Sheikh Mansur was a Chechen shepherd who lead the Chechens against Catherine the Great's imperialist expansion into the Caucasus during the 18th century.

Later, Chechen president Dzhokhar Dudaev would place a picture of Sheikh Mansur on his wall, during the period in which he led Chechnya in declaring independence from Russia under Boris Yeltsin.

Radical Islamist Shamil Basayev, a current Chechen rebel leader, claims also to emulate Sheikh Mansur.