Chechnya’s strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov has launched a blistering attack on two of Vladimir Putin‘s most trusted and senior officials.
Kadyrov’s outburst was directed at Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia‘s Investigative Committee, and Vladimir Kolokoltsev, the Minister of Internal Affairs.
The former is one of Putin’s closest allies and the latter was directly appointed to his post by the Russian leader.
Kremlin observers see Kadyrov’s public attack on the two men as an open challenge to Putin’s authority and a sign of growing dissent and splits among the Russian elite.
The Chechen strongman, also a key Putin ally, is furious that police have placed a Chechen teenager under house arrest for his alleged involvement in an act of hooliganism.
The fourteen-year-old was reportedly part of a group of five youngsters who allegedly beat up eight people at a Moscow shopping centre and the Khodynka Pole park in September 2023.
Shocking video footage purportedly showing the violent attack in the park has been posted to social media channels.
Russian investigators arrested the culprits and charged them with hooliganism, placing the fourteen-year-old Chechen under house arrest.
In his defence, the Chechen youngster claims he was only trying to defend his friends.
With the case set to go to trial, Kadyrov has decided to publicly intervene, ominously warning Putin’s close allies not to overstep their authority.
“The people sitting at the top — the investigative authorities led by Bastrykin and Kolokoltsev — are not in their places, » he told a press conference.
« They won’t put him in jail, they won’t do anything to him. I personally spoke to everyone. He will be released soon, » he boasted.
Anton Gerashchenko, a former advisor to Ukraine‘s Internal Affairs Minister and a Kremlin expert, claimed Kadyrov was « openly opposing » Putin.
« Bastrykin is one of Putin’s closest allies. Kolokoltsev is a direct appointee of Putin, » he commented on his X channel.
« By opposing them, Kadyrov is sending a clear signal: Putin does not command him.
« Kadyrov’s message to Russian authorities: You can detain, beat, and prosecute only Russians. Chechens are outside the legal framework of Russia.
« The ruler of Chechnya is clearly steering towards a reality where Chechens have a ‘special status’ not just in Chechnya, but across Russia, positioning himself as above Russian law. »
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