Latest news with #Kadyrov
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘She lived without fear': daughter of Chechen activist publishes book she vowed to pen after mother's murder
Lana Estemirova was 15 in 2009, when her mother, the renowned Chechen human rights activist Natalia Estemirova, was kidnapped and murdered. Bundled into a car as she walked to the bus stop on her way to work, she was driven out of town and then shot five times in the chest and head. The killing was widely seen as retribution for Estemirova's fearless investigations of extrajudicial murders, kidnappings and human rights abuses in Chechnya, first by Russian soldiers and then by forces loyal to the Kremlin-appointed warlord, Ramzan Kadyrov. Nobody was ever prosecuted for the crime. Three years later, Lana, Natalia's only child stood at her mother's grave and made two promises: firstly, that she would never take needless risks and would ensure her own future children led boring, stable lives; and secondly, that she would write a book about her mother, to ensure that 'she will be remembered and her killers will fade like ghosts'. After nearly a decade of work, that book will be published later this month. Its title, Please Live, refers to one of the many text messages Lana sent her mother after she went missing, before the news came that she had been killed. Lana also appears in a documentary film about her mother, entitled Natasha, that is released this month. 'I made that promise on my mother's grave when I was 18 years old, the idea that I need to tell her story. More than a decade later, I am able to say: 'Yes, I fulfilled this promise and fulfilled this duty as a daughter to my mother,'' said Lana, in an interview from Portugal, where she now lives. The powerful book is a guide to Chechnya's recent, bloody history, and a coming-of-age memoir with a twist, detailing the suffocating constraints and the warm generosity of growing up in traditional Chechen culture, with the backdrop of war and terror regularly making itself felt. It also gives an account of the relationship between Lana and her mother, who was absolutely devoted to her work. Natalia Estemirova had been a history teacher, with no connections to the human rights or dissident world, but had become transfixed by the need to help people. 'She couldn't walk past a situation and pretend it's not happening. There was this gap that nobody wanted to step into, and she decided to fill that gap,' said Lana. She writes how on one occasion her mother sliced open one of her favourite cuddly toys and sewed it back up with tiny videotapes inside – that held footage from the aftermath of atrocities – to be able to get them through checkpoints. Lana examines the sacrifices that her mother made in her home life in order to continue working on sensitive cases, even after friends and associates were threatened or killed. These included the journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was shot dead in the entrance to her apartment building two years earlier. Although Estemirova was a devoted and loving mother, she was unwilling to leave the dangerous work, and Lana writes of the anger she felt as a teenager and the sense of injustice as to why it was her mother, and not other people, who had to make all the sacrifices. 'What devastated me was this sense that we just never had our chance, and that she gave away so much of herself to other people, to the victims of all these terrible crimes, that there was not enough left for us,' said Lana. Natasha, a new documentary film about Estemirova which will premiere this weekend, also explores this question. 'Once you have a direct threat against you and you know you can be killed, I was interested in what drives you, why don't you stop,' said Mark Franchetti, the co-producer and co-director of Natasha. Franchetti met Natalia Estemirova when he covered the Chechen wars as a journalist for the Sunday Times. At the time, she was a regular port of call for journalists covering the aftermath of the two brutal wars in the country, working from the Grozny offices of the organisation Memorial, and one of the few people still working on sensitive cases as Kadyrov unleashed violence and terror to bring society into line. After a career covering terrible atrocities in war, Franchetti said he decided to make the film because he wanted to cover the story of someone who refused to look the other way. 'Every conflict, amid all the evil, brings people to the surface who are the best of humanity. She was just an ordinary schoolteacher and she becomes this remarkable figure,' he added. After her mother's murder, Natalia's former colleagues helped Lana to move to Britain, where she studied. She married, and last year had a daughter of her own, whom she has called Natasha – the affectionate form of her mother's name. Kadyrov is still in charge of Chechnya, and has dispatched his forces to aid Russia's war in Ukraine. Lana said she saw 'many parallels' between the fate of Mariupol and Grozny, and also said that Chechnya's broken society should serve as a cautionary tale. 