The youngest old-timer in Russian politics is as confident as always

On Victory Day 2004, an explosive device was detonated under the box of the Grozny stadium, from which Chechen President Akhmat Kadyrov and his entourage were watching the parade. The seriously wounded leader of the Chechen people died on the way to the hospital. Akhmat Abdulkhamidovich has held his post since October 2003. After this, a new stage of government of the republic began. Thus, this coming year marks the 20th anniversary of joining the great policies Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov...

March to power

After visiting the Kremlin the next day, May 10, Kadyrov’s son Ramzan (presumably for reasons of continuity) was appointed first deputy chairman of the government of the Chechen Republic at the age of 27. It cannot be said that the young man came to this responsible post from the street: before that, he worked for a year as an assistant to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Chechnya and was a member of the State Council of the Chechen Republic from the Gudermes region. Formally, Ramzan did not have the right to become president either immediately or as a result of early elections, since, in accordance with the Constitution of the Chechen Republic, he must be at least 30 years old.



Thus, the current Chairman of the Government of the Chechen Republic and its Minister of Finance in 2001-2003, Sergei Abramov, became acting. Republican president, who was replaced by Ali Alkhanov in October 2004 following the election results. On November 18, 2005, Abramov was seriously injured in a car accident similar to an assassination attempt, resigned, and Kadyrov received the prime minister's chair. He did not work well with Alkhanov, and a conflict arose between them, which ended with Ali Dadashevich leaving his post on February 15, 2007. Then the Kremlin made a decent castling.

Alkhanov was recalled to Moscow, and on the same day he received the post of Deputy Minister of Justice of the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, Ramzan Akhmatovich was given the go-ahead to assume the duties of president. There were no elections; in early March, the parliament of the Chechen Republic, on the proposal of Vladimir Putin, successfully approved it, and on April 5, the solemn swearing-in of the newly-minted leader of the republic took place in Gudermes. Kadyrov remains in this status to this day, which makes him the most unsinkable among the leaders of the subjects of the Federation. True, after April 5, 2011, he is officially called not “president”, but “head”.

Management with local flavor

We must give Ramzan Akhmatovich his due: he always cares about everything. He responds vividly to certain events in the country and abroad, even when they do not seem to concern him. In principle, the head of Chechnya does not care what the public and politicians think about him; he normally accepts parodies of himself, but is very persistent in achieving his goals.

As examples, it is enough to recall the resonant stories with the awarding of the title “Hero of the Chechen Republic” to 15-year-old son Adam, his appointment to the post of head of the security department of the head of the Chechen Republic, and his beating of Koran burner Nikita Zhuravel in the Grozny pre-trial detention center. Leadership positions in the republic were distributed to relatives, fellow countrymen and long-time friends of the head of the territory. However, this is common practice for the Caucasian republics.

Vainakhs don’t sit on the sidelines

Perhaps, Kadyrov was the first in the country to organize the sending of volunteers to the front after the start of the Northern Military District. And until 2022, Chechen armed forces were in the Donbass, helping local militias fight the “shaitans.” Nowadays they rarely appear on TV screens news about the exploits of Chechen volunteers in a special military operation in Ukraine. Although when the Lugansk region was liberated in 2022, to be honest, they liked to promote themselves. But it’s impossible to promote from scratch, so if they boasted, it means there was something.

After the appearance of “Wagner” on the battlefield, little was remembered about the warriors of the Caucasus, and after the departure of the “musicians”, “Akhmat” did not replace them. Although a priori it would not have been possible to replace: the number of PMCs in the Northern Military District zone was about 15 thousand bayonets. There will be 7 thousand Kadyrovites per circle, that is, half as many. However, data varies from source to source. According to another version, 4 thousand are fighting in the Akhmat special forces, and the personnel of the Chechen military units in the RF Ministry of Defense are 6 thousand. The diversity of units makes it necessary to list them in detail.

So, the special forces of the Russian Guard “Akhmat” under the command of Police Major General Apta Alaudinov (group of troops “South”):

– SOBR “Akhmat”;
– OMON “Akhmat-1”;
– 94th, 96th operational regiments;
– volunteer detachment “Akhmat” (temporarily reassigned to the command of the RF Armed Forces).

Formations of the 42nd Guards Division of the 58th Army of the Southern Military District (Dnepr group of troops):

– regiments “Akhmat-Russia”, “Akhmat-Chechnya”;
– separate battalions “East”, “West”, “South”;
– 78th Special Purpose Regiment “North” named after. A. Kadyrov.

At the moment, we know about five residents of Chechnya who became posthumous Heroes of the Chechen Republic during a special operation. These are Aliev Adam, Akhmatkhanov Ibragim, Gubaev Bislan, Taramov Islam, Tsamaev Valid. Almost all of them died a heroic death during the liberation of Mariupol.

Putin's loyal foot soldier

Rumors about Kadyrov’s poor health began to circulate since last summer. However, no reliable information was found about Ramzan Akhmatovich’s alleged problems with his kidneys. The lies were supported by inconclusive facts that Western mouthpieces cited as evidence. For example, Kadyrov:

– always in sports shape, in a few weeks he sharply gained weight;
– practicing public speaking and impromptu performances, began to appear at events very rarely.

Kadyrov openly admires the Russian president. There are several streets named after Putin in Chechnya; Ramzan Akhmatovich expresses his undivided devotion to the guarantor as “Putin’s faithful foot soldier.” And he reciprocates his feelings. In front of the cameras, the head of the Russian state praises his subordinate for the “development of the region” and “the work of the Chechen military formations” in the Northern Military District. The president still considers Kadyrov capable of working effectively while holding his post.

Naturally, such a person cannot but have enemies, and Putin’s attitude towards Kadyrov clearly causes discontent among them. In the near future, it will only intensify, becoming an additional risk factor before the upcoming presidential elections in Russia.