Ramzan Kadyrov

Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov (Russian: Рамзан Ахмадович Кадыров) (born 5 October 1976, Tsentoroi, Chechnya) is the President of Chechnya and a former Chechen rebel.

Ramzan is a son of former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, assassinated in May 2004, and heads a private army known as the Kadyrovtsy who have been accused of serious human rights abuses. Kadyrov is believed to have amassed a huge fortune from extorting kickbacks from the illegal sale of Chechen oil.^[1]^[2] He is also accused of propagating his father's and his own personality cults. He is married, with five children.

In February 2007 Kadyrov replaced Alu Alkhanov as President, shortly after he had turned 30, which is the minimum age for the post. He has the support of former Russian President Vladimir Putin and was awarded the Hero of Russia medal, the highest honorary title of Russia. Kadyrov was engaged in violent power struggles; with fellow Chechen government warlords Sulim Yamadayev and Said-Magomed Kakiev for overall military authority, and with Alu Alkhanov for political authority. He has been credited with finally launching the federally-sponsored renovations of the Chechen capital Grozny, which was nearly obliterated by the fighting.

Ramzan Kadyrov is an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (Российская Академия Естественных Наук, not to be confused with the much more prestigious Russian Academy of Sciences)[1].

Biography

Early life

A tearaway at school, Ramzan Kadyrov strove to gain the respect of his father Akhmad Kadyrov, a Muslim imam. He claims that he always desired to emulate his father.

In the early 1990s, as the Soviet Union splintered into fragments, the Chechens launched a bid for independence. The Kadyrovs joined the struggle and fought against the federal forces, with Ramzan, from the age of 16, leading a small unit of separatist fighters in the First Chechen War, and Akhmad becoming the rebel mufti of Chechnya.^{citation needed}

Militia leader

Ramzan Kadyrov together with his private militia known as the Kadyrovtsy

Deputy Prime Minister

When his sister was detained by the Dagestan police in January 2005, Ramzan and some 150 armed men drove to the Khasavyurt City Police (GOVD) building. According to the city mayor, Kadyrov's men surrounded the GOVD, forcing its duty officers against the wall and assaulted them, after which they left the building with Zulai Kadyrova, "victoriously shooting in the air."^[5]

In August 2005, Ramzan declared that "Europe's largest mosque" would be built in place of the demolished ruins of Grozny's shattered downtown.^[6] He also claimed that Chechnya is the "most peaceful place in Russia" and in a few years it would also be "the wealthiest and the most peaceful" place in the world. He also claimed that the war was already over with only 150 "bandits" remaining (as opposed to the official figures of 700 to 2,000 rebel fighters), and that thanks to his father, 7,000 separatists had already defected to the Russian side since 1999.

Acting Prime Minister

Following a car accident in December 2005, in which Chechnya's prime minister Sergey Abramov was injured, Ramzan functioned as the caretaker prime minister. He immediately proceeded to implement elements of Sharia law, such as declaring a ban on gambling and alcohol production, while speaking in favour of polygamy.^[7]

In February 2006, responding to the publication of the Mohammed cartoons, he accused the Danes of "spying" and being "pro-terrorist". He also banned Danish citizens from entering Chechnya, effectively banning activity of the Danish Refugee Council, the largest NGO working in the region. Kadyrov is quoted as saying, "That cartoonist needs to be buried alive." He was eventually pressed to overturn this decision by Moscow, a rare example of federal intervention in Kadyrov's rule in the republic. [2].

Prime Minister

On March 1, 2006, Sergey Abramov resigned from the position of prime minister and told Itar-Tass news agency that he did so "on the condition that Ramzan Kadyrov lead the Chechen government." This was followed by a decree of Kadyrov forcing women to wear headscarves; he also rejected a federal appropriation of the republic's budget, demanding more money, and called for all federal forces but the border guards to be withdrawn.

