Azamat Sabanov is the son of a former headmaster of School Number One in Beslan, in Russia's North Caucasus, where terrorists took 1000 children and their parents hostage in a three day seige in September 2004. His father and over 300 others perished following the storming of the school by the Russian authorities. Most of the victims were children. Since the attack, he has become a critic of the Russian Federation's emergency response approach, presenting his case as part of delegations from Beslan to President Vladimir Putin and others. Sabanov has also been involved in managing the distribution of humanitarian assistance to the citizens of Beslan in the aftermath of the tragedy.