Islam Kadyrov's video is a link in cleansing Chechen leader's encirclement

The screening by the "Grozny" ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Company) of a video showing the cruelty of Islam Kadyrov, a former Mayor of Grozny, is explained by the cleansing of Ramzan Kadyrov's retinue conducted upon his permit, Alexei Malashenko and Sergey Zhavoronkov, political analysts, believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has launched a check after the release of a footage, in which Islam Kadyrov, who was the Mayor of Grozny in 2012-2015 and then held high posts in the republic's government, threatens local residents with execution and uses an electric shocker (stun gun).

Such a video report could appear on the air of the ChGTRK only with the permission of the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, who decided to start a "cleansing" his retinue, said Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst and the head of scientific studies at the "Dialogue of Civilizations" Institute.

"This is a sort of a warning to everyone else that he [Kadyrov] will clean off a part of his retinue, including the closest ones. He went all-in," Mr Malashenko told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Public executions of high-ranking officials in Chechnya are very rare, said Sergey Zhavoronkov, a senior collaborator at the E. T. Gaidar Economic Policy Institute.

He links the publication of the video with Ramzan Kadyrov's desire to get rid of potential rivals.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 26, 2019 at 07:04 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.