Ramzan Kadyrov

Akhmad Kadyrov, father of Ramzan and formerly a leading separatist mufti, had switched sides in 2000

Kadyrov was born in Tsentaroy, RSFSR, USSR. He was the second son in Akhmat and Aimani Kadyrovs' family and their youngest child. He had an elder brother called Zelimkhan (1974 – 31 May 2004), and he has two elder sisters, Zargan (born 1971) and Zulay (born 1972). Kadyrov strove to gain the respect of his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, who was an imam. He claims that he always emulated his father. Akhmad had supported the call for jihad against Russians during the First Chechen War but switched sides and declared allegiance to Russia in the Second Chechen War.[12][13] In the early 1990s, as the Soviet Union dissolved, the Chechens launched a bid for independence.

During the First Chechen War, together with his father, he fought against Russian armed forces. After the war, Ramzan was the personal driver and bodyguard of his father Akhmad, who became the separatist mufti of Chechnya.[14]

The Kadyrovtsy militia was formed during the First Chechen War when Akhmad Kadyrov launched the jihad against Russia.

The Kadyrov family defected to the Moscow side at the beginning of the Second Chechen War in 1999. Since then, Kadyrov led his militia with support from Russia's FSB state security service (including service ID cards) becoming the head of the Chechen Presidential Security Service. The militia later became known as the Kadyrovites.

After his father, the then President, was assassinated on 9 May 2004, Ramzan was appointed as the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic on 10 May 2004.[15]

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 a wall, and assaulted them, after which they left the building with Zulay Kadyrova, "victoriously shooting in the air."[16]

In August 2005, Ramzan declared that "Europe's largest mosque" would be built in place of the demolished ruins of Grozny's shattered downtown.[17] 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 said 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. When responding to a question on how he is going to "avenge the murder of his father", Ramzan said:

I've already killed him, whom I ought to kill. And those, who stay behind him, I will be killing them, to the very last of them, until I am myself killed or jailed. I will be killing [them] for as long as I live... Putin is gorgeous. He thinks more about Chechnya than about any other republic [of the Russian Federation]. When my father was murdered, he [Putin] came and went to the cemetery in person. Putin has stopped the war. Putin should be made president for life. Strong rule is needed. Democracy is all but an American fabrication... Russians never obey their laws. Everyone was stealing, and only Khodorkovsky is in jail.[18][19][20]

He remained the First Deputy Prime Minister until November 2005.[1]

From left to right: President Alu Alkhanov, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Kadyrov at the first session of the Chechen Parliament in December 2005.

Following a car accident in November 2005, in which Chechnya's prime minister Sergey Abramov was injured, Ramzan was appointed as the caretaker prime minister on 18 November 2005. He immediately proceeded to implement elements of Sharia law, such as declaring a ban on gambling and alcohol production.[21][22]

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.[23]

On 1 March 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.

Kadyrov was appointed as the Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic by Alkhanov on 4 March 2006.[24] Shortly after taking office, Kadyrov approved a project to erect a presidential palace on a 30-acre (120,000 m²) plot by the Sunzha River in ruined downtown Grozny. The project, which was also to include a five-star hotel and recreational facilities, was 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 destabilise 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".[25] His cousin Odes Baysultanov was appointed to the position of First Deputy Prime Minister by Alkhanov on 6 March 2006 after being unanimously approved by the Chechen Parliament.[3][26]

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.[27] 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.[28] He was also elected as the Chair of the Chechen Peoples' Assembly in late-October 2006.[29]

On 6 December 2006, Kadyrov said 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.[30] In 2006, leaked cables from an American diplomat recounted a lavish wedding attended by Kadyrov in Russia's Caucasus region in which guests threw $100 bills at child dancers, and which had nighttime "water-scooter jaunts on the Caspian Sea", and a report that Ramzan Kadyrov gave the newly married couple a "five-kilo lump of gold".[31]

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

Kadyrov (right) with Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2008

On 15 February 2007, Putin signed a decree removing Alkhanov and installing Kadyrov as Chechen's acting president.[32] On 2 March 2007, following Putin's nomination of Kadyrov as Chechen president, the Chechen parliament approved the nomination.[33] In the following days, serious changes took place in the administrative setup of the republic, affecting both the top- and middle-ranking officials. Former deputy prime minister Odes Baysultanov (a cousin of Kadyrov) 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 his own family(Kadyrov) 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 normalise the situation in Chechnya and end the bloodshed there, 31 percent said yes and 38 percent said no.[34]

On 14 March 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 19 March 2007, Kadyrov vowed to put an end to all remaining guerilla activity in Chechnya within two months. On 5 April 2007, Kadyrov was sworn in as President of Chechnya.[35] He appointed his maternal cousin Odes Baysultanov as the Prime Minister of the republic on 10 April.[26][36]

Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque completed in 2008

After the car-bomb attack on Yunus-bek Yevkurov, president of the neighbouring Republic of Ingushetia on 22 June 2009, Kadyrov claimed that the Kremlin had ordered him to fight insurgents there, and during his subsequent visit to the republic on 24 June pledged ruthless vengeance.[37]

In late December 2009, Kadyrov claimed that remaining rebels were getting financed by "The West"; "I officially declare this: those who destroyed the Soviet Union, those who want to destroy the Russian Federation, they stand behind them". He also suggested that Russia should attack Georgia and Ukraine "It's Russia's private affliction; why should we always suffer if we can eradicate this for good?".[38] In early August 2010, Kadyrov had claimed that there were only 70 Islamist militants left in Chechnya.[39] In the same month, he proposed changing the title of President of the Chechen Republic to Head of the Chechen Republic. On 12 August, he also called upon presidents of all North Caucasus republics to petition the State Duma to change their titles, stating that there should only be one president in Russia. The Chechen parliament unanimously approved this change on 2 September. However, Speaker of the Chechen Parliament Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov stated on 4 September that the title will be retained until the end of Kadyrov's term in April 2011.[40]

In February 2011, he invited the players of Brazil's 2002 FIFA World Cup winning team to play a match against a Chechen football team led by Kadyrov. The Brazilian team was named as Brazil XI. In addition, Ruud Gullit was hired by Kadyrov to train FC Terek Grozny.[41]

As reported by the Caucasian Knot, an independent human rights resource, on 5 February 2009, "in the course of his meeting in Grozny with Ramzan Ampukaev, representative of the Chechen Diaspora in Europe, Ramzan Kadyrov invited former militants, now living in Europe, to come back home":

"Now, the situation in the republic has stabilized, we witness a steady economic growth, and there's no sense for people to leave. And those who are already abroad, can always come back. We'll help them in every possible way," said Mr. Kadyrov. "All sorts of Emirs and former participants of illegal armed formations, who are now in Europe and whose actions were not aggravated by bloody crimes, have two alternatives: either to come back and serve for the welfare of their homeland, or stay there until the end of their days."[42]

In 2010, two large scale attacks were carried out by Chechen insurgents, one in Kadyrov's home-village Tsentoroy and the other on Chechen Parliament in Grozny.[43][44] The assault on Tsentoroy which occurred on 29 August is considered to have "shattered" the image of Kadyrov's unshakeable rule in Chechnya, as it was the first time in six years that his seemingly impregnable village had come under attack.[39][45] On 2 September, Ramzan Kadyrov announced a reward of more than $300,000 for information about each of the insurgency leaders involved in the operation, which Chechen commentators interpreted as an indicator of the government's weakness. Kadyrov also tightened his control over information coming from Tsentoroy by not allowing any of the village's 5,000 inhabitants to leave in the days after the attack; the citizenry were also allegedly under the threat of death not to talk about the siege or the damage inflicted by the rebels.[45] The attack on the Chechen parliament was carried out by three Chechen rebels on 19 October 2010.[46] Kadyrov dressed in a parade uniform attended a meeting that was held a few hours after all the buildings of the parliament were declared cleared by the special forces. During the meeting, he apologised to the politicians who escaped unhurt from the attack. Kadyrov vowed to intensify the fight against militants in the republic, calling them "bandits". He also blamed the United Kingdom and Poland saying they were "harbouring criminals. Why do they shield bandits who have shed blood where there is western democracy? Where is the justice? ... Sooner or later Zakayev, Gakayev, Umarov, Vadalov and other criminals will get what they deserve ... I have no doubt that it was the drunk and alcoholic Akhmed Zakayev and his backers in London and other western capitals. I want to say that they will not achieve anything. The Chechen republic is still standing. It is a peaceful and stable region."[47][48]

Kadyrov in 2014

Kadyrov was nominated by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 28 February 2011 and was unanimously elected for a second term by the Chechen Parliament on 5 March 2011. After his election, he stated that he was going to continue the current course of reviving the republic's economy and society.

