The Interior Minister of the Russian republic of Dagestan and one of his deputies were killed as they were leaving a wedding party in a restaurant in Makhachkala on 5 June 2009.

The minister, Lieutenant General Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, died when a sniper opened fire from a building overlooking a restaurant where he was attending the wedding of a colleague’s daughter.

Investigators now say that the gun used in the assassination was of a type not used by the Islamic resistance. Rather, the killer may have, in fact, been from inside the secret services.

Analyst Yulia Latynina, who works for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, said the attack was proof that the leader of Dagestan, Mukhu Aliyev, despite being regarded as an uncorrupted figure, had failed to assert control.

“There’s been a vacuum of power. Aliyev is not at all corrupted but he’s also a weak ruler… There’s been an unbelievable growth in murders. Dagestan is heading down a one-way street,” said Latynina.