The Kadyrovtsy originated in 1994 as a Chechen separatist militia under Akhmad Kadyrov, and fought against the Russian Armed Forces for the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the First Chechen War. Kadyrov defected to the Russian side in the Second Chechen War in 1999, and the Kadyrovtsy began fighting separatists and jihadists during the "Guerilla phase" as a "de facto" unit of the state police after he was appointed Chechen President in July 2000. Kadyrov was assassinated in 2004, and control of the militia was inherited by his son, Ramzan Kadyrov. In 2006, the Kadyrovtsy were legalized as a motorized regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and when Kadyrov was elected Chechen President in 2007 its current official role as a personal protective service was established.