In his first visit to Chechnya in 13 years, Russian President Vladimir Putin met the Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, and inspected the troops and volunteers ready to go to Ukraine for frontline fighting.
Putin’s surprise visit to Chechnya seems a desperate measure to find solutions for the advancing Ukrainian military, which has captured sizeable portions of mainland Russia in Kursk and continue to expand their operations. Reportedly, Putin is now planning to launch a renewed offensive against Ukraine, for which he is seeking manpower from Chechnya.
During his visit, Putin spoke to the soldiers at the Russian Special Forces University and encouraged them that Russia remains “invincible” as long as such motivated soldiers are ready to defend it. Putin also told the soldiers that there is a big difference between training at a shooting range and taking part in intense battles, where soldiers have to put their bodies on the line in order to “defend the fatherland.”
Kadyrov told Putin that Chechnya has directed more than 47,000 soldiers and 19,000 volunteers towards Ukrainian battlegrounds since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Chechnya declared independence under the leadership of Dzhokhar Dudayev. However, Russia never recognized this independence, leading to two brutal wars in the 1990s as Russian forces sought to reassert control over the region. Russia eventually regained control after the Second Chechen War, and Chechnya was reintegrated as a federal subject of Russia. Today, while Chechnya is part of the Russian Federation, it retains a degree of autonomy under its pro-Russian leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, who is now helping Putin in his war against Ukraine.
The Russian second war against Chechnya was also initiated under the leadership of Putin, which helped him regain control of the region after killing more than 50,000 people. Today, the Russian military dominance essentially means that Chechnya leadership has no choice other than supporting Putin in the war, as not obeying his orders can even send Kadyrov packing. He has often called himself a “foot soldier” of Putin.
Kadyrov was himself installed in Chechnya by Putin back in 2007, and since then, he has extensively used Russian aid to rebuild his war-torn territory. However, he has also attracted criticism for severe human rights abuses and crushing dissent, which has also earned him the title “Chechen warlord.”
