Awarding "Victory Sword" to Grozny Mayor indicates Kadyrov's readiness to soften anti-Stalin rhetoric

The decoration of the Mayor of Grozny with the "Victory Sword" engraved with a portrait of Stalin indicates that Chechen authorities are ready to depart from their tough anti-Stalinist stance in favour of the policy of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. This was stated by political analysts, Alexei Malashenko and Dmitry Oreshkin.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 10, a commemorative "Victory Sword" with engraved portraits of Stalin and other generals was presented to the Mayor of Grozny due to the fact that the capital of Chechnya has the title of the "City of Military Glory". Commentators were surprised by this news, recalling the Stalinist deportation of Vainakhs.

Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst, treats the awarding episode as important. "This episode is evidence that there are circles in Chechnya close to Ramzan Kadyrov who are ready to retreat from a tough anti-Stalinist position in favour of a softer one, and present Stalin in some different light," he said.

Dmitry Oreshkin, his colleague, has agreed with Malashenko. "This is a kind of Kadyrov's oath of allegiance to the new version of Putin's history," he has explained.

Let us remind you that the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, had cursed Stalin for repressions against the Chechen people.