On January 20, Zarema Musayeva, the wife of former Chechen Supreme Court judge Saidi Yangulbayev, who resided in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, was taken by unknown individuals who said they were police officers, for questioning. A lawyer from Nizhny Novgorod, Natalia Dobronravova, whom Musayeva called for assistance, reported that the men had been in plain clothes and masked, and had summoned Musayeva to appear as a witness in a fraud case being investigated by the Chechen Interior Ministry. She said: "They dragged her out of the apartment by force; the woman lost consciousness, and they dragged her down the stairs." Chechnya ruler Ramzan Kadyrov defended the action and claimed that Musayeva had assaulted a police officer and had ignored three previous summonses, and that everything had been done legally. Following Musayeva's abduction, Saidi Yangulbayev and his daughter left Russia.
Saidi Yangulbayev is the father of human rights activist Ibrahim Yangulbayev. Chechen authorities suspect him of managing the "1ADAT" Telegram channel that is critical of Kadyrov. The Chechen authorities opened a case against Ibrahim Yangulbayev on charges of terrorism.[1]
Kadyrov went further. He branded Igor Kalyapin, a member of the official Human Rights Council, and Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Milashina as terrorists and called upon the law enforcement agencies to detain "these terrorist accomplices"[2] "What facts do you need to prove that they are terrorists, terrorist accomplices? What are you investigating?"[3]
The liberal media decided to hit back at Kadyrov. Novaya Gazeta Editor-In-Chief, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitri Muratov told RBC media that the newspaper submitted a complaint against Kadyrov to the Investigative Committee on January 31, 2022.[4] The paper claimed that this was a criminal case under Article 282 of the Russian Criminal Code governing "incitement of hatred or enmity." This crime carries a penalty of up to 6 years of imprisonment[5]
The editorial board of Echo of Moscow radio station expressed support for the "Dozhd" TV channel that had also been maligned by Kadyrov and for Novaya Gazeta. The radio station issued a statement, in which it urged President Vladimir Putin to intervene in the situation. The radio's Editor-In-Chief, Alexey Venediktov announced this via his Telegram channel. The statement said: "In connection with the threats made by the Head of the Chechen Republic against our colleagues at "Novaya Gazeta" and "Dozhd" TV channel, we would like to express our solidarity with the journalists of these publications... We appeal to the President of Russia, as the guarantor of the Russian Constitution, to intervene in this situation." [6]
The leader of the liberal Yabloko party Nicolay Rybakov joined the appeal to Putin: ""These [statements] worry us greatly, as the republican high officials are labeling as "terrorists" and "accomplices of terrorists" public and state figures of our country, including Igor Kalyapin, member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Elena Milashina, "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper journalist, as well as Novaya Gazeta and the "Dozhd" TV channel.
Rybakov explained that such statements constituted a threat to the lives of these people and the staff of these media."
Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov tried to keep Putin out of the picture and referred people to the law enforcement agencies, "If we are talking about safety, life and health of people, then this is an issue of law enforcement agencies, not of the Kremlin. There is no need for the Kremlin to follow up on this issue. The law enforcement agencies perform their functions and do so rather neatly.[7] Eventually, Peskov as a way to mollify the protesters, told Echo of Moscow "Yes, we've paid attention to this, we've paid attention to your appeal to the president. This appeal will be reported to the head of state today."[8]
Kadyrov's counterstroke was to stage a rally in Grozny that according to the local press that he controls assembled 400,000 people. The rally was unsanctioned, and the authorities have used the coronavirus epidemic as a way of clamping down on opposition rallies for health reasons. Ramzan Kadyrov thanked participants of the unsanctioned rally against the family of retired Chechen Supreme Court Justice, Saidi Yangulbayev, calling the demonstrators defenders of Islam who walked the path of ghazavat- holy war against foreigners.
Kadyrov claimed that those attempting to sow discord "suffered the same fate... And the same fate will befall anyone who encroaches on our peace, our religion, our honor and our accord," stressed Kadyrov.
Ismail Denilkhanov, Chairman of the Chechen Public Chamber, used the rally to appeal to Putin and the government "on behalf of all those present". He accused the Yangulbayev family of justifying terrorism and advocating the destruction of practically the entire Chechen people. Chechen Mufti Salakh-Hadji Mezhiyev said that the Yangulbayev's family "insulted the feelings of the believers."
