Did he enter the Ukrainian war to do Vladimir Putin's dirty work as usual? Was it considered an important element for a success on the ground, given the reputation that his soldiers are very tough on the battlefield, well trained and bring down the opponent's psychology with their brutal tactics? Or did he simply want to show his unquenchable loyalty to the Kremlin's tenant, thanks to whom he has been ruling Chechnya for fifteen years? Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who a few days ago was promoted by the Russian president to lieutenant general for his role in the war in Ukraine, has been waving as a badge of honor his presence on the front lines since zero hour, both on the outskirts of Kiev and in other areas. His elite elite army, according to Western intelligence agencies, was charged with the (unsuccessful) assassination of Volodymyr Zelensky and his officials in the first 48 hours of the Russian invasion.
Appeal to Muslims
With the start of Russian operations, "Putin's dog of war," as he is widely known, "called on Muslims to embrace the war as a religious duty" to mobilize Chechen society, the Washington Post writes. He recruited men from martial arts clubs and to this end, a few days ago, according to a report in the Guardian, opened the prison gates to recruits who will form a team to fight in Ukraine in the next change of service.
Unofficially unconfirmed, reports say Kadyrov traveled to Mariupol to inspire his soldiers as the two warring sides' diplomatic delegations in Istanbul attempted to scout for prospects for a ceasefire.
Opposed to peace talks
"I assure you that unless we eliminate the far-right, Nazis and devils in Ukraine, there can be no normal life," he reportedly told his men, expressing his opposition to the peace talks, which he described as "meaningless".
The Chechen leader insists he is in Ukraine, which has been disputed by Western media. A few days ago, a report on Chechen state television showed him meeting with leaders of Russian-speaking separatists in Donetsk, Russian paramilitaries, and visiting one of his henchmen who was wounded in Mariupol, without mentioning where the hospital is located. He is Ruslan Geremeev, alleged mastermind of the plot to assassinate Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in 2015.
Propaganda tools
Since the start of hostilities, Kadyrov has been informing his followers on the Telegram messaging app about developments on the war front. At other times he uploads audio messages and written texts with his thoughts and concerns. Other times he posts videos of war preparations with his fighters, or meetings with his generals.
But these videos - riddled with false allegations, as Western media ironically report - have not been verified by independent sources and, as Politico comments, "attempts to create an epic war diary fall victim to the lack of documentation even of his presence on the battlefield."
But these videos - riddled with false allegations, as Western media ironically report - have not been verified by independent sources and, as Politico comments, "attempts to create a war diary of epic character fall victim to the lack of documentation even of his presence on the battlefield.
They are, however, a useful propaganda tool for the bloodthirsty Chechen leader who wants to demonstrate his enthusiasm and identification with Putin's war, for whose sake, as he has publicly expressed, he is ready to give his life. He did so in Crimea in 2014; it would be unthinkable for him not to do so today.
Allegations of torture and persecution of homosexuals
Human rights groups have accused Ramzan Kadyrov of a series of abuses, including forced disappearances of opponents, torture and persecution of homosexuals. Questioned in the past by a journalist, Kadyrov has stated that "if there are homosexuals in Chechnya, they should be removed so that our blood can be cleansed." He has been linked to several assassinations, most notably that of Anna Politkovskaya, a brave Russian reporter and critic of Putin and the Kadyrov regime, in Moscow in 2006.
The origins of the alliance with Moscow
The relationship between Kadyrov and Putin dates back to the late 1990s, when during the second Chechen war (1999-2000) his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, with whom Ramzan was fighting, changed sides, abandoned the Chechen separatists and formed an alliance with Putin, which gave him both power and money. In return, the Russian president demanded loyalty but also a promise to root out the extremist rebels.
Ramzan was only 27 years old when his father was killed in a bomb blast in 2004 in Grozny. It was three years before Putin put him at the helm of Chechnya to continue, in the name of peace and security in the troubled region, his father's model of governance.
It is a mutually beneficial alliance. On the one hand, Putin knows that he is in control of a very unstable region ruled with an iron fist. On the other, Kadyrov enjoys glory at home, continuing to receive from Moscow, like his father, vast sums of money annually. "Chechen authorities receive 85 percent of their state budget in the form of federal transfer payments from Moscow," writes Foreign Affairs, but most of it is stolen by officials, squandered on grandiose projects and, of course, supporting Kadyrov's extravagant lifestyle.
Source: in.gr
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