Analysts explain background of armed fighters’ appeal to Putin and Kadyrov

Participants of the special military operation recorded a video message to Vladimir Putin and Ramzan Kadyrov to draw their attention to the criminal prosecution of a coach from Buynaksk, analysts note. The fighters held weapons in their hands to demonstrate their status, not as a threat, the analysts explain.

On August 23, the video message from armed participants of the special military operation (SMO) to Vladimir Putin and Ramzan Kadyrov was posted on the Internet with a request to take control of the investigation into the case against Timur Arslanbekov, a coach from Buynaksk, accused of attacking a law enforcer.

The video message of the fighters to Vladimir Putin with weapons in their hands may hardly be regarded as a demand, believes Doctor of Geographical Sciences Alexei Gunya, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). “They rather wanted to emphasize that they were part of the SMO and that their problem should be addressed,” the expert stated.

Such appeals are typical for the country participating in the special military operation, Alexei Gunya notes. According to him, the appeal of a group of fighters participating in the special military operation is not similar to the media statements voiced by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the “Wagner” PMC (Private Military Company).

According to Akhmet Yarlykapov, Senior Researcher at the Centre for Caucasus and Regional Security Issues at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (known as MGIMO), the very fact of such appeal suggests that the participants of the special military operation really want to help Timur Arslanbekov.