Kadyrov raises topic of agreements with “Ichkerians” before election of republic’s leader

Ramzan Kadyrov spent hours talking with former officials who in the 1990s and early 2000s spoke for the Chechnya’s independence. Over the past two days, the five-hour recording of the conversation was broadcast twice on the “Grozny” state-run TV Channel.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 6, 2021, Kadyrov submitted documents to the republic's Central Election Commission (CEC) for his nomination as a candidate from the "Edinaya Rossia" (United Russia) Party for the election of the head of the republic upcoming on September 19 this year. On August 10, the CEC registered Kadyrov.

During the above-mentioned meetings, the participants together with Ramzan Kadyrov criticized Djokhar Dudaev, Aslan Maskhadov, and their associates, who did not go over to the side of the federal forces to follow Akhmat Kadyrov, the father of the current leader of the Chechen Republic.

Ramzan Kadyrov himself cited the example of Magomed Khanbiev, the former Defence Minister of the self-proclaimed Ichkeria. Now he is a member of the Chechen parliament. He laid down his arms and surrendered to the authorities in March 2004.

As described by Ramzan Kadyrov, the story of Magomed Khanbiev’s transition to the side of the federal forces looks like a completely voluntary and not forced decision.

“He (Khanbiev) even came to negotiations with a weapon, as he did not trust us at first. Then we told him that he might think, consult with his family. We told him that if he suddenly wanted to go back to the forest, we would return him the weapon, let him go, and we would not look for him during three months. We gave him a week to think about the proposal. But on the other day he came back and said: ‘I consulted with my family and decided that I want to serve for the good of our republic on the path of Akhmat,’ Ramzan Kadyrov said at the meeting as translated from the Chechen language by of the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent in Chechnya.

Human rights defenders stated that the relatives of Magomed Khanbiev were taken hostage, so he had to surrender, and the version of his “voluntary coming to surrender” presented to the media by Ramzan Kadyrov does not correspond to real facts.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 15, 2021 at 02:31 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.