Latest news with #AdamKadyrov
Al Jazeera
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Chechnya's Kadyrov wanted to resign. Or did he?
The health of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who earlier this month sought to resign, is deteriorating rapidly, sources and observers have told Al Jazeera. But Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want Kadyrov to be succeeded by his third son, they say. Earlier this month, 48-year-old Kadyrov, who has long dubbed himself Putin's 'foot soldier', said he wanted to quit. 'Another [Chechen leader] will have his own initiative, his own vision. I hope my request will be supported,' Kadyrov told a pro-Kremlin publication, Chechnya Today, before his May 7 meeting with Putin. During the meeting in Putin's office, Kadyrov boasted of 55,000 Chechen servicemen fighting in Ukraine and read a laundry list of economic achievements under his rule in Chechnya, a region home to 1.5 million people. Kadyrov, known as a boxing and weightlifting aficionado, read his words aloud from cards with extra-large print. Neither mentioned the resignation. Kadyrov clarified the issue a day later and habitually glorified Putin. 'Whatever I say, no matter how hard I ask, the decision is only made by one person – our Supreme Commander,' Kadyrov, who had streets and districts in Chechnya named after Putin, wrote on Telegram. 'I'm a foot soldier. If there's an order – I follow it.' Two Chechen insiders familiar with the inner workings of Kadyrov's government told Al Jazeera that, despite the deferential tones, Kadyrov has had a falling-out with Putin over his preferred successor – his third son, Adam Kadyrov, who turned 17 last November. The sources requested anonymity, as rights groups have previously documented a harsh crackdown on dissent in Chechnya, including the persecution of Kadyrov critics and their loved ones. 'Putin refused to have Adam as a successor,' one of the sources said. Kadyrov presents Adam as his son with his wife, Medni. In 2023, Ramzan posted a video purporting to show his son in a pretrial detention centre assaulting a Russian man who had burned a copy of the Quran. Ramzan said he was 'proud' of Adam, who federal investigators said cannot face assault charges because of his age. The younger Kadyrov has been appointed to several official positions, including head of Chechnya's security council. But according to one of the sources, he has been 'raised as a prince' and has limited experience of the 'real world'. According to Chechnya's constitution, no one below 30 can head it. At the time of the 2004 assassination of his father, Akhmat, Ramzan was 28. Akhmat was a mufti and separatist strongman who switched sides after conflicts with puritan separatists who rejected Chechnya's Sufi traditions. Akhmat was killed in a bomb blast, and Ramzan at the time relied on figureheads before officially becoming Chechnya's leader in 2007. Adam will turn 30 in 2037. Kadyrov senior reportedly has necrotising pancreatitis, a health condition with a low survival rate, and kidney problems that require frequent dialysis. The sources Al Jazeera interviewed claimed he was hospitalised several times in critical condition, and spends hours in the AiMed Family Clinic in Chechnya's administrative capital, Grozny, every day and often stays overnight. Kadyrov also resorts to prerecorded videos that are broadcast for several consecutive days to create the illusion of his busy, uninterrupted work schedule, they said. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify their claims, which are consistent with other media reports about Kadyrov's reported ailing health. The illness has reportedly forced Kadyrov to break unwritten rules. For the first time in two decades, he did not record a television address to congratulate Chechens when the holy month of Ramadan ended in late March. He also did not take part in this year's February 24 commemorations of the Stalinist 1944 deportation of the entire Chechen community to Central Asia. Kadyrov is 'very worried' about his family's destiny after his death, according to Ansar Dishni of Nyiso, a Telegram channel that publishes insider news from Chechnya. 'Of course, the Kremlin has given his family security guarantees, but everything can change because Putin is also not forever,' Dishni told Al Jazeera. So far, Apti Alaudinov, a 51-year-old top security official in Chechnya, is the Kremlin's preferred successor, the sources said. Alaudinov is a poster boy of Chechens fighting on Russia's side in Ukraine, even though the forces he commands have been ridiculed for staging videos of 'participating' in the hostilities. Al Jazeera reported that these forces barely distinguished themselves in combat and mostly have to police Russia-occupied areas in Ukraine. For years, Kadyrov has been reportedly investing in real estate and businesses in the United Arab Emirates and other Middle Eastern nations, creating a financial haven for his family. Others have followed suit. 