After successfully leading his battalion through a dangerous engagement with rebels who tried to ambush them, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin on 7 May 1982.

In November 1992 Aushev was appointed to lead the provisional administration in Ingushetia, a position he resigned two months later to run in the Ingushetian presidential elections.

Then Aushev was elected to the Federation Council of Russia, the upper house of the Russian Parliament in December 1993, a position he resigned from is April 2003.

Aushev served as a negotiator on the second day of the Beslan school hostage crisis, convincing the hostage-takers to release 26 nursing women and their infants.

The opposition news website Ingushetia.org reported that the Ingush president Murat Zyazikov ordered the republic's television and radio broadcasting center to block Echo of Moscow's signal for the duration of Aushev's appearance.