On 8 March, he captained a Chechen football team which included current players of FC Terek Grozny, former players of Soviet Union national football team and former German midfielder Lothar Matthaeus in a match against the team Brazil XI which included ex-Brazilian footballers like Romario, Dunga, Bebeto and Cafu. Kadyrov scored twice during the match but his team lost 6–4 to the Brazilian side. Kadyrov said that he had organised the match to show that Chechnya had recovered from years of separatist conflict. He also said that the Brazilians weren't paid to appear but came out of goodwill and in return for a donation to flood victims in Brazil.[49]

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Ramzan Kadyrov at the grave of the first President of Chechnya Akhmad Kadyrov in June 2012

Kadyrov was sworn in as head of the republic on 5 April 2011.[50] In November 2012, he visited Azerbaijan to sign intergovernmental agreements.[51] In December 2012, he ordered the closure of the newspaper Kadyrov's Path after one of its reporters asked Putin a question about the violence once focused in Chechnya spreading to other republics and followed it up by asking about the fate of a local radio station. Kadyrov had reportedly taken a disliking to the question asked by the reporter to Putin.[52]

Kadyrov termed former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's ouster as a "coup d'etat" and a deliberate attempt to exert pressure on Russia through Ukraine, however at the same time placed the blame on Yanukovych for the situation in Ukraine. On 28 February 2014, he affirmed his readiness to dispatch peacekeepers and a consignment of humanitarian aid to Crimea.[53]

After the 2014 Grozny bombing, in which ISIL's hand was suspected, he said that he might block internet in Chechnya as anyone could easily find and listen to a sermon by a jihadist. After Kadyrov went on a tirade against ISIL on Instagram for threatening Russia, ISIL commander Omar al-Shishani put a $5 million bounty on him.[54]

On 26 May 2015, he announced that he was going to star in a Hollywood thriller titled Whoever Doesn't Understand Will Get It which will be directed by a director of famous Hollywood films and also feature global film-stars.[55][56] Kadyrov in July 2015 denied that ISIL had any territory in Chechnya and claimed that they never will.[57] During an interview in October 2015, he suggested that Putin should send Chechen special forces to Syria claiming they will wipe out ISIL in weeks.[58] On 3 December, he promised revenge against ISIL for beheading of Magomed Khasiev.[59] On 8 February 2016, he claimed that Chechen special forces had infiltrated ISIL cells.[60]

Kadyrov announced on 27 February 2016 that he would step down at the end of his second term, which was set to expire on 5 April. However, he later decided to run in the elections that were to be held that September. Putin appointed him as the acting head of Chechnya until the elections in a decree signed on 25 March.[61][62] He held a meeting with Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman's deputy Ahmed al-Khatib on 8 May relating to Saudi Arabia investing in projects in Chechnya and declared that relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia were at an "all-time high".

Kadyrov launched his reality show titled The Team with the first episode being aired by Channel One on 30 June. People from across Russia were invited by Kadyrov to register for the contest. The winner of the contest will go on to become head of Chechnya's Agency for Strategic Development.[63][64]

On 18 September 2016, Kadyrov was re-elected with nearly 98% of the vote.[65] Philip Varychenko, a native of Düsseldorf, was chosen as the winner of Kadyrov's reality show on 22 November and was appointed as a government aide.[66][67] Kadyrov visited Saudi Arabia on 27 November where he met the Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. During the meeting, they discussed Russia–Saudi Arabia relations as well as issues of common interest.[68][69] He also visited the United Arab Emirates on the same day and met Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The two discussed friendship, cooperation and strengthening ties.[70] During his visits, he praised King Salman of Saudi Arabia for his "leadership of the Muslim world and efforts to combat extremism".[71]

On 28 November, he stated that veterans of American special forces would not be allowed to train security and intelligence personnel at a "tactical city" in Gudermes because "they weren't as good as Russian special forces and there were sanctions against all official structures from the United States."[72] On 29 November, he claimed in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that only a few dozen Chechens were fighting with ISIL, adding that most of them grew up in Western Europe. He also stated that measures taken by Chechen authorities had been successful in bringing back many young recruits before they reached Syria.[73]

During an interview aired on 27 November 2017, Kadyrov stated that he was ready to resign as Head of the Chechen Republic, calling it his "dream" as he found the responsibility to be "too heavy".[74] He announced on 5 December that no Chechen athletes will participate under a neutral flag at the 2018 Winter Olympics.[75][76]

After an attack on the Church of Archangel Michael in Grozny on 19 May 2018, Kadyrov stated that he had personally overseen the operation to eliminate the attackers.[77] On September 26, he signed an agreement with Yunus-bek Yevkurov, the Head of Ingushetia, resolving the border dispute between the two Russian republics.[78] The agreement seen as grossly unfair to Ingushestia ignited widespread protests eventually leading to resignation of Yevkurov on 24 June 2019.[79][80][81][82]

Kadyrov was given the rank of major general in July 2020, by through an executive order of the Russian President. He added on his blog that he had been transferred from Ministry of Internal Affairs to the National Guard of Russia.[83]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia, Kadyrov initially in March dismissed the spread of the disease as nothing serious.[84] Later, Chechnya imposed strict measures to curb the spread of coronavirus after it first emerged in the republic. In an interview to Caucasian Knot, Kadyrov purportedly stated that infected people violating self-quarantine should be killed. People accused of spreading rumors have also been forced to admit their guilt and apologize on live television broadcasts by Kadyrov, though human rights organizations have claimed they were pressured.[85]