'Chechens are among our best buyers,' a Russian-speaking real estate agent in Dubai told Al Jazeera. 'They show up with bags of cash.' Three decades ago, Chechnya was a hotbed of separatism beset by kidnappings, assassinations and abject poverty. 'At one point, some believed that Chechnya's status as part of the Russian Federation could serve as a guarantee against further degradation of the human rights situation,' Ivar Dale, a senior policy adviser with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, a rights watchdog, told Al Jazeera. But after two devastating wars and a decades-long, violent crackdown on 'extremism' in the wider North Caucasus region, Chechnya has by far become Russia's most privileged province. Moscow floods it with federal funds that are reportedly misappropriated by Kadyrov, who has built palatial, heavily fortified residences, boasted a collection of luxurious sports cars and invited champion boxer Mike Tyson, as well as Western celebrities to perform at public concerts on his birthday. Human rights groups accuse him and his personal guards of extrajudicial killings, torture, abduction and the destruction of properties that belong to alleged 'extremists'. Dale said Chechnya's human rights abuses are being replicated in other Russian regions and Russia-occupied parts of Ukraine. 'The most horrific abuses in Chechnya have become the standard for Russia in general,' Dale said. Observers believe little will change after Kadyrov's death and the appointment of his successor. But whoever rules Chechnya next 'may try to use Kadyrov's image in a negative key as a figure the people allegedly got rid of to present himself as a good-willed reformer', Dishni of the Nyiso Telegram channel concluded.
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Russian Award Ceremony Sparks Outrage Among Christians
Russian military bloggers have criticized a Chechen award ceremony for Adam Kadyrov, son of regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov, after the Russian national emblem was displayed without its Orthodox crosses. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment by email. Under the leadership of Ramzan Kadyrov, the predominantly Muslim southern Russian republic of Chechnya has maintained a high degree of autonomy while remaining loyal to the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The exclusion of the Orthodox crosses is likely to displease the Russian leader. The incident comes as relations between Putin and the Chechen leader are reported to have deteriorated in recent months. On Monday, Adam Kadyrov, 17, was awarded a commemorative medal marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Akhmat-Grozny OMON, a special police unit. According to The Moscow Times, Adam has received at least 16 state awards and has served as his father's chief bodyguard and an observer for a rifle battalion under the Russian Defense Ministry since 2023. Some pro-Kremlin war correspondents noted on Telegram that Russia's national emblem was displayed during the ceremony without its Orthodox crosses. "We've all long grown used to the 'disappearance of crosses.' Orthodox crosses have been erased from book covers, posters, signage—you name it. But never before on official state symbols. Now it's happened. The Russian coat of arms shown in the video from Chechnya has no crosses. It's not fake," said Russian military blogger Yuri Kotenok. Pro-Kremlin Telegram channel RIA Katyusha said the Chechen leader "has gone too far." "If this is indeed the case, and someone in Chechnya decided to erase the crosses on the Russian state emblem, the first thing that comes to mind is that Kadyrov has gone too far," the Telegram user wrote. Russian military blogger Kirill Fedorov wrote: "Who dared and who will be held responsible for the fact that the state symbol was distorted at an official event?" The pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Two Majors warned that removing the Orthodox crosses could have a damaging impact on interethnic relations. In March, Russian investigative outlet Important Stories reported that relations between Kadyrov and Putin had become strained over his alleged talks with representatives of Middle Eastern nations regarding the future of his assets and the safety of his family members. Last week, he said he asked "to be relieved of my post" amid rumors of deteriorating health that will soon force him to step down. Kadyrov is now preparing Adam Kadyrov to replace him as Chechen leader, according to a report from Novaya Gazeta Europe. Related Articles Russia Deploys FSB's 'Presidential Regiment' to Key Ukraine Fortress TownRussia's New 'BanderoL' Cruise Missile ExplainedZelensky Throws Down the Gauntlet to PutinKremlin Silent as Ukraine War Ultimatum Deadline Passes: What Happens Next 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Al Arabiya
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Chechnya leader's son, 17, becomes head of Chechen security council
