Residents of Chechnya complain about increase in number of forced events

Employees of budget-funded organizations and agencies tell about three or four rallies, football matches and subbotniks that they had to attend within the month under a threat of dismissal. This is an all-Russian practice, and Ramzan Kadyrov has special relationships with Vladimir Putin, political analysts have pointed out.

Khamzat, a resident of Grozny, has noted that the most burdensome is to attend rallies.

The use of the so-called "administrative resources" is a common practice in Chechnya; the fact that Moscow gives no reaction to human rights violations when using state employees at various events is due to Kadyrov's special status and his good relations with President Putin, a political analyst asserts.

"In terms of human rights and freedoms, the today's Russia has reached the level of medieval states. Favouritism is ruling the country; and the tsar's first vassal is Kadyrov," he said.

Administrative resources are used in other regions of Russia too, where streets are cleaned, rallies in support of the authorities are held, and elections are falsified with the help and by means of state employees, said Yuri Efimov, a conflict expert.

It is illegal to force state employees to participate in subbotniks and attend football matches, since such duties are not prescribed found in their labour contracts, Evgeny Chernousov, a lawyer, has noted.