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Kadyrovites
Kadyrovites or Kadyrovtsy (Russian: Кадыровцы) or Akhmat (Russian: Ахмат) is an informal term of Chechnya-based detachments of National Guard of Russia ("Rosguard"), Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Russian Ministry of Defence. The name refers to Akhmad Kadyrov, 1st President of the Chechen Republic and father of Ramzan Kadyrov. While technically subordinated to Russian state agencies, they enjoy a special treatment and some describe them as "Kadyrov's private army". Some Kadyrovite units are in charge of guarding Chechnya oil fields and Tsentaroi, now Akhmat-Yurt, Kadyrov's home village.
In 2015 BBC reported that a considerable part of Kadyrovites were Chechen Republic of Ichkeria militants pardoned by Russian president Vladimir Putin under the word of Ramzan Kadyrov, with their numbers informally estimated in the range of 10,000–30,000.
The Kadyrovites have been criticized as being Ramzan Kadyrov's private army, and have been accused of committing widespread human rights abuses such as kidnapping, forced disappearances, torture and murder. Critics claim the Kadyrovites use extrajudicial punishment to cement Kadyrov's autocratic rule. By mid-2000s they surpassed Russian federal servicemen as the most feared organization among Chechnya's civilian population. Under Kadyrov's orders, the Kadyrovites committed anti-gay purges in Chechnya. The Kadyrovites have also been involved in international conflicts including the Syrian Civil War in 2017 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
After Akhmad Kadyrov's defection to the Kremlin side in 1999, he and his followers fought for Russia against Maskhadov government troops and Islamist insurgents. The return of Russian rule over Chechnya was declared in July 2000, beginning the "guerrilla phase" of the conflict. Kadyrov was appointed as acting President of the Chechen Republic by Russian president Vladimir Putin, and was elected President of the Chechen Republic on 5 October 2003. The Kadyrovites acted as bodyguards to Kadyrov, who was the target of several assassination attempts. The security detail was headed by Movladi Baisarov.
Technically still a personal militia, the Kadyrovites functioned as an unofficial part of the Chechen Republic's state police, without legal status in either the republican or federal government. In May 2003, the group established effective control over the Chechen OMON, then estimated at 300 men, which had been considered one of the strongholds of anti-Kadyrov opposition. It was led by Musa Gazimagomadov, who died in a road accident under "strange circumstances". Afterwards, the Kadyrovite OMON was run by Ruslan Alkhanov, a former rebel commander amnestied just a year before,[citation needed] and who later became the Chechnya's Interior Minister.
Kadyrov was killed on 9 May 2004 in the 2004 Grozny stadium bombing, in what is considered to be a deliberate assassination. Control of the Kadyrovites passed to his son, Ramzan Kadyrov, who was second-in-command of the militia. At that point, the backbone of the militia still consisted of former separatist fighters (more than 70% in 2004, according to the Russian military sources), and their allegiance to the new leader was questioned. Many continued serving as Kadyrovites under Ramzan due to implicit threats on their relatives' welfare; coercion was commonly used in Chechnya to demand compliance. Hostage-taking in particular was widespread and affected many in the country, including former rebel Minister of Defence Magomed Khambiyev.
Shortly after Akhmad Kadyrov's death, the unit of the Kadyrovites responsible for his protection was formally disbanded. Most of the remaining units were integrated into Russian law enforcement agencies and security authorities in Chechnya under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Later two Kadyrovite units were formed: the "Akhmad Kadyrov" Second Road Patrol Regiment of the Police (PPSM-2, Kadyrov Regiment), and the regiment for the protection oil and gas objects informally known as Neftepolk ("Oil Regiment"), headed by the Kadyrov's cousin Adam Delimkhanov.
By 2006, the total number of Kadyrovites, who by then included the PPSM-2, the Oil Regiment, and so-called Anti-Terrorist Centers (commanded by Muslim Ilyasov), was no longer being disclosed. An intern at Memorial estimated that they numbered around 5,000 people, as did a 2007 a similar Reuters estimate.
