15:56, 27 April 2023

Analysts assess degree of Kadyrov's influence on FSB

Ramzan Kadyrov. Collage by the "Caucasian Knot". Photo: RIA Novosti https://ru.wikipedia.org, Grozny Inform

The head of Chechnya, who has appointed his nephew, Khamzat Kadyrov, as his assistant for the power bloc of agencies, enjoys a special status among Russian governors and can influence the Russian power structures, including the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service), Amir Kolov, a Colonel at the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), has stated. Neither Ramzan Kadyrov nor his nephew is capable of significantly influencing the FSB, Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, has objected.

Kadyrov has appointed his nephew as his adviser for the power bloc after the report of the FSB's branch for Chechnya on the search for participants in the attack on policemen in Ingushetia.

Colonel Amir Kolov has noted that the head of Chechnya has built unique relationships with the federal centre. "Kadyrov can directly influence the appointment and removal of heads of law power structures," he believes.

On October 5, 2022, Kadyrov announced that he had been awarded the rank of colonel general. According to his version, the President of Russia personally informed him about this.

The main resource of Kadyrov's new assistant is that he is a nephew of the head of Chechnya, Ruslan Kutaev believes. "But neither he nor Ramzan Kadyrov himself have a decisive influence on the FSB," Mr Kutaev is sure.

The governance in Chechnya, like in Russia as a whole, is built on a system of personal loyalty, Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst, explained back in 2019.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 26, 2023 at 09:02 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: СK correspondent