'Putin and Kadyrov completely crushed the spirit of ordinary Chechens. I think that's the lesson of what will happen to many Ukrainian regions if they are allowed to be retained by Putin. It's important to learn not just from Chechnya's past but also Chechnya's present,' she said. Over the years, as the voices standing up to Kadyrov's crimes have become fewer and quieter, Lana has come to view her mother's life choices with acceptance and pride. 'I needed this time to understand that I fully accept all of my mother's choices. They really made her the person she was. She was a free person in an unfree world. She lived without fear, even if she felt it deep inside, and that's why it was possible for her to stand up to all those thugs. She didn't want to live in fear or compromise with her conscience,' she said. It was hard growing up with the feeling that her mother was so devoted to her work that there was not as much space to spend time together as Lana would have liked, but that is something she has also come to terms with. 'I've had a lot of time to think about it, that if everyone who fights for freedom were to pick their family first I guess there would never be any progress,' she said. Please Live: The Chechen Wars, My Mother and Me by Lana Estemirova, is published by John Murray on 19 June Natasha, a film by Andrew Meier and Mark Franchetti, will premiere at the Tribeca film festival on 8 June
Miami Herald
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Putin's Henchman Addresses Rumors He's Dying
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has addressed swirling rumors about his declining health with a cryptic message on mortality. Kadyrov, dubbed President Vladimir Putin's henchman, posted a video to his Telegram channel, weeks after he asked the Russian leader "to be relieved of my post" amid rumors of deteriorating health that will soon force him to step down. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment by email. The message comes amid mounting speculation over the health of the Chechen leader, who governs the predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia. It marks the first time Kadyrov has publicly addressed the rumors, which intensified after Latvia-based Novaya Gazeta reported in April 2024 that he was diagnosed in 2019 with necrotizing pancreatitis—a severe condition that can lead to organ failure and death. In a video published Tuesday, Kadyrov said in a voiceover that he "increasingly hears gossip about my illness," but didn't confirm or deny whether his health was deteriorating. "They say that I am dying, I have little time left," the Chechen leader said. "Firstly, illness and death are the path of every person. No one living has passed this road. Secondly, it is not illness or threat that shortens life. Its length is determined only by the one who gave breath." Kadyrov, who is 48, added: "If I am destined to live 50, 60 or 70 years, I will live them as prescribed, and no one will take away a single day." In a caption, he also said, "Every day is a priceless gift, measured out by the Almighty" and said, "We must live it consciously, without spreading empty rumors and sowing discord." Earlier this month, Novaya Gazeta reported that Kadyrov asked Putin to dismiss him, and that he was preparing his teenage son Adam Kadyrov to replace him as Chechen leader. He was appointed to the post by the Russian president in 2007 following the assassination of his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, three years earlier. Kadyrov later walked back his resignation comments in a post on his Telegram channel. "Many did not understand the meaning of my words about resignation. I do not decide whether I will remain in the position of the Head of the Chechen Republic or not," Kadyrov wrote. "Yes, I can ask or suggest. But no matter how much I say, no matter how much I ask, such a decision is made by only one person—our Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. "I am an infantryman! I am a team person. If there is an order, I carry it out." Speculation about the Chechen leader's health intensified in September 2023 when Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said Kadyrov had been unwell for a long time with systemic health problems. There were also rumors on social media that Kadyrov was dead or in a coma. Ramzan Kadyrov's relatives told Novaya Gazeta in 2024: "There won't be the same leader as before, the [new complications] will seriously affect [him]. Even if he recovers now, he will be neither alive nor dead." Kadyrov's Chechen units will continue to support Putin's military in the Ukraine war. Related Articles Putin Ally Shares Map Of 'Buffer Zone' Covering All Of UkraineRussia Sees $1 Billion Wiped off Stock Market After Trump's Putin CommentsUkrainian MiG-29 Fighter Jets Bomb Russian Special Services BaseChina Denies Ukraine's Russia Weapons Claim 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
27-05-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
Putin's Henchman Addresses Rumors He's Dying
