"Ramzan, don't leave!"

In Chechnya, after the statement of the "retirement-neopath" Kadyrov, a campaign unfolded, requiring him to stay

Videos with crying or singing children, photos of officials with posters, a statement by a local Commissioner for Human Rights that the departure of the head of Chechnya from his post would violate the rights of the residents of the republic. This is how the campaign unfolding in Chechnya against the possible resignation of Ramzan Kadyrov looks.

Kadyrov leaves or does not leave, however, however, it is not clear. For nine years, he completely dominated the Chechen politics, after, according to many, the Kremlin gave Kadyrov, who had fought on the side of the separatists in the past, freedom of hands when suppressing the long -term rebel movement and restoring the region’s destroyed war. Relative calm was established in Chechnya, and most observers believed that Kadyrov, whose period of stay in his position expires in a month, is one hundred percent chances to stay in their current place.

However, on February 27, in a radio interview, Ramzan Kadyrov said that he had no desire to continue his activities as the head of Chechnya. “My time has passed,” Kadyrov said, and in an interview, NTV added, speaking about himself in the third person: “This is the top for Kadyrov.” From that moment in Chechnya, a campaign unfolded, the participants of which urge Kadyrov to stay. She looks like a civil initiative, but there are signs that she is supported and even stimulated by Chechen officials. This, in turn, became the reason for speculation about the "resignation" of Kadyrov: are there no talk about her just a trick?

Kadyrov’s refusal would mean a massive violation of citizens' rights

The day after the statements of Kadyrov, a group calling itself the "Civil Forum of the Chechen Republic" made a statement that "society does not see alternatives Ramzan Akhmatovich Kadyrov as the head of the Chechen Republic, and there can be no talk of any successors." This statement was published on the official website of the Chechen government. A day later, the Republican Ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiev spoke in the same spirit : "Residents of the Chechen Republic want to see at the head of the republic Ramzan Kadyrov for the above reasons. In addition, this is their right as voters. Kadyrov’s refusal would mean a massive violation of citizens' rights." Russian human rights activists took these words as an example of black humor, given the many recorded real violations of human rights in the republic, including political murders or punishment of members of the militant families, based on the principle of collective guilt.

On social networks, photographs and videos are multiplying, in which children are glorified by Ramzan Kadyrov or, in one case, beg him to stay. By March 1, only on Instagram (which, by the way, is actively using Kadyrov himself), more than 6,600 posts appeared with the hashtag #Ramzannee.

On February 28, Kadyrov, it seemed, left his way to retreat, writing on Instagram that, according to Russian law, Russian President Vladimir Putin determines the list of candidates, of which later residents of the region can choose his head. A couple of days later, in an interview with Interfax, Kadyrov developed this idea: “Once again I say that I will be ready to fulfill any order of the President of Russia. I will say that it is necessary to work in this position, I will not even discuss. There will be a different decision, I will fulfill it unconditionally. When I say that I am Putin’s infantryman, this is not just words, this is my firm position.”

“There is no clear candidate of the successor,” says Olga Olerger , director of the Russian and Eurasian programs of the Center for Strategic and International Research. - There is international pressure, public opinion indicating Ramzan Kadyrov as a definitely “bad guy”, information about the possible involvement in the murder of Boris Nemtsov. So, perhaps, there were some trends to distance the Putin’s regime from all this, and for this we need Kadyrov’s resignation. On the other hand, Kadyrov is a long time to Putin’s man in Chechnya. Who could replace it? The quarry of Ramzan Kadyrov developed so because he became the heir to his father ( Akhmat Kadyrov , the head of Chechnya in 2000-2004. - RS) . But who can be his heir? And do they represent in Moscow what is happening in Chechnya?