*Following the well-known behavior of a cat with nothing to do, some idlers in the journalistic milieu do nothing but try to predict, by reading coffee grounds or a sheep’s shoulder blade, the future of the well-known Russian statesman, Head of the Chechen Republic, Hero of Russia Ramzan Kadyrov. And as a rule, that future—which fortunately never comes to pass—turns out to be tragic both for the Chechen people and for Russia as a whole. Particular zeal on this issue can be seen from the liberal media, which serve as the spearhead of efforts to destabilize the situation and dismantle the Russian state. The other day, Novaya Gazeta, which specializes in slanderous attacks on the Chechen Republic and its leadership, once again served up a batch of gloomy “predictions” by a certain Yevgeny Mikhaylov about the possible future political career of the Head of the Chechen Republic, based on some absurd rumors “within security-service circles.” Thus, this newly minted oracle writes: “…in the near future, major changes are coming in the North Caucasus Federal District, and they are connected прежде всего with a change of power in the district’s leadership. And the most stunning appointment that may happen: Khloponin will be replaced as presidential envoy by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov!” The author, for some reason, calls this entirely possible decision—and one that, if implemented, would be highly positive for the fate of the North Caucasus regions—a “catastrophe” for the “Russian and indeed the indigenous population of the region” living there. The natural question arises: on what basis is such a conclusion being made? Is it not Ramzan Kadyrov who, in record time, restored a republic destroyed to its foundations and achieved victory over terrorism? Is it not Ramzan Kadyrov who is one of the key figures in the security system of the entire North Caucasus region, is it not he who is the initiator and, in a sense, the driving force behind virtually all the positive changes taking place in southern Russia? Who in the region is a greater champion of the state than Ramzan Kadyrov? ** “Despite the fact that, in the eyes of many soldiers and officers of the Russian army, as well as ordinary people, he remains an ordinary bandit who first committed mass murders of Russian citizens and then defected to the side of the federal troops and became the leader of the Chechen nation…,” the author continues to invent. What “mass murders of Russian citizens” allegedly committed by R. Kadyrov is the author talking about? What kind of baseless accusations are these against the highest-ranking official of one of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation? Whom exactly did he kill, and what evidence does the author have for such sensational claims? Baseless accusations will have consequences. “For Mikhaylov’s information, it was Studenikins, Shamanovs, Budanovs, Ulmans, and Arakcheyevs who committed the mass murders of Russian citizens, carrying out the criminal orders of Yeltsin and Grachev, not Ramzan Kadyrov, who was only 14 years old at the time of the collapse of the USSR and D. Dudayev’s rise to power in Chechnya. ** As for the image of R. Kadyrov, who merely, in accordance with his own understanding of the situation and to the best of his abilities and ideas about self-defense, defended himself, his family, and the honor and dignity of his people, it was created precisely by scribbling provocateurs like Mikhaylov. What is interesting is that Novaya Gazeta, which usually proclaims liberal values, in Mikhaylov’s article suddenly adopted the position of hardened Russian nationalists. Here is what the author writes: “We have lost Stavropol, thanks to Moscow’s anti-Russian policy… After the mass flight of the Slavic population from Stavropol Territory, the only resistance can be offered by unregistered Cossacks and part of the population…” What resistance is the author talking about, and resistance to what? What can all this be called if not an open call for interethnic confrontation in the region? ** The author tries to portray the politician Ramazan Abdulatipov, respected throughout the post-Soviet space, who has begun restoring order in Dagestan, as a “weak leader,” thereby setting him against R. Kadyrov. But he is unlikely to succeed. In Chechnya they understand well what a burden the new Dagestani leader has taken upon himself and wish him success. God help him! As for the fabrications about Ramzan Kadyrov, as the saying goes, “the dog barks, but the caravan moves on.” We are preparing an official appeal to the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation regarding the publication in Novaya Gazeta of E. Mikhaylov’s article containing baseless accusations that the Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, committed grave crimes, as well as for the author’s incitement of interethnic hatred. ** Human Rights Commissioner in the Chechen Republic, Chairman of the Human Rights Commission of the Public Council of the North Caucasus Federal District N.S. Nukhazhiyev *http://www.grozny-inform.ru/main.mhtml?Part=8&PubID=42921 They’ve got a pretty sweet setup. So now any statement about the completely obvious displacement of the Russian population from Stavropol counts as interethnic hatred. “An open call for interethnic confrontation in the region.” And anyone who brings up Kadyrov’s crimes will be prosecuted for making baseless accusations of grave crimes.
What is especially magnificent is that they say they are seeking criminal prosecution of a journalist “for making baseless accusations of grave crimes,” while in the very same text they call, for example, General Shamanov the organizer of mass killings—even though he is, let me remind you, the current commander of Russia’s Airborne Forces. I would very much like to know what the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Shamanov’s immediate superior—the new defense minister, Sergei Shoigu—think about this.
If the official position of the leadership of one of the federal subjects is that the head of the Airborne Forces is an organizer of mass killings, then either the head of the Airborne Forces has to go, or the leadership of that federal subject does. Aaaaah... right, I forgot... that rule would apply if we were talking about a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, but here, obviously, it’s a different case.