People from Kadyrov's retinue become his representatives in sectors of Chechnya

Ramzan Kadyrov has split Chechnya into sectors and appointed law enforcers and officials from his close encirclement to control the work of municipalities. Kadyrov has strengthened the manual ruling regime by copying the Russian administrative system at the republic's level, the political analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have noted.

The head of Chechnya has declared to his subordinates his decision to split the republic into eight territorial sectors to control the resolution of issues of socioeconomic development. A responsible official is assigned to each of the sectors, Ramzan Kadyrov said at a sitting in Grozny on August 15.

Ramzan Kadyrov himself took the control over the largest and most densely populated first sector, which includes the city of Grozny and the Grozny District. People from Kadyrov's inner circle, including three law enforcers, were appointed to head the remaining seven sectors.

In the opinion of Ruslan Kutaev, the head of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, the control principle introduced by Kadyrov will entail no noticeable administrative or political changes. "Kadyrov has been ruling the republic manually; and he'll go on doing it, by solving all the Chechen problems. However, the changes may affect his closest associates. It is known that Magomed Daudov is responsible for the internal affairs of Chechnya; and the new protégés will actually encroach on his functions, if they report directly to Kadyrov," Mr Kutaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The new administrative model of Chechnya means a Kadyrov's "tightening of power," said Professor Alexei Malashenko, Director of Scientific Studies at the "Dialogue of Civilizations" Institute.

"Now, districts get under personal subordinate to Kadyrov: his appointed representatives, not districts heads, will report exclusively to the head of the republic, and respond only to him. We've seen once again that Chechnya is a model of Russia with its national bias; at the regional level, Chechnya reproduces the model of ruling that is observed throughout Russia," Mr Malashenko told the "Caucasian Knot".

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 16, 2019 at 09:13 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.