From sending Chechen forces to fight on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine to clashing with Tesla CEO Elon Musk on social media asking him to ‘pump up’ to fight Putin and change his name to ‘Elona,’ the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov has managed to grab the attention of the world.
The controversial leader is seen as a brutal war-lord by many and reviver of war-torn Chechnya by his supporters.
History of Chechnya and the Kadyrovs
Chechnya used to be a part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), however, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the small Muslim-majority country in the North Caucasus of Easter Europe declared its independence in 1991. The declaration of independence was followed by two Chechen Wars, the one is famously known as the first Chechen war (1994-96) wherein Russia tried to re-take control of Chechnya and miserably failed.
In the first Chechen war, the Kadyrovtsy militia was formed when a war-lord Akhmad Kadyrov, Ramzan Kadyriv’s father launched jihad against Russia.
In the second Chechen war (1999-2000), Russia managed to gain control of the region after having Chechnyan rebels deflect from the separatist’s side towards Putin’s side. One of the main war-lords to deflect from the separatists and join the Russian occupation was Akhmad Kadyrov. For his loyalty to Putin, he was made the President of the Chechen Republic on October 5 2003.
Akhmad Kadyrov was assassinated in 2004 by Chechen freedom fighters. His son Ramzan Kadyroz who headed one of his father’s militia was made the deputy prime minister of the Chechen Republic subsequently. In 2006, Ramzan Kadyrov became the prime minister of the Chechen Republic.
Ramzan Kadyrov
After becoming the head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyroz has been the target of various international organizations for the alleged human rights violations taking place in Chechnya. However, the favour of Putin which he inherited from his father at the cost of the Chechen freedom struggle had helped him avoid trouble.
Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist who covered the war and human rights violations in Chechnya extensively, once called Ramzan Kadyrov “a little dragon fostered by the Kremlin (Putin).” Anna wrote after her meeting with him in 2004, “Now it has to feed it. Otherwise, it will spitfire.” Ramzan considered her an enemy and in 2006, she was found murdered.
Kadyrov has been actively supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has been posting videos voicing his support on social media. According to the Guardian, Ramzan claimed to be in Ukraine in some of the videos he posted calling on the Ukrainian forces to surrender or that they “will be finished.”
Ramzan Kadyrov also reportedly gave a statement saying, “The tasks of the Chechen fighters are very clear: to free Ukraine from Bandera’s rabble, Nazis and various kinds of shaitans(devils). The servicemen gave assurances that they were ready to fulfil the combat missions at the highest level.”
