Issa Adayev, former director of the National Museum of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, has died in Poland.

According to sources close to Waynakh Online, on August 3 Issa Adayev died in Poland. We, Waynakh Online, offer our deepest sympathies to his family and his friends during this sad time. Issa lived a short but very productive life and his passing will leave a void in the hearts of everyone who knew him. Issa Adayev’s memory and his work will always remain. Dala gech doyla Issa, Dala yalsamanex vovshex tuxiyla vay masso a!

Issa Adayev was born in exile in Kazakhstan in 1954. He was an artist, a specialist on Waynakh languages and the culture of Caucasian peoples. He was the director of the National Museum of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in Grozny until the brutal Russian invasion in 1994, when the building was completely destroyed along with all the cultural and educational institutions at the hands of the Russian army. Since 2000, he has been in exile in Poland due to the ongoing Russian atrocities in Chechen territory. However, he was not an ordinary refugee; even during his days in exile he continued to work for his nation. He has established and led the refugee self-help center “Sintar” in Warsaw, Poland. He was also co-founder of the Association of Caucasian Nations Cultural Institute. He wrote many poems, and also translated Chechen poems into Polish. He organized many cultural events that focused on Chechen and Caucasian people, including exhibitions, concerts and lectures. He wrote the book “Kamienie mówią” (The Stones are Saying) which explained his nation and its cultural heritage, which has been subjected to destruction in front of the eyes of the world.

*Text was written by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco