. With very white threads.