Shamil Basayev, the self-professed terrorist behind the siege of a school in Beslan last year, has been named deputy prime minister in Chechnya's outlawed rebel leadership, in what may indicate a radicalisation of the separatist movement.

Aslan Maskhadov, the former rebel leader killed by Russian forces in March, had distanced himself from Mr Basayev, throwing him out of the rebel leadership in 2002. But Mr Maskhadov's successor, Abdul-Khalim Sadulayev, has named him first deputy chairman of his cabinet, overseeing national security and internal affairs.