Charles Taylor vs Dinmukhamed Kunaev

Charles Taylor formed the NPFL in Ivory Coast and launched an invasion into Liberia, beginning the First Liberian Civil War. The NPFL quickly gained control of much of the country, challenging Samuel Doe's government.

Taylor won the 1997 Liberian general election with 75% of the vote, running on a platform of peace and reconciliation. The election was held after the end of the First Civil War, but Taylor's victory was widely seen as a choice between him and a return to war.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) indicted Taylor for war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in supporting the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone's civil war. The indictment marked the first time a sitting African head of state was charged with such crimes.

Under international pressure and facing a rebel siege of Monrovia, Taylor resigned the presidency and went into exile in Nigeria. His departure ended the Second Liberian Civil War and allowed for a peace agreement.

The Special Court for Sierra Leone convicted Taylor of 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison, the first former head of state convicted since Nuremberg.

Kunaev played a key role in implementing Khrushchev's Virgin Lands Campaign, which plowed millions of hectares of steppe in northern Kazakhstan for grain production. The campaign initially increased grain output but led to soil erosion and ecological damage.

Kunaev was appointed First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Kazakh SSR, becoming the de facto leader of Soviet Kazakhstan. He held this position for over two decades, overseeing the republic's economic development and industrialization.

Under Kunaev's leadership, the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was expanded as the primary Soviet space launch facility. This supported the Soviet space program, including the launch of the first human into space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961.

Kunaev was removed from his post as First Secretary by Mikhail Gorbachev as part of anti-corruption campaigns. His removal sparked the Jeltoqsan protests in Almaty, the first major public demonstrations against Soviet rule in Kazakhstan.