When 23-year-old Aishat Baimuradova fled her home last year, she believed she finally had a chance to live the way she wanted. Coming from Chechnya, a conservative Muslim republic in Russia, she cut her hair short, stopped covering her head, shaved off part of her eyebrow, and posted quirky selfies on Instagram. She told her new friends she could finally breathe.
In October, Aishat was found dead in a rented flat in neighbouring Armenia. Police say she was murdered. Two people were seen leaving the building where she was found, including a woman Aishat had befriended not long before her death. Both reportedly left for Russia soon afterwards. Russians do not need a passport to enter Armenia; their internal ID is enough. That also makes it an easy route for anyone trying to flee.
Chechnya, in Russia's North Caucasus, is often described by rights groups as a state within a state - a place where power is highly personalised and loyalty to long-standing leader Ramzan Kadyrov often overrides laws and formal institutions. For years, human rights organisations have documented enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings in the republic, as well as systematic persecution of those who dissent. Chechen officials have consistently denied these allegations, complaining of fabrications aimed at discrediting the region.
Several high-profile critics of Chechen authorities have been killed abroad. Aishat Baimuradova is the first known Chechen woman to have died in suspicious circumstances not long after fleeing Russia. Like many other women who escape the region, she had complained of being controlled by her family. She said she was forced into a marriage, monitored, and barred from leaving home or using her phone. The BBC was not able to reach her family for a comment.
Aishat arrived in Armenia at the end of 2024 with the help of SK-SOS, a crisis group that assists people facing danger in the North Caucasus. She had complained openly of conservative gender rules and the suffocating control women face in Chechnya.
Her family tried to persuade her to come back, but when nothing came of it they disowned her, according to SK SOS. On the night of her death, Aishat was with a woman she had recently met online, who claimed to come from Dagestan. People who knew Aishat told the BBC it was the woman who had first made contact with her on social media.
Armenian authorities say they are investigating two unnamed people in connection with Aishat Baimuradova's murder. Ramzan Kadyrov is sensitive to people criticising Chechnya from abroad and the very existence of a diaspora is a clear signal to the entire world that something is wrong in Chechnya.
Chechen women who have sought refuge in Europe often avoid communicating with the diaspora. Aishat's death has reinvigorated fears among many who escaped that they may still be vulnerable to repercussions for their defiance against the oppressive regime.
In October, Aishat was found dead in a rented flat in neighbouring Armenia. Police say she was murdered. Two people were seen leaving the building where she was found, including a woman Aishat had befriended not long before her death. Both reportedly left for Russia soon afterwards. Russians do not need a passport to enter Armenia; their internal ID is enough. That also makes it an easy route for anyone trying to flee.
Chechnya, in Russia's North Caucasus, is often described by rights groups as a state within a state - a place where power is highly personalised and loyalty to long-standing leader Ramzan Kadyrov often overrides laws and formal institutions. For years, human rights organisations have documented enforced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings in the republic, as well as systematic persecution of those who dissent. Chechen officials have consistently denied these allegations, complaining of fabrications aimed at discrediting the region.
Several high-profile critics of Chechen authorities have been killed abroad. Aishat Baimuradova is the first known Chechen woman to have died in suspicious circumstances not long after fleeing Russia. Like many other women who escape the region, she had complained of being controlled by her family. She said she was forced into a marriage, monitored, and barred from leaving home or using her phone. The BBC was not able to reach her family for a comment.
Aishat arrived in Armenia at the end of 2024 with the help of SK-SOS, a crisis group that assists people facing danger in the North Caucasus. She had complained openly of conservative gender rules and the suffocating control women face in Chechnya.
Her family tried to persuade her to come back, but when nothing came of it they disowned her, according to SK SOS. On the night of her death, Aishat was with a woman she had recently met online, who claimed to come from Dagestan. People who knew Aishat told the BBC it was the woman who had first made contact with her on social media.
Armenian authorities say they are investigating two unnamed people in connection with Aishat Baimuradova's murder. Ramzan Kadyrov is sensitive to people criticising Chechnya from abroad and the very existence of a diaspora is a clear signal to the entire world that something is wrong in Chechnya.
Chechen women who have sought refuge in Europe often avoid communicating with the diaspora. Aishat's death has reinvigorated fears among many who escaped that they may still be vulnerable to repercussions for their defiance against the oppressive regime.