In April 2020, Kadyrov announced imposition of even stricter measures in Chechnya to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In addition to a night curfew, the government also sealed off all transportation to regions outside the republic. Kadyrov meanwhile also denied that force was being used against those who defied the restrictions.[86] After the Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin criticized heads of Russian regions for overstepping the extent of their powers with the restrictions they imposed, Kadyrov commented that while he didn't know if Mishustin referred to Chechnya, goods as well as entry into the republic was not barred. However, entry of non-Chechens into the republic would be banned to curb the spread of the disease.[87]

On 15 May 2020, Kadyrov in a live broadcast on the state-run Grozny TV stated that medical workers protesting over lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) must be sacked after one such protest occurred in Gudermes, claiming the republic had enough PPE.[88][89] On 20 May, Kadyrov was reportedly flown to Moscow after developing "flu-like symptoms", suspected to be COVID-19.[90] On 26 May however, Kadyrov attended a televised meeting in Grozny for taking steps against the coronavirus. The next day he stated that he had a right to be sick, without confirming if he had fallen ill. He also dismissed reports of using a catheter, stating he had a right to use it to boost his immunity.[91][92]

Kadyrov has previously encouraged extrajudicial killings of homosexual men by family members as an alternative to law enforcement – in some cases, gay men in prison have been released early specifically to enable their murder by relatives.[136]

In April 2017, international media reported that gay men in Chechnya were being arrested, detained and tortured as part of a region-wide pogrom.[137] Russian President Vladimir Putin said on 5 May that he would personally ask the Russian Prosecutor General and Interior Ministry to help Kremlin rights ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova check the reported abuse.[138] UK Deputy Foreign Secretary Sir Alan Duncan told the UK Parliament he had been informed of alleged plans to eliminate Chechnya's gay community by the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which commenced on 26 May 2017.[139]

Chechnya has denied the reports, with its interior minister calling the allegations an "April Fools' joke". Kadyrov's spokesman Alvi Karimov rejected the allegations and described the report in the Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, as "absolute lies and disinformation", basing his denial on the claim that "you cannot detain and persecute people who simply do not exist in the republic. If there were such people in Chechnya, the law-enforcement organs wouldn't need to have anything to do with them because their relatives would send them somewhere from which there is no returning."[140] Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said that there had been no evidence found to support the allegations, adding that he had no reason to doubt Kadyrov's claims that no one under his rule has been persecuted for their sexual orientation.

In an interview with HBO's Real Sports aired on 18 July, Kadyrov said, “We don't have those kind of people here. We don't have any gays. If there are any take them to Canada. Praise be to God. Take them far from us so we don't have them at home. To purify our blood, if there are any here, take them.”[141]

Asked about the accusations of systematic torture, Kadyrov said, “They made it up. They are devils. They are for sale. They are subhuman. God damn them for slandering us.”

On 20 December 2017, the United States imposed sanctions under the Magnitsky Act on five Russian nationals including Kadyrov, accusing him of personal involvement in repression, torture and murder. U.S. officials accused him of heading "an administration involved in disappearances and extrajudicial killings," and that one or more of his political opponents were killed at his direction. He was added to United States Department of the Treasury's blacklist which also included a Chechen security official Ayub Kataev along with three other Russian individuals for their criminal involvement in a corruption case uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky.[142]

In response, Kadyrov mocked the sanctions on his Instagram account. "A sleepless night is waiting for me." He further stated, "I can be proud that I'm out of favor with the special services of the USA," and added, "In fact, the USA cannot forgive me for dedicating my whole life to the fight against foreign terrorists among which there are bastards of America's special services."[142]

President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the sanctions "illegal" and "unfriendly" stating, "We consider these sanctions illegal, we consider them unfriendly, and we do not agree with them." He also stated that it was highly probable that Russia would retaliate by accusing U.S. officials or citizens of rights violations and banning them from the country.[143]

Further sanctions were added on 20 July 2020, with United States Secretary of State accusing him of increasing abuses on civilians during the COVID-19 pandemic. His immediate family were also sanctioned. The sanctions also ban him, his wife and two of his daughters from traveling to the United States. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Sputnik that they will try to impose retaliatory sanctions. Kadyrov meanwhile posted a picture of himself along with firearms, saying, "Pompeo, we accept the fight! What comes next will be more interesting."[144]

