Before the Moscow theater hostage crisis, Barayev was believed to have been killed by Russian forces in Chechnya, as the Russian government claimed he had been killed by troops ten days prior to the beginning of the siege.
He had been killed by troops ten days prior to the beginning of the siege. This was what Barayev was believed to have been killed by Russian forces in Chechnya before the Moscow theater hostage crisis. The Russian government claimed.