Ramzan Kadyrov... Putin's Soldier for Dirty Missions

After many years of "adaptation" of Chechnya, the small republic in the Russian North Caucasus, and its rule with iron and fire, and a "bloody" record in dealing with opponents of the authorities in its republic and Russia in general, it seems that the Kremlin has set new tasks for the ruler of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, Go beyond the borders of Russia to Ukraine.

This portends terrible crimes in President Vladimir Putin's battle for control of Ukraine. In contrast to Imam Shamil al-Dagestani (1797-1871), who repelled the Russian tsars and prevented them from controlling the Caucasus Mountains for a quarter of a century (1834-1859) despite the unequal battles and massacres against the peoples of the Caucasus, Kadyrov decided to be a "Putin's soldier." In word and deed, after describing himself in this capacity months ago, in response to criticism from his opponents.

Kadyrov's position may be like kowtowing to the "Kremlin master" to continue ruling Chechnya for years, hoping that it will extend beyond the period of Imam Shamil's resistance if Moscow continues to overlook his bad record in the field of human rights and his controversial statements.

"General" Ramzan Kadyrov

Hours after Putin declared the war against Ukraine on February 24, Kadyrov stood this time as the "general" that Putin granted him years ago in the center of the capital, Grozny, To deliver a farewell speech to the 12,000 Chechen fighters he hastily sent to the "hottest" fighting fronts in Ukraine.

With his assertion that 70,000 "volunteers" are ready to carry out the orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, meaning Putin, Kadyrov did not fail to question the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and reminded of the position of the leadership in Moscow. On the principle of gangsters, he addressed him: "If you really want to meet with us, we gladly invite you to Akhmad-Haji Kadyrov's regiment."

Kadyrov took advantage of the war on Ukraine, it seems, to cover up his recent scandals regarding the detention of families of opponents of his rule and his method of administration, which sparked a great wave of resentment that reached the Kremlin.

Since the beginning of the war, Kadyrov has been active on social media. In contrast to his previous statements about foreign leaders that angered the Kremlin more than once, which forced the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, to remind that foreign policy is not the concern of the rulers of the provinces and republics, it seems that the statements of the "pampered general" regarding Ukraine are well received this time.

Maybe benefiting from his previous experience to maintain power, Kadyrov advised, since the days of Zelensky, to apologize to Putin, to save his country from war, and he said in a video he published a few days ago: "I would like to give advice to the current President Zelensky, before he becomes the former president of Ukraine, on him To run up and call our President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Vladimir Putin and ask forgiveness for not apologizing in time." He added, "I ask for forgiveness and accept all Russian conditions. This is the best solution."

After two days of boasting that his "brave" soldiers are performing the task perfectly, Kadyrov acknowledged, today, Tuesday, that two soldiers had fallen and six others were wounded, but the acknowledgment of the losses, which could be greater, came within a long comment on his "Telegram" channel, in which he called Ukrainians to abandon their "Nazi" leadership, to understand Russia's demands and not to resist to avoid losses.

After a long presentation, he said: "By the way, and talking about the victims, among the citizens of Chechnya, unfortunately, there are losses. Unfortunately, two people were killed, may God have mercy on them, and six others were wounded," which indicates the way to deal with soldiers' lives as a secondary issue in wars, according to his concept.

Kadyrov has ruled the Chechen Republic since 2007, and he has been the de facto ruler of the republic since his father, Ahmed Kadyrov, was killed in an assassination on May 9, 2004. He won several medals from Putin, including the title of "Hero of Russia" in 2015, and in 2019 Putin awarded him The title of a general in the army with the rank of major general.

Aisha Kadyrova: From Fashion House to Ministry of Culture

Kadyrov fought for the separatists against the Russian army in his early youth with his father, who was one of the leaders of the anti-Russian separatists. After the end of the first Chechen war, since 1996, he worked as an assistant and bodyguard to his father.

The Kremlin was able to woo Kadyrov the father in 1999, who became head of the interim administration in Chechnya in 2000, and entrusted his son Ramadan with his security apparatus.

In 2004, hours after Akhmad Kadyrov was killed in an explosion that targeted him during the Victory Day celebrations, Putin appointed Ramzan as First Vice President of the Chechen government and responsible for security. Putin rejected a petition from the local parliament of the republic to amend the constitution and lower the age of candidacy for the presidency of Chechnya below the age of 30 to allow Ramadan to run for the presidency, and appointed Ali Alkhanov as president of the republic.

In the years 2005 and 2006, Ramadan worked to strengthen his position in the security services, seeking to inherit his father when the opportunity arose. In 2007, after the intensification of the struggle for power, coinciding with the completion of Ramadan in his thirtieth year, Putin issued a decision to appoint him as acting president to succeed the resigned Alkhanov, after which he was elected several times by an almost absolute majority in elections that are no different from the elections of totalitarian regimes anywhere in the world.

Kadyrov has worked in recent years to appoint his relatives to high government positions in Chechnya, and last year, he appointed his eldest daughter, Aisha, to the post of Minister of Culture, although she is only 22 years old.

Liquidating his men in the context of the "war on terror"

A journalistic investigation published in March 2021 caused a sensation, and the report published by the independent opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta quoted a testimony from a former fighter who defected and emigrated. To Germany, in which he said that Kadyrov supervised the killing of many militants after their arrest, to suggest that he was participating in counter-terrorism operations.

The Chechen authorities arrested a number of the families of the former fighter in the Special Forces in order to pressure him to change his testimony, according to Russian human rights organizations.

After Novaya Gazeta published the report, its headquarters in the center of Moscow was subjected to chemical attacks, the security authorities have not yet determined who is responsible.

Despite this scandal and the Council of Europe's demand for Moscow to investigate and punish those responsible for these violations, Kadyrov said on May 10 that President Vladimir Putin had awarded Zmid Chalayev, commander of the special police regiment of the Chechen Ministry of Interior, the title of "Hero of Russia."

Kadyrov is accused of liquidating opponents of his rule inside and outside the republic, and in recent years a campaign of assassinations in Germany, Austria and Sweden has caused diplomatic crises with Russia.

Assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in Moscow

He was accused of being responsible for the assassination of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006, who reported on the atrocities of the war in Chechnya, and was killed in front of the entrance to her house in Moscow, and it is not yet known who He ordered the assassination, despite the fact that three Chechens were sentenced to prison.

At the end of February 2015, the Russian dissident, former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov, was killed hundreds of meters from the Kremlin, after he rejected the war on Ukraine.

Chechens working in the security services were arrested and tried for murder. It was said that they did not like Nemtsov's statements about Muslims, and the file was closed without knowing the real criminal behind the assassination.

Despite his sharp statements on social, cultural and political issues that have sparked more than once widespread controversy in Russia and abroad, Putin and the Kremlin refrain from directing public criticism of Kadyrov, who managed in recent years to control the republic that has long been described in the nineties of the last century and the beginning of the century The current "weak flank of Russia".

Ramzan Kadyrov... puts his future at Putin's disposal