On April 13, 2020, Kadyrov threatened the journalist Elena Milashina on Instagram for her news article in Novaya Gazeta about Chechnya's coronavirus lockdown, stating it was "defamatory". He also criticized the federal authorities for not taking any action saying, "If you want us to commit a crime and become criminals, just say so! One [of us] will take on this responsibility and serve his time, as required by law." On Telegram, he later labeled her newspaper "anti-Russian" and a "foreign agent", also claiming it stereotyped Chechens.[145][146]

Yelena had also covered about Chechnya's gay purges and had been allegedly attacked on February 6, 2020. She accused the Chechen authorities of orchestrating the attack.[147] Over 100 Russian celebrities and human rights activists in response to Kadyrov's online threats, called upon the federal government to protect Yelena. Novaya Gazeta meanwhile was made to delete Elena's article from its website by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Russia, which claimed it was fake news and created a threat to the lives of citizens.[148] Peskov dismissed Kadyrov's threats as an emotional response, saying everyone was on edge due to the coronavirus pandemic.[149] Human Rights Watch criticized Peskov's reaction, stating it was "like a stark green light to Chechen officials to act on their threats."[148]

On April 21, 2020, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty stated that it had complained to Russian authorities after Kadyrov in an online video had threatened to punish their North Caucasus bureau chief Aslan Doukaev over an article against his government's restrictive coronavirus lockdown measures against farmers.[150]

The ambassador of United States to Russia John J. Sullivan condemned Kadyrov's threats against Milashina and Aslan Doukaev, stating freedom of press was a pillar of democracy.[151] French Human Rights Ambassador-at-Large François Croquette and the German Commissioner for Human Rights Policy Bärbel Kofler in a joint statement called Kadyrov's threats against Milashina unacceptable and urged Russia to investigate.[152]

The State Security Service of Georgia announced arrest of a Russian citizen on July 15 for an assassination attempt on Giorgi Gabunia, who had insulted Putin in past. Georgian media and Gabunia's boss later claimed the assassin was sent by Kadyrov, who denied the allegations and said that if he had sent someone to kill, they would succeed. Kadyrov called Gabunia his enemy and said that he should beg for forgiveness by getting down on his knees, otherwise he would continue to remain one. Georgian authorities have not confirmed or denied the allegations against Kadyrov.[153]

The number of subscribers to Kadyrov's social networks in 2016 was more than three million people, including three million followers of his Instagram account, according to the Chechen leader's press service. It said that he had 500,000 followers on the Russian VK social network, 760,860 on Facebook, 331,000 on Twitter and 5,447 on LiveJournal. Besides his Instagram postings, it was said that he had also made almost 5,000 on Twitter and 2,300 on VK. The Russian News Agency TASS said that Kadyrov had been "recognized as the most quoted Russian blogger."[154]

In August 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that Kadyrov had posted nearly 8,000 pictures on Instagram, which made him the online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing, and social networking service's "most prolific political strongman."[155]

The New York Times called Kadyrov's Instagram account "bizarre if strangely compelling",[156] and Newsweek said it was "flashy."[157] In a 2015 article, The New York Times said that Kadyrov was "Instagram-addicted."[158]

The Russian programme director of Human Rights Watch said in an October 2016 article in The Guardian that "even the mildest criticism on social media [is] ruthlessly punished through unlawful, punitive detention, enforced disappearances, cruel and degrading treatment, death threats, threats against family members, and physical abuse of family members." She said that a social worker from a small town in Chechnya made a WhatsApp recording that went viral among Chechen users "imploring" Kadyrov "to look into the plight of ordinary people pushed below the poverty line" by local officials. The article stated that the woman, with her husband, "found herself hauled into the studio of Grozny TV, the state television and radio broadcaster" to face Kadyrov in person, "to apologise publicly for her lies." A "severe and sweeping repression by the local authorities is designed to remind the Chechen public of Kadyrov's total control," the article claimed.[159]

In May 2015, Kadyrov gave a stern televised lecture to a group of Chechen men and women who were accused of using the WhatsApp messaging service to comment on the impending marriage of local police chief to a teenage girl some three decades younger than him. The wedding had been widely discussed across Russia on reports that the young woman, Kheda Goylabiyeva, was being coerced into marriage with the chief, Nazhud Guchigov.[158]

"Behave like Chechens", Kadyrov was reported as telling the assemblage of about a dozen people standing in the marbled courtyard of a building that seemed to be his government palace. "Honor of the family is the most important thing. Don't write such things any more. You, men, keep your women away from WhatsApp."[158][160] In its coverage of the incident, The New York Times reported:

"Lock them in, do not let them go out, and they will not post anything", Mr. Kadyrov said in a video to a sheepish group of men and women who kept their arms folded across their chests and their eyes firmly on the ground during the harangue.[160]

In December 2015, a female Chechen social worker criticised Kadyrov in an audio message posted on WhatsApp, after her boss tried to force her to put aside some money as collateral for her next month's payment. Three days after posting the message, she appeared on Grozny TV along with her husband, where she was publicly berated by Kadyrov as well as parliament speaker Magomed Daudov, presidential administration head Islam Kadyrov and her boss. The couple apologised on live television for her message.[161]

In May 2016, Kadyrov engaged in a brief Instagram dispute with comedian John Oliver.

