What Is Behind Rumors About Kadyrov's Fatal Illness?

The Kremlin warned the head of Chechnya.

Kadyrov Jr. met with Putin on the eve of his wedding. This story has inspired a mass of rumors, among which the main one is that Ramzan Kadyrov is terminally ill.

So, what does all this really mean?

Kadyrov is not going to die tomorrow, as many believe. But for some reasons that are not yet clear to us (deterioration of the physical condition can also be the case), Kadyrov decided to officially introduce his son into politics. And yesterday's meeting is, first of all, an act of blessing on this path from Putin.

Anyone who believes that tomorrow Kadyrov Jr. will become the leader of Chechnya is mistaken. So far, this is only a likely beginning of the process of coming to power, which will take some time. Now it is primarily a demonstration of a successor (crown prince) and watching the elites, how they will react.

Putin's meeting was clearly being prepared for a certain period of time. The first touchstone was thrown by Kadyrov a month and a half ago, when he made a statement that he was already an “old governor”, and that he should make way for the young ones. The second such “call” was made before the New Year, when Kadyrov showed how he was doing push-ups from the floor: by doing so, he demonstrated that he was not so much in good physical shape as definitely not in the dying phase. Also, do not forget that Kadyrov deliberately promoted the story of his sons “going to war”.

We should not forget that lately Putin has somewhat distanced Kadyrov from himself against the backdrop of the latter's active media campaign to criticize the head of the General Staff, Gerasimov. At the same time, unlike Prigozhin, Kadyrov understood the hint and practically fell silent, ceasing to criticize the army leadership.

A separate plot in this story is a poisonous letter from which one of the Chechen commanders, Apty Alaudinov, suffered. Relations between Kadyrov and Alaudinov cannot be called cloudless, but it is unlikely that the leader of Chechnya could send such a letter. The most likely version is that the author of the letter is the FSB, which could hardly have done this without the consent of Putin. It was a warning to both Kadyrov and all the Chechen elites that Chechnya was their place. From that moment, by the way, the Chechens actually ceased to appear in criminal chronicles and scandals. Apparently, the order was given to everyone to lay low.

The most likely reason for the meeting between Putin and Kadyrov Jr. is a demonstration that Putin has at least partially forgiven Kadyrov for his previous antics. However, for now, he keeps him at bay.

In relations between Moscow and Grozny, a situation has developed in which Kadyrov depends on Putin no less than Putin does on Kadyrov. That is why, despite the latest disagreements and even the probable (albeit unconfirmed) illness of the leader of Chechnya, Putin demonstrates that he does not see any new leader in Chechnya who is not from the Kadyrov clan.

Vadim Denisenko, Facebook