Ramzan Paskayev

Ramzan Paskayev is highly regarded by many Chechens for his ability to remember countless Chechen folk tunes by heart, which are regarded as the cornerstone of the restoration of Chechen music. He had groomed his son Ruslan, also a talented accordionist, to follow in his footsteps, but on October 12, 2004, Ruslan, a university student in Grozny, was found dead in the nearby village of Kalinina. His corpse showed signs of blows and tortures, and he had been shot in the head. Ruslan's murder was touted as another example of extrajudicial execution by Russian forces.[5]

In 1967 Paskayev was called to active duty in the ranks of the Soviet Red Army. However, he was transferred to a military garrison ensemble after the intervention of fellow musician Aslan Gugiev. Afterwards Ramzan would enroll in a professional education at a college in Grozny and then the Krasnodar Institute of Culture. He would join an orchestra, and work there until 1983, when he would return to "Vaynah".

In 1962 Paskayev was invited to speak at Baikal TV, and after delivering his speech he became widely known throughout the Chechen-Ingush ASSR. He spent much of his youth performing with adults, and wasn't seen playing with other children. That year he also performed at the Great Kremlin Palace and met with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. The following year, Ramzan was also invited into the "Vaynah" dance ensemble.

By the mid-1950s, De-Stalinization had allowed the Chechens and Ingush to return to their native homelands, and the Paskayev family moved to Grozny, the Chechen capital. Throughout his youth, Ramzan had developed his musical abilities, and in 1960 the young Ramzan was invited into the House of Folklore amateur ensemble. He worked in the ensemble writing melodies, and had decided to receive a vocational education from that group. Also during his youth, Ramzan met with his idol, Umar Dimayev: Dimayev handed Ramzan his accordion, and although Ramzan's feet couldn't yet touch the ground when he sat on his chair, Ramzan surprised the entire audience with his small performance. Umar declared, "He will inevitably become an accordionist." From their encounter, Ramzan later recalled, "His face showed a gracious smile. I think he had realized that I had copied his style." [3]

Ramzan Paskayev (Chechen: Рамзан Паскаев) (born March 16, 1947 in Taraz, Kazakhstan) is a Chechen accordionist and folk musician. He is regarded by many as the contemporary successor to late Chechen accordionist Umar Dimayev.

Paskayev was born in Taraz to Chechen parents on March 16, 1947. His family been sent to Kazakhstan as a result of the forced deportations of the Chechens and Ingush to Central Asia on February 23, 1944. Ramzan's father Sultan worked as a truck driver and gathered wheat on a collective farm to help support his family. Sultan had managed to bring a German accordion from his home in Chechnya, and during evenings the young Ramzan would constantly bother his father to play the accordion out of curiosity.[1]