A group of Chechen officials recorded a video that was screened on the BBC threatening Saidi Yangulbayev. "We will kill you, we'll rip off your head, rip out your tongue and hang you somewhere.[9]
The brutality of the affair shocked Russia, as did the demonstration that flouted health regulations in a country where the pandemic is raging. Below are two completely different takes on the affair that appeared in Echo of Moscow. The first is by Dmitry Gudkov, a former Duma member who became an opposition leader and fled recently to Ukraine, while the second is by political consultant Abbas Gallyamov. Gudkov asks why is everybody suddenly shocked. Kadyrov is not an outlier but epitomizes the Putin regime and its method of dealing with dissent. Gallyamov's appraisal is that Kadyrov senses weakness in Putin: ""Putin got weaker and Kadyrov feels it. He felt that Putin needs him now more than he himself needs Putin."[10] Putin needs Chechen bayonets to repress his opponents and perhaps employ in Ukraine. If Putin crosses Kadyrov, the latter can turn Chechnya into a seething cauldron of rebellion.
The two articles follow below:
Demonstrators back Kadyrov in Grozny. Placard in foreground reads "The Chechen people curse the Yangulbayev family." (Source: Kommersant.ru)
Dmitry Gudkov hopes that this time as opposed to countless other cases of Kadyrov's barbarity, civilized Russians will not try to repress what they have seen. He wrote:[11]
"Kadyrov doesn't go through flare-ups. There is nothing new in his henchmen's promises to cut off heads and stage terrorist attacks in Europe, We've witnessed all this many times before, and many times we have forgotten it, while exactly, according to Freud's theory, repressing them deeper into the subconscious.
"That's where Kadyrov resides [i.e. in the subconscious], bearded and snarling. He didn't disappear, he's always been like that. It's just that we were trying to rid ourselves of the terror, thoroughly turning a blind eye to it.
"But it is necessary to notice, and it's always necessary to remember.
Do you remember the Halimat Taramova case? It happened last June. Kadyrov's "siloviki" [umbrella term for various security officers] kidnapped this woman from a [female] shelter in Dagestan. Where is she now? Is she alive? We repressed the case from our memory and forgot about it, we recoiled from the truth that a person can be abducted for no reason and there will be no consequences for it. It's uncomfortable to live with the truth. After all we have 'civilization here,' Apple Pay and a new cafe opened yesterday...
"One year ago in Nizhny Novgorod, brothers Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isayev were abducted by Kadyrov's 'siloviki,' spending a year in captivity. The case is identical to that of Zarema Musayeva, except that she is accused of assaulting a security officer, and the brothers are accused of aiding and abetting terrorists. The proof in both cases is the same: it is nonexistent. So, do you remember about Salekh and Ismail?
"One can keep going further and deeper. Let's recall all the articles by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, for instance a recent story about how the regiment named after Akhmad Kadyrov kills people, later presenting their corpses as dead militants. One can recall the murder of Boris Nemtsov and Anna Politkovskaya, as well as numerous attacks abroad on Kadyrov's enemies. And it wasn't today that [deputy Adam] Delimkhanov accidentally dropped his golden pistol in the State Duma, and it wasn't today that he ordered the assassination of Kadyrov's enemies in Turkey (it happened in November actually).
"Kadyrov is going nowhere. He is always like that. It's just that multiple beams of light converged in the Yangulbayev family case: a former judge, a central Russian region, the "1ADAT" Telegram channel, prompt media coverage of the events.
"So, it turned out that this powerful searchlight brought a dark corner of the country's subconscious into focus, where Kadyrov is sitting in his web, gnawing at the bones of his victims. And once again it became frightening. And once again this will be [psychologically] repressed.
