Torture, repression and assassinations: Since coming to power in 2007, Ramzan Kadyrov has subjected Chechnya, a predominantly Muslim region of Russia, to a regime of terror.
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The start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine put him back in the center of the action. Appointed Colonel General by Moscow, Kadyrov sends his militias to terrorize the Ukrainians in the territories coveted by Vladimir Putin.
Who is this iron-fisted man accused of several war crimes by the international community?
When the USSR fell in 1991, an independence movement was born in Chechnya. His influence created tensions and led to two bloody wars with Russia.
Akhmad Kadyrov, the father of the current leader, was an important figure in the movement. He said he was waging “a holy war” against Russia and that every Chechen had a duty to kill “150 Russians”.
However, the seizure of power by Russia and the arrival of Vladimir Putin caused a change of allegiance in Akhmad Kadyrov. He became the leader of Chechnya in 2000 and turned into a close associate of the Kremlin.
He was assassinated in 2004 in an attack perpetrated by opponents.
The Chechen leader is very active on the internet. Images in which we see him controlling a crocodile with his bare hands, fighting with a UFC fighter and stroking tigers are causing a lot of reaction.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, he has used his social media platforms to tout the strength of Chechen troops. He shares images of his soldiers helping civilians. He also took the opportunity to rebroadcast extracts from Russian television news to encourage his troops.
Ramzan Kadyrov also claimed to have sent his three sons aged 16, 15 and 14 to the front. The three teenagers were filmed in trenches strafing enemy positions. However, the authenticity of these images has been questioned many times by journalists and experts from all over the world.
He also uses his social media accounts to post shocking messages. Earlier in the conflict, he proposed using low-intensity nuclear missiles against the Ukrainian army.
In a video posted to his Telegram account, Kadyrov promised “to burn Ukrainians alive, destroy their cities and continue his Jihad against the Satanists of the West.”
He also shared a video recently where he is seen receiving “as a gift” three Ukrainian soldiers.
For several years, the “kadyrovtsy”, the paramilitary militia that hunts down enemies of the regime, has been waging a campaign of bloody repression against the LGBTQ community.
Amnesty International speaks of a “gay purge” in which men are abducted, tortured and killed. There is even talk of the creation of concentration camps where homosexuals are held in inhuman conditions.
The leader defends himself from these violations by affirming that “homosexuality does not exist” in Chechnya.
However, sexual minorities are not the only victims of repression. Since coming to power, Kadyrov has organized an “Islamization” of society. Access to alcohol is restricted, and women, very oppressed, are almost forced to cover themselves. They are often victims of honor killings.
The Chechen government could also be implicated in the assassinations of political opponents.