He had posted a message on Instagram asking for help in finding his cat, which had gone astray. The posting led Oliver to make a five-minute segment on HBO's Last Week Tonight dealing with the cat's disappearance and, according to The Guardian, Kadyrov's penchant for posting of, for example, "regular videos of his work-outs in the gym," also on Instagram. As well, Oliver teased Kadyrov "for his propensity" to wear T-shirts bearing the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin. After the show, Oliver posted a photo of himself holding a cat, captioned "@RKadyrov Is this your cat?"[162]

Kadyrov responded in English, according to The New York Times along with a doctored photo of Oliver wearing a Putin T-shirt, captioned, in part, "I am tired of jokes. I want to care for cats in Chechnya. By the way, Putin is our leader."[156]

Kadyrov stated that he found his Russian-language Instagram and Facebook accounts were not working on December 23, 2017, and he never received a response from Instagram after sending a request for service support. His English-language Instagram account remained unaffected however. Kadyrov accused them of bowing to pressure from United States after he was sanctioned.[163]

He wrote on Telegram in response, "Instagram's move, which still wants to pretend it is independent from officials of Washington is weird." He added, "They wanted to stir my indignation, but were wrong, and this is the only thing which pleases me in actions Instagram and their patrons in the White House are undertaking. I have planned already to quit the network. But I thought I could fail my friends and subscribers, as on Instagram and Facebook I have more than 4 million followers."[163]

The Speaker of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin stated that the decision by Facebook and Instagram to suspend Kadyrov's accounts violated his rights, stating, "They are afraid of a public conversation and the truth. Such decision cannot be explained in another way… The thing is that to read bloggers in social networks one needs to be their subscribers. By deleting an account, they deprive citizens of their right to know about bloggers’ opinion and to communicate with them."[164]

Russia's telecommunications overseer Roskomnadzor on 26 December asked Facebook to explain why they had suspended his accounts.[165] Facebook issued a statement on 28 December that it did so after he was sanctioned by United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control as these came under trade sanctions.[166]

On 12 March 2006, a Chechen separatist website posted a short video shot on a mobile phone of a party in a sauna involving two alleged prostitutes and several men, including one who looked and sounded like Ramzan Kadyrov, seen dancing with a young, half-naked woman and trying to rip her bra off. Another man then starts masturbating in front of them.[167] Andrew Osborn, Moscow reporter for The Independent, reported that "Mr Kadyrov's aides have laughed off the grainy video ... as a 'provocation'".[167][168]

On 3 November 2009, a horse owned by Ramzan Kadyrov, Mourilyan, came third in the Melbourne Cup winning about US$380,000 in prize money. The leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Bob Brown, immediately called for the Government of Australia to quarantine the prize money until assurances are received as to how the money will be used. Concerns had been previously raised that the Melbourne Cup could be used to launder money by overseas individuals.[169]

In 2009, Kadyrov stated his approval of honor killings of seven women, based on the belief that they were engaging in adultery.[170] In an interview with David Scott of HBO, he condoned honor killings of homosexuals in July 2017 stating, "If we have [gay] people here, I'm telling you officially their relatives won't let them be because of our faith, our mentality, customs, traditions. Even if it's punishable under the law, we would still condone it."[171]

On 28 November 2010, a classified Wikileaks cable named Kadyrov as a "starring guest" at some of Dagestan's most elaborate weddings, which indicates the political "Caucasus power structure" in these weddings.[172] In 2006, leaked cables from an American diplomat recounted a lavish wedding attended by Kadyrov in Russia's Caucasus region in which guests threw $100 bills at child dancers, and which had nighttime "water-scooter jaunts on the Caspian Sea", and a report that Ramzan Kadyrov gave the newly married couple a "five-kilo lump of gold".[31]

In January 2015, Kadyrov said he would organize protests if a Russian newspaper published the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, saying "we will not allow anyone to insult the Prophet [Muhammad], even if it will cost us our lives." He also stated that Alexei Venediktov "will be brought to account" after his radio station Ekho Moskvy took a survey of readers on whether to publish the cartoons. Venediktov stated he would ask the authorities to intervene against Kadyrov's threats.[173] During a protest rally against the cartoons attended by hundreds of thousands of people in Chechnya, he accused those backing Charlie Hebdo of using "false slogans about free speech and democracy".[174]

