In a video on his Telegram channel, Mr Kadyrov said he had been president of Chechnya in Russia’s North Caucasus for 15 years and did not want to “overstay” his welcome. “We have a saying among Caucasians, Chechens. No matter how respected and long-awaited a guest is, if he leaves on time, then it is even more pleasant,” he said in the video shot in his luxurious palace in Grozny. “I think my time has come.” Mr Kadyrov is a keen user of social media and in typical fashion laughed and smiled throughout the short video.
A vocal supporter of Putin
He was promoted to leader of Chechnya by Mr Putin in 2007 and has been a staunch supporter of the Russian president ever since, backing the initial invasion of Ukraine in February with his fighters. Kadyrov’s father, Akhmat, had fought Russian forces in the first Chechen war in the mid-1990s, but switched sides for the second war a few years later. He was made leader of Chechnya by Putin in 2000, but was killed by a bomb in 2004. The video of Mr Kadyrov suggesting he may step down as leader of Chechnya comes as the Kremlin’s six-month war in Ukraine winds down. Western analysts were surprised by Mr Kadyrov’s video.
“Drastic change of tone”
Samuel Ramani, a fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in London, said it would be a huge blow to Mr Putin if Mr Kadyrov did follow through on his threat to quit. “This is a drastic change of tone, as a few days ago, Kadyrov stated that his units in Chechnya Kadyrovchi would be ready to advance all the way to Europe,” he said. Other analysts were more cautious. “He has said such things before,” said Ivan Klyszcz, a North Caucasus analyst based at the University of Tartu in Estonia. “These usually arrive when he wants to get something from Putin, at least a public expression of support.” Despite their fearsome reputation, Chechen fighters generally underperform in Ukraine. They have been derided as the “TikTok Order”, a reference to their interest in filming themselves messing around with guns and captured motorbikes. Chechen fighters were prominent in the early months of the war, but this has since declined.