Shortly after taking office, Kadyrov approved a project to erect a presidential palace on a 30 acre plot by the Sunzha River in ruined downtown Grozny. The project, which will also include a five-star hotel and recreational facilities, is estimated to cost around 1.5 billion rubles ($54 million USD) to build. Later, Kadyrov called for refugee camps scattered across Chechnya to be closed down, calling the refugees "international spies who are interested in stoking conflict between Chechnya and Russia, who are seeking to destabilize the situation in our region". Reuters quoted him as saying that "liquidating the refugee camps will allow us to uncover spies who are working for foreign intelligence services".^[8]

On 5 June 2006, Speaker of the Chechen People's Assembly Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov said at a press conference in Moscow that "there is no alternative" to Kadyrov for the presidency; Kadyrov has "exclusive awards in combat, and has made achievements in improving the peaceful life and in human rights protection. Who could replace him at this stage? Nobody," he said. Later that year, Umar Dzhabrailov, Chechnya’s representative in the Federation Council and a close ally of Kadyrov's, urged Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov to initiate a measure calling on Kadyrov to become the republic’s president, thereby replacing Alu Alkhanov.^[9] The following week, several Russian newspapers reported that a worsening security situation in Chechnya was lessening the likelihood that Kadyrov would replace Alu Alkhanov as the republic's president. Other media, however, reported that Kadyrov continued to strengthen his position at Alkhanov's expense.^[10]

On 6 December 2006, Kadyrov said he that he would seek the prosecution of the commanders of federal military units responsible for the death or disappearance of civilians in Chechnya (specifically Major General Aleksandr Studenikin). In addition, Kadyrov said the war in Chechnya was unleashed not by the Chechen people but by the Russian leadership. Kadyrov’s comments may have represented his government’s increasing unhappiness with certain figures in Moscow, who were said to be blocking his elevation to the post of Chechen president.^[11]

On 5 February 2007, Kadyrov said he did not aspire to become the Chechen president; however, he criticized Alkhanov. Kadyrov also claimed the war in Chechnya was ultimately finished, with "all informal armed groups eliminated". Alkhanov, for his part, criticized "the cult of personality and idealization of one person," a clear reference to Kadyrov, whose enormous portraits are prominently displayed in Grozny.

President

On 15 February 2007, Putin signed a decree removing Alkhanov and instating Kadyrov as Chechen's acting president.^[12] On March 2, 2007, following Putin's nomination of Kadyrov as Chechen president, the Chechen parliament approved the nomination.^[13] In the following days, serious changes took place in the administrative set-up of the republic, affecting both the top- and middle-ranking officials. Former deputy prime minister Odes Baysultanov (a cousin of Kadyrov's) was elevated to the vacant post of prime minister. Critics allege that Ramzan Kadyrov is actively building his own "vertical of power" in the republic, and encouraging nepotism by placing men of the Beno clan in all the leading and important positions.

A Russian daily, Gazeta, reported that according to a poll conducted by the independent Levada Center, only 33 percent of Russians believe that Ramzan Kadyrov can be trusted, while 35 percent believed that he cannot. Asked whether they thought Kadyrov could normalize the situation in Chechnya and end the bloodshed there, 31 percent said yes and 38 percent said no.^[14]

On March 14, 2007, Kadyrov said that human rights abuses were "a thing of the past" in his republic, rejecting new charges of torture made by the Council of Europe. Two days later he accused the federal authorities of torturing detainees. On March 19, 2007, Kadyrov vowed to put an end to all remaining guerilla activity in Chechnya within two months. On April 5, 2007, Kadyrov was sworn in as President of Chechnya.^[15]

Accusations of human rights abuses

Ramzan Kadyrov has often been accused of being brutal, ruthless and anti-democratic; according some media, he was personally implicated in several instances of torture and murder.

Other Issues

Sex scandal

On March 12, 2006 a Chechen separatist website posted a short video of a party with two alleged prostitutes and several men, of which one looks and sounds exactly like Ramzan Kadyrov who is dancing with a young half naked woman and trying to rip her bra off. Another man then later starts masturbating in front of them. The scandal ruined the Kremlin's efforts to portray Ramzan Kadyrov as a true Muslim who respects Chechen traditions and Sharia law.^[31]^[32]^[33]

Threats towards public figures

In October 2007 Russian media reported that the Chechen parliament was going to take legal action for slander and character defamation against opposition leader Garry Kasparov who had previously referred to Ramzan Kadyrov as a "Bandit". The day after the website Kasparov.ru announced that Kasparov wrote to Russia's public prosecutor about threats he received from official representatives of the Chechen Republic. Chechen Parliamentary Speaker Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov told journalists "Garry Kasparov must be put in jail, However, if we do not manage to achieve the desired result through federal laws, we will resort to other measures. The Caucasus allows for this, and the Caucasus has its own laws, and Kasparov will be punished for such liberties. He must be in jail, and if not, we will punish him anyway". Chechen Human Rights Ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiyev later sided with Abrurakhmanov and repeated these threats.^[34]^[35]

Quotes

With regard to assassination of his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, he said: "For the power, you must pay with your life, not with money."^[38]

References

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