Despite publicly pledging his support for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has largely avoided sending Chechens to the front en masse, The Economist reported on Aug. 11, citing a source close to the republic’s leadership.
Kadyrov does not want to sacrifice Chechnya’s population for the “Russian world,” the source said. At the same time, he has used the war to consolidate his power and suppress perceived disloyalty.
Kadyrov’s speeches are filled with bellicose attacks on the West and declarations of loyalty to Putin.
“We are ready to advance in whatever direction the supreme commander-in-chief chooses ... [our] special forces are literally fired up to carry out extremely difficult missions,” Kadyrov said on July 18.
He previously claimed that Chechnya had sent more than 70,880 fighters to the war — equivalent to 9% of the republic’s male population.
That would be the highest deployment rate of any Russian region. Yet Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet that tracks military fatalities, had recorded only 539 Chechen deaths on July 10. Chechens represented 0.2% of Russia’s recorded military deaths, despite accounting for 1.1% of its population.
Few Chechens are eager to fight for Russia after two brutal wars Moscow waged from 1994 to 2009 against the once-rebellious North Caucasus republic.
“Whatever Moscow’s interests may be in Ukraine, they are worlds apart from ours,” a prominent Chechen close to the republic’s leadership said.
Although Kadyrov boasts of being Putin’s “foot soldier,” the source said “the leader understands the situation perfectly well” and does not want to sacrifice his people for the “Russian world.”
Chechens have particular reasons to oppose the war, The Economist reported. Residents older than 35 remember the bombings and “cleansing operations” in which Russian forces committed atrocities in Chechnya — long before committing similar acts during the war in Ukraine, including in Bucha.
