10:02, 13 July 2019

Chechen parliament approves renaming of Kadyrov's native village

At their last sitting before the summer vacations, Chechen MPs have approved the renaming, which took place this May, of the native village of Ramzan Kadyrov into Akhmat-Yurt.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 19, 2019, Magomed Daudov, the speaker of the Chechen parliament, suggested renaming Khosi-Yurt (Tsentaroi), the native village of Ramzan Kadyrov, in honour of his father. At the entrance to the village, the signpost was replaced by "Akhmat-Yurt".

Ramzan Kadyrov's fellow villagers said that they had long wanted to rename the village to Akhmat-Yurt, and are proud that Khosi-Yurt now bears the name of the father of the head of Chechnya. Some residents of the republic and users of social networks found these statements to be demonstrative. The renaming of the village indicates the strengthening of the Kadyrov personality cult in Chechnya, said Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, Director of the Centre for Conflict Analysis and Prevention.

Ramzan Kadyrov said that he had refused to rename his native village in honour of his father, but local residents insisted on the renaming, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

"The Council of Deputies ... believes that the renaming of the clannish village of Akhmat-haji Kadyrov will be another sign of recognition of the merits of the first president of the Chechen Republic," says the website of the rural settlement of Tsentaroi.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 12, 2019 at 08:27 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.