That long-awaited report on Ramzan Kadyrov

The 7 big findings about Chechnya's dictator

On February 23, opposition politician Ilya Yashin presented his new report, “National Security Threat,” which examines Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. The presentation didn't come off so well, as Kadyrov managed to get a hold of the report before it was released, and he published it ahead of Yashin's presentation, along with his own commentary about its shoddy quality and reliance on “Internet rumors.” (The group Open Russia, which helped publish Yashin's report, says Kadyrov was able to obtain an advance copy due to a technical error on its website.) Meduza summarizes Yashin's main findings.

Ramzan Kadyrov fought against Russian federal troops in Chechnya in the 1990s. Kadyrov admits to having participated in the fighting. In 1995, his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, declared jihad against Russia and called on Chechens “to kill as many [Russians] as possible.” In 2013, Ramzan said in a TV interview that he doesn't regret his actions in the war, because they were “highly educational” and helped him “know the truth.”

Kadyrov has created in Chechnya a regime built on his own personal power. Chechnya's parliament, courts, and media all operate under Kadyrov's strict personal control. Political opposition is virtually outlawed. In elections, Vladimir Putin and the ruling political party United Russia regularly receive 99.9 percent of the vote. Kadyrov calls human rights activists “enemies of the people,” and he supports the imprisonment of individuals who organize protests.

Kadyrov has pursued a policy of “Islamicizing” Chechnya. According to Yashin's research, Chechnya “looks like a religious state built on medieval Asian traditions.” Polygamy has been legalized in practice, the republic's Interior Ministry makes its staff accountable for prayer, and the Center of Islamic Medicine in Grozny practices exorcisms.

Kadyrov gets billions from Moscow and he collects tribute from his Chechen subjects. From 2001 to 2014, Chechnya received federal subsidies in the amount of 464 billion rubles ($6.1 billion, by today's exchange rate). Kadyrov's government spends only a small fraction of this money as allocated, however, and the lion's share is simply plundered. There is also the Akhmad Kadyrov Foundation, which collects tribute from local Chechens and ostensibly uses the money to fund charities. In fact, Yashin argues, this money is spent on sustaining Ramzan Kadyrov's “glamorous lifestyle.”

Kadyrov has created his own private army. The Chechen Republic has roughly 30,000 armed men at its disposal. Kadyrov recruits ethnic Chechens who are loyal only to him. Yashin's report describes these soldiers as “perhaps the most combat-ready fighting force in modern Russia.” The core of this group is made up of former separatists whom Kadyrov has amnestied. Soldiers from these Chechen units fought in eastern Ukraine against the Ukrainian army.

Kadyrov has influential patrons in Moscow. Chechnya's leader enjoys the strong support of Viktor Zolotov, who's headed Vladimir Putin's personal security for the past 13 years. Kadyrov and Zolotov are old friends, though they prefer not to advertise their relationship. Vladislav Surkov, Putin's former deputy chief of staff, is another of Kadyrov's powerful allies in Moscow. “Kadyrov is largely considered to be one of Surkov's creatures. He convinced Putin that it was necessary to give the current head of Chechnya maximum authority,” Yashin's report states.

Kadyrov enjoys total impunity. Yashin offers a whole list of high-profile assassinations in Russia that potentially lead back to Ramzan Kadyrov, including the murders of Chechen commanders Ruslan and Sulim Yamadayev, journalist Anna Politkovskaya, and politician Boris Nemtsov. Kadyrov has also openly threatened the lives of law enforcement officers from other regions in Russia, without suffering any legal consequences. (Last year, Kadyrov ordered Chechen police to “shoot to kill” any officers from other regions found conducting operations in Chechnya. The outburst came during a jurisdictional feud between Chechen and federal authorities that nearly led to bloodshed between police.)