Kadyrov's succession in Chechnya

Moscow has reportedly taken the decision to replace him due to his increasingly precarious health, about which there is no clarity or documentation. In his place would be Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the bloody Akhmat battalion that co-fought in Syria and Ukraine. But many pretenders aspire to the succession in Grozny, not counting Kadyrov's twelve sons. 

Grozny (AsiaNews) - As the holidays of early May approach, and the proclamation of the new government of Vladimir Putin's fifth term, Russian politics is shaken by a series of opposing forces, similar to the 1990s-style "sharing of power" '90.

Rooted in this is the need to provide a clear and definitive image of the Russia of Victory, after two abundant years of war in Ukraine which seem to indicate the now unstoppable supremacy of Moscow over Kiev and its Western allies.

One of the most delicate issues concerns the fate of the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov - protagonist of the bloody phase of "breakthrough" in Ukraine together with the late Yevgeny Prigožin - who appears decidedly in a declining phase.

According to various sources, starting from those referred to by Novaja Gazeta Evropa, the presidential administration in Moscow took the decision to replace Kadyrov due to his increasingly precarious health conditions, on which, however, there is no clarity or documentation.

Apti Alaudinov would be installed in his place, the commander of the Akhmat battalion of the spetsnaz, the main "butchers" of special operations from Syria to Ukraine, recently appointed to a high position in the Russian Ministry of Defense, from which he was instead ousted deputy minister Timur Ivanov, right-hand man of minister Sergej Šojgu, on charges of corruption and perhaps treason.

For more than 20 years, Major General Alaudinov has been Kadyrov's dark shadow, both in the police and security services, and in the army and shock armies. Born in 1973 in the province of Stavropol, he graduated in law in 2001, when the war in Chechnya was still ongoing, starting to work in the prosecutor's office after having also worked as a trader in the markets, shortly after moving to the offices of the Ministry of the Interior as an inspector.

Not all of his activities in that period are clear, but the images showing Alaudinov together with Kadyrov son, as they mourn the death of their father Akhmat, who ended the war in the Caucasus together with Putin and then died in a mysterious attack are well known. at the Groznyj stadium, during a demonstration celebrating the victory on 9 May 2004.

As a special inspector of the police, Apti had many opportunities to demonstrate his loyalty to his friend the president, until in January 2017 he began to act in the Akhmat battalion, organizing the execution of dozens of prisoners, beating their relatives bloody, terrorizing all local inhabitants and threatening anyone who dared to criticize Kadyrov not only in Chechnya, but also outside its borders.

In 2019 he was sidelined due to accusations of having participated in a plot against the leader, which he firmly denied, but with the start of the war in Ukraine he returned to the head of the "butchers", also taking on the role of secretary of the Council of Groznyj, to the point of obtaining the recognitions of "Hero of Russia" and "Hero of Chechnya", also accumulating as medals the personal sanctions of the United States, Latvia, Great Britain, Poland and Ukraine.

Despite appearing to be a decisive and aggressive commander, the comments on the figure of General Alaudinov underline his inability to act autonomously, and the choice of succession would be a way of leaving the reins in the hands of Kadyrov, however under the strict control of the Kremlin, especially that the new leader could express himself in very fluent Russian, unlike Kadyrov himself.

According to some observers, such as the activist for the independence of Ichkeria Sajkhan Muzaev, "it is early to believe that the issue is already definitively resolved: loyalty is needed in Moscow, but the authoritativeness of the character is also very important, and Alaudinov in this sense is of low level."

Other Kadyrov loyalists aspire to the succession, such as the president of the republican parliament Magomed Daudov or the deputy of the Moscow Duma Adam Delimkhanov, who however could prove too cumbersome for Kadyrov and Putin, not to mention that Kadyrov's twelve children are on the horizon , one of which Alaudinov should warm the seat.

• Russia
• Cecenia
• Kadyrov
• Putin
• Alaudinov