The teenage son of Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region and close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has been appointed secretary of the region's security council, according to the council's Telegram channel. Adam Kadyrov turned 17 in November 2024. It is the fourth time he has been appointed to an official position since 2023, when he was 15. He already serves as his father's top bodyguard, a trustee of Chechnya's Special Forces University, and an observer in a new army battalion. Ramzan Kadyrov has led Chechnya, a mountainous Muslim region in southern Russia that tried to break away from Moscow in wars that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, since 2007. He enjoys wide leeway from Putin to run Chechnya as his personal fiefdom in return for ensuring the stability of the region, where an anti-Russian insurgency continued for around a decade after the end of full-scale conflict there in the early 2000s. His rise to power came after his own father, Akhmat, was killed in a 2004 bombing by insurgents who saw him as a turncoat. In September 2023, Adam Kadyrov was shown, in a video posted by his father on social media, beating a detainee accused of burning the Quran. Ramzan Kadyrov said he was proud of his son for defending his Muslim religion. The detainee, Nikita Zhuravel, has since been sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
Arab News
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Chechnya leader's son, 17, becomes head of Chechen security council
The teenage son of Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region and close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has been appointed secretary of the region's security council, according to the council's Telegram channel. Adam Kadyrov turned 17 in November 2024. It is the fourth time he has been appointed to an official position since 2023, when he was 15. He already serves as his father's top bodyguard, a trustee of Chechnya's Special Forces University, and an observer in a new army battalion. Ramzan Kadyrov has led Chechnya, a mountainous Muslim region in southern Russia that tried to break away from Moscow in wars that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, since 2007. He enjoys wide leeway from Putin to run Chechnya as his personal fiefdom in return for ensuring the stability of the region, where an Islamist, anti-Russian insurgency continued for around a decade after the end of full-scale conflict there in the early 2000s. His rise to power came after his own father, Akhmat, was killed in a 2004 bombing by insurgents who saw him as a turncoat. In September 2023, Adam Kadyrov was shown, in a video posted by his father on social media, beating a detainee accused of burning the Qur'an. Ramzan Kadyrov said he was proud of his son for defending his Muslim religion. The detainee, Nikita Zhuravel, has since been sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
The Star
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Chechnya leader's son, 17, becomes head of Chechen security council
FILE PHOTO: Adam Kadyrov, son of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and head of his security department, takes part in a tactical shooting competition at the private Russian University of Special Forces named after President Vladimir Putin, in Gudermes, Russia April 28, 2024. REUTERS/Chingis Kondarov/File Photo (Reuters) - The teenage son of Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region and close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has been appointed secretary of the region's security council, according to the council's Telegram channel. Adam Kadyrov turned 17 in November 2024. It is the fourth time he has been appointed to an official position since 2023, when he was 15. He already serves as his father's top bodyguard, a trustee of Chechnya's Special Forces University, and an observer in a new army battalion. Ramzan Kadyrov has led Chechnya, a mountainous Muslim region in southern Russia that tried to break away from Moscow in wars that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, since 2007. He enjoys wide leeway from Putin to run Chechnya as his personal fiefdom in return for ensuring the stability of the region, where an Islamist, anti-Russian insurgency continued for around a decade after the end of full-scale conflict there in the early 2000s. His rise to power came after his own father, Akhmat, was killed in a 2004 bombing by insurgents who saw him as a turncoat. In September 2023, Adam Kadyrov was shown, in a video posted by his father on social media, beating a detainee accused of burning the Koran. Ramzan Kadyrov said he was proud of his son for defending his Muslim religion. The detainee, Nikita Zhuravel, has since been sentenced to three and a half years in prison. (Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Sharon Singleton)
