Enlarge image
Kadyrov (middle) inspecting the troops in February: But no break
Photo:
Yelena Afonina / TAR-TASS / IMAGO
Contrary to earlier announcements, Putin supporter and head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, apparently does not intend to withdraw.
He wants to "put an end to the talk," writes Kadyrov on Telegram.
He has no right to simply walk away, he continues.
“I can only go after asking the people and the President of Russia.
So let's leave the discussion of permanent leave for the future.
At the moment I will not even take my annual leave.«
Kadyrov announced on Sunday that he would be taking an "indefinite and long" break from his post.
Now he writes that he has been in his post for 15 years and plans to set the record for the longest tenure as head of a Russian region - so far 27 years.
Kadyrov is the official President of the Autonomous Republic of Chechnya.
Often referred to as President Vladimir Putin's "bloodhound," he helped him win the 2004 war in Chechnya.
He has been the head of the republic since 2007.
His regime and its fighters are considered extremely brutal, and the Kremlin tolerates it. Kadyrov is said to be responsible, among other things, for the murder of human rights activist Natalia Estemirova from the Memorial organization.
She had denounced kidnappings and serious crimes in the Caucasus republic.
Kadyrov also made international headlines with a brutal campaign to suppress homosexuals.
The resignation game is nothing new
Kadyrov had already indicated his resignation several times in the past, but never implemented it.
His motives are unclear.
In the past it was speculated that he might want to strengthen his negotiating position with Moscow by threatening to resign.
However, the current back and forth could also be intended to attract attention.
"He makes such statements every time he wants to draw attention to himself," Ibragim Yangulbayev, a representative of the Chechen opposition movement 1ADAT, is quoted as saying by "Radio Free Europe".
One should not look for "signals to the Kremlin, blackmail and so on," Yangulbayev said.
“Probably someone close to him simply told Kadyrov that he was the number one veteran governor and decided to record the video.
There is no use trying to find logic in the words of a complicated dictator.«
Doubts had previously arisen as to whether Kadyrov was serious about his announcement.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he has become one of the main propagandists.
In early March, he claimed in a video that he himself had traveled to Ukraine to fight.
In addition, according to Kadyrov, elite fighters from Chechnya are to fight on the Russian side in Ukraine.
However, it is unclear in what number.
okay
