Ruslan Amerkhanov was a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n official

Official

An official is someone who holds an office in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority .A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public...

 and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He served as the Construction

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 Minister

Minister (government)

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....

 for the southern Republic of Ingushetia, located in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

's troubled North Caucasus

North Caucasus

The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....

 region.

Amerkhanov was described as a "very close and trusted official" and ally

Ally

Ally is a common unisex given name. It is a variant of Allie. It can also refer to:* Ally, a 1999 American TV sitcom that was a spin-off of Ally McBeal.* Ally Bank, an internet bank, formerly the banking unit of GMAC....

 of the President of Ingushetia

President of Ingushetia

The President of the Republic of Ingushetia is the highest office within the Government of Ingushetia.-Presidents of Ingushetia:*Ruslan Aushev *Murat Zyazikov *Yunus-bek Yevkurov...

, Yunus-bek Yevkurov

Yunus-bek Yevkurov

Yunus-bek Bamatgireyevich Yevkurov is the current president of the southern Russian republic of Ingushetia, appointed by President Dmitry Medvedev on 30 October 2008...

, who survived an assassination attempt in June 2009.

On August 12, 2009, two masked gunmen broke into Amerkhanov's official Office of Construction Minister in Magas

Magas

Magas is the capital of the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia. The town was founded in 1995; it replaced Nazran as the capital of the republic in 2002. In terms of population, Magas is the smallest capital of a federal subject in Russia: -History:...

, Ingushetia

Ingushetia

The Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...

 at about 10:30 a.m. local time. The gunmen fired four shots at Amerkhanov, fatally wounding him in his office. The two assassins fled the scene in a VAZ-2114 with North Ossetian license plates. Amerkhanov's nephew

Nephew

Nephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...

 and assistant, Magomed Amerkhanov, 25, was wounded in the attack.

Ingush officials and security officers believe that Amerkhanov's assassination

Assassination

To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

 is linked to a recent public investigation of corruption within Ingushetia's construction industry. Amerkhanov had ordered the review of the construction industry, which revealed that there had been illegal theft of funds from Ingushetia's budget

Budget

A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...

. A spokesperson for Ingush President Yevkurov, who is still recovering in Moscow from his June 2009 assassination attempt, noted that, "The president is concerned that the murder is related to [Amerkhanov’s] professional activity." Corruption is widespread in Ingushetia, especially in the construction sector.

Ingush Acting President Rashid Gaisanov

Rashid Gaisanov

Rashid Yakhyayevich Gaysanov , last name also spelled Gaisanov, is a Russian politician in the southern Republic of Ingushetia. He has served as the Prime Minister of Ingushetia under Ingush President Yunus-bek Yevkurov...

promised to arrest Amerkhanov's killers and said that security would be increased for all Ingush government officials.

Amerkhanov was married and had two children.