After French teacher Samuel Paty was murdered by a man of Chechen descent for showing the Charlie Hebdo cartoons in his class, Kadyrov criticized the attack, but also told people to not provoke the religious sentiments of Muslims. He also criticized the French society for provoking Muslims and stated that the country must have a state institution focusing on inter-ethnic and inter-faith relations.[175] After France's President Emmanuel Macron defended Paty's actions under right to free speech, Kadyrov on Instagram accused him of forcing people to resort to terrorism by doing so.[176]

Kadyrov supports polygamy in Muslim-majority republics in Russia, and believes that Muslims who speak out against the practice are not true adherents to their faith. According to Kadyrov, men legally marrying more than one wife would be more honest than having many mistresses, and would resolve Russia's demographic problem.[177] In April 2018, he stated that all Muslim men are permitted by Allah to have four wives but discouraged having the marriages officially registered. He also denied reports that polygamy would be legalised in Chechnya.[178]

After the Boston Marathon bombing, Kadyrov expressed sadness for the victims but denied the suspects had any ties to his region in a statement on his Instagram. He suggested that the suspects were products of American upbringing.[179] Kadyrov accused the CIA of framing Dzokhar Tsarnaev on 18 March 2015, after he was handed a death sentence for the Boston Marathon Bombing and said that they could not have conducted the bombing without CIA's knowledge.[180]

On 31 January 2016, Kadyrov posted a video of Russian opposition politicians Mikhail Kasyanov and Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza in the crosshairs of a gun on his Instagram blog.[181][182] In a few days, after multiple complaints, Instagram removed the video prompting Kadyrov to criticize the decision: "This is the much-boasted freedom of speech in America! You can write anything but cannot touch those American dogs, those friends of the Congress and the State Department".[183]

Russian opposition leader Ilya Yashin authored a report against Kadyrov released on 23 February 2016 during a press conference which was repeatedly interrupted by police and hecklers. He also claimed that Kadyrov had murdered Boris Nemtsov. The report titled A National Security Threat claimed that Kadyrov poses a threat to Russia. It included allegations of corruption, authoritarian rule, secret prisons, rigging votes in favour of Vladimir Putin, stealing from the country's national budget to enrich himself, enforcing Sharia law over Russian law, his lavish lifestyle, building and maintaining a personal army of about 30,000 fighters, purported ties to organised crime figures, and his involvement in politically motivated murders of journalists, human rights activists and political opponents. The report also contained 20 questions which Yashin had invited Kadyrov to answer but was refused. Kadyrov dismissed the report calling it "nothing but idle chatter" and posted it on his social network accounts before its release.[184][185][186] His spokesman filed a request with the Russian Prosecutor General and the Investigative Committee for Yashin to be arrested for the report saying it contained slander and insults against Kadyrov.[187]

A conference of Islamic scholars funded by the Tabah foundation in the United Arab Emirates, was convened by Kadyrov in Grozny in late August 2016. The conference was attended by notable Islamic scholars including the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb; Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam; ex-Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa, Usama al-Azhari who is the religious adviser to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi; Habib Ali al-Jifri and the mufti of Damascus Abdul Fattah al-Bizm. The conference was convened to discuss the alleged abuse of Islamic ideas to propagate extremism and to establish the criteria for determining who are the true followers of the Sunnah. The assembly of scholars issued a fatwa which declared that those who abide by the Kalam, belong to the four madhhabs and follow the path of moral self-perfection espoused by distinguished Islamic teachers, primarily the Sufi sheikhs, were the only true believers. The fatwa called the sect of Salafism as a "dangerous and erroneous contemporary sect", along with the extremist groups like Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Hizb ut-Tahrir . The conference also issued two further documents. In the first one, it appealed to President Vladimir Putin to ban Salafism and term any condemnation of "traditional Islam" as "extremism". It also proposed the fatwa be regarded as the considered opinion of "leading Russian experts" when evaluating the activity of Muslim organizations and the preaching of individual clerics. The second one issued a resolution calling for the establishment of a Council for Islamic Education and also a Council of Ulema, which would rule on who is and is not a true follower of Sunni Islam.[188][189][190]

The ruling created a controversy, with both Islamic theologians and secular commentators condemning it, with some seeing it as a bid by Kadyrov to divide Russian Muslims into those who accept the importance he places on teachings of the Sufi brotherhoods as well as probably also what he considers as "traditional Islam" without question, and those who don't with "erroneous" views. Many of the key participants also disavowed the resolutions. Mukkadas Bibarsov, mufti of Saratov Oblast stated that the question of who was a true follower of Sunni Islam was resolved "centuries ago". He also added that the fatwa failed to take into account the crucial differences between Russia's Muslims, specifically that some Muslim communities did not follow Sufism. Liz Fuller writing for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty commented that the fatwa seemed to be giving permission to Kadyrov to take any action he likes to punish those whose religious views don't match with his own. Yaroslav Trofimov writing for The Wall Street Journal described it as a "new fracture emerging within Islam". Many Saudi clerics and citizens expressed outrage at the fatwa on social media. The Muslim Brotherhood expressed "deep sorrow" over the fatwa, stating that it “ignited fires of discord among Muslims around the world.”[188][189][190]

