Chechen apology campaign is addressed to federal centre

The Chechen authorities are demonstratively putting things in order, forcing everyone, whose behaviour and words differ from their ideas about the norms, to publicly apologize. The aim of this campaign is to receive Moscow's approval, the journalists and activists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Chechen authorities had returned three young men to Chechnya and convinced them to publicly apologize for refusing to pay for a taxi travel in Moscow. Adam Delimkhanov, a State Duma MP, has also apologized for the behaviour of his fellow countrymen.

The Chechen model of public reproaching is a federal initiative that can subsequently be spread all over the country, Maxim Shevchenko, a TV journalist and politician, believes.

"Everything that happens is done deliberately by the federal authorities, who are trying to present all this as an extravagant behaviour of Ramzan Kadyrov, who is trying to build relations with the Chechen community in this way. But in fact, this is a run-in of the model, which will then be applied throughout the country," Mr Shevchenko told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In Chechnya, public humiliations have long become a practice, and may well be the obligations entrusted to Chechen authorities by the federal centre, said Ruslan Kutaev, President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations.

"I can assume that there may be some obligations entrusted to or voluntarily assumed by Kadyrov that he will control not only the Chechen Republic, but all the Chechens; and in order to somehow demonstrate this predisposition or undertaken obligations, these actions may be undertaken," Mr Kutaev told the "Caucasian Knot".

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 4, 2020 at 04:56 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.