Ilyas Mazhaev's return to homeland shows Chechen authorities' paternalism

By helping Ilyas Mazhaev to return to his relatives from Moscow, the authorities have shown that Ramzan Kadyrov is also the head of those Chechens, who are outside the republic, the analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have indicated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 18, the "Grozny" ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Company) showed a story about Ilyas Mazhaev, an elderly native of the Naur District, who, according to relatives, left home two years ago and lost contacts with his relatives, who publicly apologized for Mazhaev, which surprised local residents.

According to Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, in Moscow, Mazhaev was begging alms at one of the mosques and, talking to one of the believers, "urged to help him to return home." "He said that he was sick, exhausted and rotting alive. He tearfully asked to help him to return home, because he wanted to die there. He gave the address and told where his brother was. Most likely, Chechen authorities hurried up and reacted faster than Mazhaev's relatives and brought him home – of course, by making a goof self-promotion," Mr Kutaev has added.

Mikhail Roschin, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), has suggested that believers had delivered the information about the begging Chechen to Kadyrov. "Since the leadership of Chechnya is paternalistic in nature, it was decided to return Mazhaev home and hand him over to his relatives. The reaction of Chechen authorities is not surprising. In Chechnya [in general] they behave like a good father – they punish or thank, and now help to return home," Mr Roschin has pointed out.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 20, 2020 at 10:00 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.