In 2015, Kadyrov ordered Chechen security forces to “shoot to kill” if they encountered police officers from other parts of Russia on the territory of the Chechen Republic.[191][192][193] Kadyrov said: "I would like to officially state: Open fire if someone from Moscow or Stavropol — it doesn't matter where from — appears on your turf without your knowledge. We have to be reckoned with. … If you are masters of your territory, then you must control it."[191] According to Ekaterina Sokirianskaia, "Some critics claim that Mr. Putin now fears Mr. Kadyrov because he knows any serious attempt to challenge the Chechen leader’s position might lead to a third war."[194]

A mixed martial arts tournament involving children was held as an "exhibition fight" on 4 October during the Grand Prix Akhmat 2016 in Grozny and broadcast on Match TV. Three of Kadyrov's sons, all of them aged under 12, fought in the tournament with Kadyrov sitting in the audience and none of the fighters wearing any protective gear. One of the fights ended with a technical knockout. Kadyrov also posted images of the bouts on his Instagram account. The event caused an outcry especially against Ramzan allowing his children to compete in the tournament. Fedor Emelianenko, the president of Russian MMA Union, criticised the event as "inexcusable", stating that rules stipulate fighters under the age of 21 have to wear protective gear while children under the age of 12 are not allowed to compete. Vadim Finkelstein, the head of MMA promotion M-1 Global also backed Fedor's comments. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for President Putin, stated that the fact that one of the fights between the children finished with a technical knockout was “a reason for the appropriate oversight agencies to inquire about this incident.” Deputy Minister of Sports Pavel Kolobkov stated that participation of children under the age of 12 in MMA competitions was illegal while stating that the incident was being investigated. Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko also stated that the event will be investigated. MMA fighter Jeff Monson however backed the organisers stating that there was nothing wrong with it.[195][196][197][198][199]

Several Chechen officials responded to Fedor's criticism with insults and accusations including Timur Dugazayev, general director of Akhmat MMA promotion, Member of Parliament Adam Delimkhanov as well as Kadyrov himself.[200] The Ministry of Sports found on 18 October that Kadyrov's promotion had violated regulations. It also found that the event was actually an unlicensed show with no regulatory oversight. The promotion was directed to coordinate with the Ministry of Sports and other regulatory bodies to “prevent such irregularities in conduct” and handed a letter detailing its failure to comply with the legislation.[201]

In an interview with HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel in July 2017, Kadyrov denied that there had been anti-gay purges in Chechnya, while claiming that there were no gay men in Chechnya. He further stated that if there were any, they should be sent to Canada. He also said that gay people were "not human". Kadyrov also commented about Russia's nuclear arsenal and tensions between the United States and Russia. He said that "America is not really a strong enough state for us to regard it as an enemy of Russia, we have a strong government and are a nuclear state." He also added, "Even if our government was completely destroyed, our nuclear missiles would be automatically deployed. We will put the whole world on its knees and screw it from behind."[202][203]

In June 2019, Ramzan in an Instagram video told residents of Dagestan to not insult Chechnya or Chechens online amidst controversy over a piece of land of the republic being labeled as belonging to Chechnya, threatening to torture whoever insulted the honor of Chechens. He also warned the people to remove any such comments, otherwise they will have to answer to the Chechen law enforcement agencies.[204]

Kadyrov during a government function organized for medium and small-scale businesses in November 2019, called for online users insulting someone's honor to be killed, arrested or intimidated per a BBC Russian Service translation. He stated in the same speech that he didn't call for targeting law-abiding citizens, but the others were "crooks, traitors, tattletales and schizophrenics of all stripes."[205]

Kadyrov's spokesman Alvi Karimov denied the accuracy of BBC's translation, however Meduza's translation found that it painted an accurate picture.[206] The speech was broadcast on a state-owned TV channel. Dmitry Peskov stated that his remarks won't be investigated by the Russian government as it was the job of the police.[207]

In September 2017, Kadyrov condemned the persecution of Muslims in Myanmar and organized a rally in Grozny in support of persecuted Rohingya people.[208] Kadyrov had pledged to "oppose Russia’s position" if it "supports" Aung San Suu Kyi's government in Myanmar.[209]