Vladimir Anatolievich Khodov (Ossetian: Ладымер Анатолий фырт Ходты; Russian: Владимир Анатольевич Ходов; 9 October 1976 – 3 September 2004; né Samoshkin) was a leader of the hostage-takers in the 2004 Beslan school hostage crisis in which more than 300 people, including many children, were killed.
[1] When he was three years old, Vladimir's mother married a North Ossetian military engineer, Anatoly Khodov, and moved to Elkhotovo, 40 km from Beslan, where she worked in the maternity ward of a hospital.
[4] According to police records made public after the Beslan incident, after his return from Ukraine, Khodov converted to Islam in Adygea, went to a madrassa in Cherkessia and even joined the Chechen insurgence (serving mostly as a cook).
Borik returned to Elkhotovo, and on July 1 he abducted Sveta Gabisova, a girl he had known earlier, claiming he was in love and wanted to marry her, despite her protests.
[7] In Elkhotovo, an arsenal of weapons was found at the home of another convert and Vladimir's picture and code name (Abdullah) appeared on the FSB "Wanted" Internet Pages.
A failed (and victimless) bomb attack on the Moscow to Vladikavkaz train near the Elkhotovo railway station in May 2004 was also blamed on Vladimir Khodov.