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Russia's Putin reminds wayward Chechnya leader: I'm the boss
Source: Reuters
World | Thu Mar 24, 2016 12:58pm EDT
Russia's Putin reminds wayward Chechnya leader: I'm the boss
MOSCOW | BY MARIA TSVETKOVA AND CHRISTIAN LOWE
President Vladimir Putin has imposed the Kremlin's writ on every corner of Russia except one: the Chechnya region whose leader Ramzan Kadyrov often pays little heed to the rules that govern the rest of the country.
Putin is now trying to rein Kadyrov in and reminding him who is boss, though alienating him would risk re-igniting an Islamist insurgency that he helped the Kremlin leader defeat.
A former Islamist rebel who has ruled the turbulent, mainly Muslim region in Russia's North Caucasus since 2007, Kadyrov swears loyalty to Putin.
Those public expressions have helped Putin turn a blind eye to Kadyrov's idiosyncrasies, which include enforcing a strict Islamic "code of virtue" and embarrassing the Kremlin with verbal attacks on opposition politicians, and methods against insurgents human rights groups see as rights abuses.
But he is widely reported to have opponents in the Kremlin and an opportunity has presented itself to put him in his place: the 39-year-old Chechen leader's term in office runs out in April, and he needs Putin's approval to stay on.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Russia's Putin reminds wayward Chechnya leader: I'm the boss
MOSCOW | BY MARIA TSVETKOVA AND CHRISTIAN LOWE
President Vladimir Putin has imposed the Kremlin's writ on every corner of Russia except one: the Chechnya region whose leader Ramzan Kadyrov often pays little heed to the rules that govern the rest of the country.
Putin is now trying to rein Kadyrov in and reminding him who is boss, though alienating him would risk re-igniting an Islamist insurgency that he helped the Kremlin leader defeat.
A former Islamist rebel who has ruled the turbulent, mainly Muslim region in Russia's North Caucasus since 2007, Kadyrov swears loyalty to Putin.
Those public expressions have helped Putin turn a blind eye to Kadyrov's idiosyncrasies, which include enforcing a strict Islamic "code of virtue" and embarrassing the Kremlin with verbal attacks on opposition politicians, and methods against insurgents human rights groups see as rights abuses.
But he is widely reported to have opponents in the Kremlin and an opportunity has presented itself to put him in his place: the 39-year-old Chechen leader's term in office runs out in April, and he needs Putin's approval to stay on.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-chechnya-idUSKCN0WQ1XX