Maksharip Aushev

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Russian opposition leader Maksharip Aushev knew he was taking a risk when he spoke out against corruption in his native Ingushetia, the troubled North Caucasus republic where the body of human-rights worker Natalya Estemirova was discovered in July. But Aushev spoke out anyway--and paid the price for his bravery. On Oct. 25, the 43-year-old businessman, who became a human-rights activist after his son and nephew were reportedly tortured by police in 2007, became the third opposition figure murdered in four months when his car was sprayed with bullets as he traveled to visit relatives. Though the Kremlin had no official response to the killing, the republic's governor said Aushev's murder could have been the work of local police carrying out a personal vendetta. The admission underscored the degree to which the lawless region's moderates are caught in the cross fire between Islamist radicals and a brutal counterinsurgency. Nearly 3,000 people attended Aushev's funeral--a turnout that his father said was proof the slain activist was not merely his son but a son of Ingushetia.