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has addressed swirling rumors about his declining health with a cryptic message on mortality. Kadyrov, dubbed President Vladimir Putin's henchman, posted a video to his Telegram channel, weeks after he asked the Russian leader "to be relieved of my post" amid rumors of deteriorating health that will soon force him to step down. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment by email. Why It Matters The message comes amid mounting speculation over the health of the Chechen leader, who governs the predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia. It marks the first time Kadyrov has publicly addressed the rumors, which intensified after Latvia-based Novaya Gazeta reported in April 2024 that he was diagnosed in 2019 with necrotizing pancreatitis—a severe condition that can lead to organ failure and death. Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, talks to the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, at the Kremlin in Moscow on October 21, 2024. Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, talks to the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, at the Kremlin in Moscow on October 21, 2024. ARTEM GEODAKYAN/POOL/AFP/Getty Images What To Know In a video published Tuesday, Kadyrov said in a voiceover that he "increasingly hears gossip about my illness," but didn't confirm or deny whether his health was deteriorating. "They say that I am dying, I have little time left," the Chechen leader said. "Firstly, illness and death are the path of every person. No one living has passed this road. Secondly, it is not illness or threat that shortens life. Its length is determined only by the one who gave breath." Kadyrov, who is 48, added: "If I am destined to live 50, 60 or 70 years, I will live them as prescribed, and no one will take away a single day." In a caption, he also said, "Every day is a priceless gift, measured out by the Almighty" and said, "We must live it consciously, without spreading empty rumors and sowing discord." Earlier this month, Novaya Gazeta reported that Kadyrov asked Putin to dismiss him, and that he was preparing his teenage son Adam Kadyrov to replace him as Chechen leader. He was appointed to the post by the Russian president in 2007 following the assassination of his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, three years earlier. Kadyrov later walked back his resignation comments in a post on his Telegram channel. "Many did not understand the meaning of my words about resignation. I do not decide whether I will remain in the position of the Head of the Chechen Republic or not," Kadyrov wrote. "Yes, I can ask or suggest. But no matter how much I say, no matter how much I ask, such a decision is made by only one person—our Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. "I am an infantryman! I am a team person. If there is an order, I carry it out." Speculation about the Chechen leader's health intensified in September 2023 when Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov said Kadyrov had been unwell for a long time with systemic health problems. There were also rumors on social media that Kadyrov was dead or in a coma. What People Are Saying Ramzan Kadyrov's relatives told Novaya Gazeta in 2024: "There won't be the same leader as before, the [new complications] will seriously affect [him]. Even if he recovers now, he will be neither alive nor dead." What Happens Next Kadyrov's Chechen units will continue to support Putin's military in the Ukraine war.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Chechen leader on rumours about his health: Illness and death are everyone's path
Ramzan Kadyrov, Head of Chechnya, has published a video in which he responded to rumours about his illness, saying that "illness and death are everyone's path", but did not deny that his health was deteriorating. [The Chechen Republic, also known as Chechnya, is a federal subject of the Russian Federation; the Ukrainian parliament has recognised it as the temporarily Russian-occupied territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria – ed.] Source: Kadyrov's Telegram video Details: In the published video, Kadyrov is walking and looking ahead with a slightly tired look. He does not say anything. A voiceover reads the text on his behalf. Quote from the video: "More and more often, I hear gossip about my illness. They say I'm dying and I don't have much time left. Firstly, illness and death are the path of every person. No one who is alive has escaped this road. Secondly, neither illness nor threat shortens life. Its length is determined only by the one who gave you breath." The voice goes on to say: "If I am destined to live 50, 60 or 70 years, I will live them as fated, and no one will take a single day away." The video calls those who spread information about Kadyrov's illness "gossips without courage" who "hide abroad like mice". Kadyrov was born on 5 October 1976 and is currently 48 years old. Background: In early May, Novaya Gazeta. Europe reported in early May that the health of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov was deteriorating markedly and that this had activated a scenario of a change of power in Chechnya. In April 2024, the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Europe reported that the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, was seriously ill - he had pancreatic necrosis. It was noted that this leaves no hope for his recovery. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
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.