Kadyrovites
Kadyrovites or Kadyrovtsy (Russian: Кадыровцы) or Akhmat (Russian: Ахмат) is an informal term of Chechnya-based detachments of National Guard of Russia ("Rosguard"), Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Russian Ministry of Defence. The name refers to Akhmad Kadyrov, 1st President of the Chechen Republic and father of Ramzan Kadyrov. While technically subordinated to Russian state agencies, they enjoy a special treatment and some describe them as "Kadyrov's private army". Some Kadyrovite units are in charge of guarding Chechnya oil fields and Tsentaroi, now Akhmat-Yurt, Kadyrov's home village.
In 2015 BBC reported that a considerable part of Kadyrovites were Chechen Republic of Ichkeria militants pardoned by Russian president Vladimir Putin under the word of Ramzan Kadyrov, with their numbers informally estimated in the range of 10,000–30,000.
The Kadyrovites have been criticized as being Ramzan Kadyrov's private army, and have been accused of committing widespread human rights abuses such as kidnapping, forced disappearances, torture and murder. Critics claim the Kadyrovites use extrajudicial punishment to cement Kadyrov's autocratic rule. By mid-2000s they surpassed Russian federal servicemen as the most feared organization among Chechnya's civilian population. Under Kadyrov's orders, the Kadyrovites committed anti-gay purges in Chechnya. The Kadyrovites have also been involved in international conflicts including the Syrian Civil War in 2017 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
After Akhmad Kadyrov's defection to the Kremlin side in 1999, he and his followers fought for Russia against Maskhadov government troops and Islamist insurgents. The return of Russian rule over Chechnya was declared in July 2000, beginning the "guerrilla phase" of the conflict. Kadyrov was appointed as acting President of the Chechen Republic by Russian president Vladimir Putin, and was elected President of the Chechen Republic on 5 October 2003. The Kadyrovites acted as bodyguards to Kadyrov, who was the target of several assassination attempts. The security detail was headed by Movladi Baisarov.
Technically still a personal militia, the Kadyrovites functioned as an unofficial part of the Chechen Republic's state police, without legal status in either the republican or federal government. In May 2003, the group established effective control over the Chechen OMON, then estimated at 300 men, which had been considered one of the strongholds of anti-Kadyrov opposition. It was led by Musa Gazimagomadov, who died in a road accident under "strange circumstances". Afterwards, the Kadyrovite OMON was run by Ruslan Alkhanov, a former rebel commander amnestied just a year before,[citation needed] and who later became the Chechnya's Interior Minister.
Kadyrov was killed on 9 May 2004 in the 2004 Grozny stadium bombing, in what is considered to be a deliberate assassination. Control of the Kadyrovites passed to his son, Ramzan Kadyrov, who was second-in-command of the militia. At that point, the backbone of the militia still consisted of former separatist fighters (more than 70% in 2004, according to the Russian military sources), and their allegiance to the new leader was questioned. Many continued serving as Kadyrovites under Ramzan due to implicit threats on their relatives' welfare; coercion was commonly used in Chechnya to demand compliance. Hostage-taking in particular was widespread and affected many in the country, including former rebel Minister of Defence Magomed Khambiyev.
Shortly after Akhmad Kadyrov's death, the unit of the Kadyrovites responsible for his protection was formally disbanded. Most of the remaining units were integrated into Russian law enforcement agencies and security authorities in Chechnya under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Later two Kadyrovite units were formed: the "Akhmad Kadyrov" Second Road Patrol Regiment of the Police (PPSM-2, Kadyrov Regiment), and the regiment for the protection oil and gas objects informally known as Neftepolk ("Oil Regiment"), headed by the Kadyrov's cousin Adam Delimkhanov.
By 2006, the total number of Kadyrovites, who by then included the PPSM-2, the Oil Regiment, and so-called Anti-Terrorist Centers (commanded by Muslim Ilyasov), was no longer being disclosed. An intern at Memorial estimated that they numbered around 5,000 people, as did a 2007 a similar Reuters estimate.