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| Chechen leader Kadyrov 'threatens whole of Russia', opposition warns | Chechen leader Kadyrov 'threatens whole of Russia', opposition warns |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, is a ruthless and corrupt leader who could pose a threat to the whole of Russia, according to a report by the Russian opposition. | |
| The report – written by prominent opposition figure Ilya Yashin and entitled National Security Threat – alleges that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has allowed Kadyrov to turn Chechnya into a personal fiefdom beyond the control of the central authorities. | |
| “We are opposing a corrupt, dangerous regime that poses a threat to Russia and Chechnya,” Yashin said at a press conference, which police tried to break up after a bomb warning. | “We are opposing a corrupt, dangerous regime that poses a threat to Russia and Chechnya,” Yashin said at a press conference, which police tried to break up after a bomb warning. |
| “Today’s regime in Chechnya you can describe as a personal rule.” | “Today’s regime in Chechnya you can describe as a personal rule.” |
| Kadyrov has already been criticised for rights abuses during his oppressive rule in Chechnya. He rose to power following the assassination of his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, in 2004. | |
| Related: Putin’s closest ally – and his biggest liability | Oliver Bullough | Related: Putin’s closest ally – and his biggest liability | Oliver Bullough |
| Kadyrov Jr, a former rebel fighter who officially took office in 2007, dismissed the report as “nothing more than chatter” in an online post. | Kadyrov Jr, a former rebel fighter who officially took office in 2007, dismissed the report as “nothing more than chatter” in an online post. |
| Its release comes just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in central Moscow. Supporters of the Kremlin critic have blamed his death on Kadyrov’s allies. | Its release comes just ahead of the one-year anniversary of the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in central Moscow. Supporters of the Kremlin critic have blamed his death on Kadyrov’s allies. |
| Five Chechen men – including a deputy commander of an interior ministry battalion – have been charged with carrying out a contract hit on Nemtsov on 27 February 2015, but no organisers have been detained. | Five Chechen men – including a deputy commander of an interior ministry battalion – have been charged with carrying out a contract hit on Nemtsov on 27 February 2015, but no organisers have been detained. |
| Yashin, a close ally of Nemtsov, said he collated the report from open-source material in a bid to show that Kadyrov’s rule in Chechnya now poses a threat to the whole of Russia. | Yashin, a close ally of Nemtsov, said he collated the report from open-source material in a bid to show that Kadyrov’s rule in Chechnya now poses a threat to the whole of Russia. |
| Moscow fought two brutal separatist wars in Chechnya in the 1990s and early 2000s, but the region has now returned to relative stability under Kadyrov’s iron grip despite a lingering Islamist insurgency. | Moscow fought two brutal separatist wars in Chechnya in the 1990s and early 2000s, but the region has now returned to relative stability under Kadyrov’s iron grip despite a lingering Islamist insurgency. |
| But Yashin said that Putin’s policy of giving Kadyrov a free hand in Chechnya in return for an end to all-out fighting now threatens to blow up in the Kremlin’s face. | But Yashin said that Putin’s policy of giving Kadyrov a free hand in Chechnya in return for an end to all-out fighting now threatens to blow up in the Kremlin’s face. |
| “Putin has put a time bomb in place in Chechnya that could lead to a third Chechen war or some other crisis,” Yashin said. | “Putin has put a time bomb in place in Chechnya that could lead to a third Chechen war or some other crisis,” Yashin said. |
| The opposition estimates that Kadyrov now has some 30,000 fighters – nominally under the control of Russia’s interior ministry but actually loyal only to him – under his personal command. | The opposition estimates that Kadyrov now has some 30,000 fighters – nominally under the control of Russia’s interior ministry but actually loyal only to him – under his personal command. |
| Kadyrov has recently sparked outrage with a string of public threats against prominent Kremlin critics. | Kadyrov has recently sparked outrage with a string of public threats against prominent Kremlin critics. |
| Earlier this month Kadyrov posted a video of former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, the leader of opposition party Parnas, targeted in the sights of a sniper rifle along with his deputy. | Earlier this month Kadyrov posted a video of former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, the leader of opposition party Parnas, targeted in the sights of a sniper rifle along with his deputy. |
| Last month, the Chechen leader penned a lengthy diatribe against Putin’s critics in the pro-Kremlin daily Izvestiya, calling them a “gang of jackals” who “dream of destroying our state”. | Last month, the Chechen leader penned a lengthy diatribe against Putin’s critics in the pro-Kremlin daily Izvestiya, calling them a “gang of jackals” who “dream of destroying our state”. |