GROZNY, Russia (AP) – The president of Chechnya on Monday denied rumors that his resignation is imminent and made veiled criticism of the war-battered Russian province’s powerful Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov.
Kadyrov and Chechen President Alu Alkhanov are seen as being engaged in a power struggle, and rumors have been circulating in Chechnya that Alkhanov may be forced to step down.
“I would like to deny rumors about my forthcoming resignation,” Alkhanov said in remarks confirmed by his press service.
“Whether or not I will remain president fully depends on the will of the Almighty and the president of our country,” Alkhanov said, referring to Vladimir Putin. Under a law initiated by the Kremlin in 2004, regional leaders are no longer directly elected, but instead are selected by local legislatures and approved by the president.
In what appeared to be a swipe at Kadyrov, who has also been the focus of a growing personality cult, Alkhanov said that “totalitarian methods of government have always contradicted … the mentality of our people,” adding: “That is why, building a personality cult and idealizing one person will bring no good to our republic and its society.”
Banners draped across buildings praise Kadyrov, who is seen as more powerful and popular than Alkhanov, and the growing attention has led to speculation that he could replace Alkhanov as regional president.
Kadyrov – a son of Chechnya’s first Moscow-backed president, Akhmad Kadyrov, who was assassinated in 2004 – is conducting a major, largely federally funded campaign to rebuild the region, devastated by more than a decade of conflict and chaos. But his reputation is clouded by accusations that security forces under his command have been responsible for abuses in the region, which remains plagued by violence.
In a further sign of Chechnya’s political struggle, a regional official openly criticized Kadyrov. German Vok, the secretary of Chechnya’s Economic and Social Security Council, told Ekho Moskvy radio that Kadyrov is overstepping his authority, and suggested that some of his backers want independence for Chechnya – a warning to the Kremlin not to make him president.
“All those people who supported Dudayev are now in his team. They say they will accomplish what Dudayev wanted,” Vok said, referring to Dzhokhar Dudayev, the Chechen leader whose early 1990s independence drive prompted then Russian President Boris Yeltsin to send troops into the region, starting the first of two devastating wars in the region.
A Kadyrov presidency “could lead to a third Chechen campaign,” Vok said.
He said that as prime minister, Kadyrov should limited himself to economic issues. The 30-year-old Kadyrov is “too young, inexperienced, dependent on those who surround him,” he said, and he advised Kadyrov to “improve his education level and to get a good education.”