"What about the authorities, you ask? Well, those in the Kremlin always act in the same way. They either keep silent or support it. After all, everyone has forgotten this photo, right? It was taken in 2016. The entire TV community, all sorts of "Baskovs" [Russian pop singer], stood there with the same placards.[12]
Holding the placards in this 2016 phot that read #Kadyrov Russian patriot, are the Secretary of the United Russia Party General Council Sergei Neverov, the leader of the United Russia Duma faction Vladimir Vasilyev, as well as the chairperson of the Duma Security Committees Irina Yarovaya. (Source: Dosug.md)
"It's because Kadyrov is not just always with Russia, like a [happy] holiday. He is really Russia, not the mirage country with connotations about a bright future, but the genuine Russia. A Russia, where the cops break people's arms out of sheer brutality, in which people are being tortured with mops (this trend emanated from Kadyrov's 'falcons,' who were engaged in this back in the early 1990s, I refer you to Novaya Gazeta), in which they [the siloviki] smeared [people's] livers on the asphalt, and assemble Grozny for rallies, like today. It's a matter of nuances whether they orchestrated a massacre in Charlie Hebdo or just wanted to cut off their heads.
"I wish that today's situation will not be forgotten. And maybe new victims won't die in silence, and society won't again duck reality in a pillow.
"Let's try not to forget at least this time and not be surprised, when next time they'll come for you."
Dmitry Gudkov (Source: Rosbalt.ru)
In a post titled "The Time When Putin Could Have Solved the Problem of Kadyrov is Over"[13], Abbas Gallyamov, a former Putin speechwriter writes that even if Putin wanted to rein in Kadyrov it is too late because Putin has become too dependent and Kadyrov has become too powerful.
"It was necessary to solve the 'problem of Kadyrov,' when Putin was truly popular, i.e. when in order to win the election he didn't have to resort to mass repression against the disgruntled.
"Indeed, one must understand that for an authoritarian leader there is never an ideal situation that will allow him to rule the country without reliance upon force. However, politically-speaking, 5 years ago Putin was much stronger than now. Back then he could order the arrest and trial of several people from Kadyrov's close circle without fearing that he [Kadyrov] could get out of control. In Putin's best years the latter would have had to submits. And his guards would've known that Putin is in charge, and one couldn't go against him, even if Kadyrov ordered it.
"But, now it's too late. Today's Putin, first of all, badly needs Kadyrov's "bayonets," as without them his ability to hold on to power will be greatly restricted. After all, the best paramilitary forces in the country are the Chechens, as they might be called at any given moment to crush the opposition. Russian security and law enforcement agencies will definitely falter at some point, as it was the case in February of 1917, or in 1991.
"Besides, do not forget the prospects of war with Ukraine, as it's also not off the agenda, as you know. So, it's better to have the Chechens there, too, than to make war without them.
"Let's imagine the situation, in which 400 thousand Chechnya residents gather for a rally in Grozny and state, "Putin has deceived us. He has been deceiving us for all of 20 years [of his rule]. There is no democracy in the country, the regions are deprived of any rights, human rights are violated, corruption is flourishing. We refuse to obey this president and urge the residents of other regions to follow our example." Can you imagine this picture? It would be a catastrophe. The pacification of Chechnya is one of the two or three key merits that Putin is able to present to the public. What would happen if it turns out that there has been no reconciliation, that it all has been a "Tale of Lost Time?" It would be a fiction, not a distinction. Putin is no longer in a position to take such risks, and the main problem is that Kadyrov understands this.
"And, please, don't argue that the federal authorities can turn off the financial "faucet" to the republic. It's not the case anymore. Because if they do, Kadyrov won't starve to death. His reserves will last him and his guards for many years. But the aforementioned rally might happen the day before tomorrow. And it will be attended not by 400 thousand Chechens, but by all 800 thousand."
Abbas Gallyamov (Source: M,business.gazeta.ru)
[1] Rbc.ru, January 31, 2022.
[2] Ria.ru, February 3, 2022.
[3] Rbc.ru., February 2, 2022.
[4] Rbc.ru., February 2, 2022.
[5] Rbc.ru, January 31, 2022.
[6] Rbc.ru, February 2, 2022.
[7] Rbc.ru, February 2, 2022.
[8] Russian.rt.com, February 2, 2022.
[9] Rbc.ru, February 3, 2022.
[10] Tv.rain.ru, February 2, 2022.
[11] Echo.msk.ru, February 2, 2022.
[12] The hashtag and flash mobs were in defense of Kadyrov after he had provoked controversy by referring to the non-systemic opposition as enemies of the people. Dosug.md, January 22, 20216.
[13] Echo.msk.ru, February 3, 2022.
