Analysts treat congress in Chechnya as demonstration of Kadyrov's populism

The events like the World Congress of Chechen Nations are usually held at the expense of the state budget and for the sake of a specific leader, said Ruslan Kutaev, President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations. Ali Bazhaev spoke at the congress on behalf of Chechens of France, but Chechens in Europe know neither him nor the organization he represents, the blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, has pointed out.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 23, the delegates of the World Congress of Chechen Nations adopted a resolution calling on Ramzan Kadyrov to nominate himself for the next election of the head of the region upcoming on September 19.

In realities of Northern Caucasus, such events as the above congress are held, as a rule, at the expense of the state budget, and in favour of a specific person, a leader, Mr Kutaev has explained. "The rest is a mass gathering for entourage," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, suggesting that business funds could also have been attracted to finance the event.

Most European Chechens have negative attitude towards Kadyrov personally, says Tumso Abdurakhmanov, a Chechen blogger. "At this congress, a certain Ali Bazhaev spoke on behalf of French Chechens, who was presented as a vice-president of the Alliance of Chechens in France. But neither Ali Bazhaev, nor the alliance he represents is known to the Chechen society of Europe. The overwhelming majority of Chechens first heard about this man and about this alliance," Tumso told the "Caucasian Knot".

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 24, 2021 at 09:46 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.