Caucasian experts exclude any influence of crime growth in Chechnya on election outcomes

In Chechnya, the crime rate indicators are beneficial for law enforcers to demonstrate their work, but they will not affect the outcome of the presidential election, as this outcome is predefined, the analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have suggested.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Chechnya became the Russian leader in the number of the crimes registered during five months of 2021 – according to the official statistics of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the count thereof went up by 41.2 percent. The information about a sharp crime increase in Chechnya has spread amid Ramzan Kadyrov's nomination as a candidate for the post of the head of the republic.

There is no reason to trust the MIA's statistics on Chechnya, Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst, believes. "This is a purely propaganda action," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. In his opinion, the election of the head of the republic is not of great importance for correcting the statistics. "Kadyrov has everything under control. He will get as many votes as he needs," Mr Oreshkin has stated.

In his turn, Ruslan Kutaev, President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, has stated that no events in Chechnya should be associated with the upcoming election. "Election is separate, and what happens in the republic is separate. None of what is happening is affecting the election outcome," Mr Kutaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He believes that the overall crime rate in Chechnya is low. "In reality, crime in Chechnya is low. And if not for the efforts of the authorities themselves, and the actions of law enforcement bodies, which sometimes fabricate cases in order to show the fruits of their work, there could have been zero criminality in Chechnya," Mr Kutaev has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 31, 2021 at 10:22 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.