How Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov dies

According to a new investigation from Novaya Gazeta Europe, Chechnya Governor Ramzan Kadyrov was diagnosed with pancreatic necrosis in 2019 and isn’t long for this world. Since then, he’s supposedly undergone “regular procedures,” including surgeries, at an elite hospital in Moscow. A bout of COVID-19 in 2020 reportedly further degraded his health, kicking off another round of sudden weight loss. His kidneys reportedly started to fail and fluid built up in his lungs, making it difficult for him to speak and walk. After Novaya released the first part of this investigation, Kadyrov’s Telegram channel shared its first video in five days, posting footage of Kadyrov meeting with his cabinet to discuss the war in Ukraine.

Kadyrov’s speech is slurred and he barely moves. He doesn’t look good. He looks like the title character in Weekend at Bernie’s.

Novaya Gazeta has released two more installments in this story since that first report, and a fourth article is due out soon. On this week’s episode of The Naked Pravda, Meduza spoke to journalist Kirill Martynov, the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta Europe, to dig into these revelations and learn more about the predicament of Russia’s second-worst autocrat.

Timestamps for this episode:

• (5:02) Why is Ramzan Kadyrov so hard to replace as head of Chechnya?
• (10:31) What’s so special about Major General Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the “Akhmat” Chechen Volunteer Special Forces Association?
• (15:18) Protecting Kadyrov’s sons by putting them in the limelight
• (20:01) Novaya Gazeta Europe’s sources for this investigation

Sound editing by Kevin Rothrock