The flag with Kadyrov at Yermolov's grave was an unsuccessful attempt at provocation.

The unknown author of a video featuring an Akhmat flag on the grave of Russian General Alexei Yermolov attempted to reignite the unit's conflict with blogger Max Divnich, but acted on his own initiative—without a clear plan or instructions from above, according to analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot."

As "Caucasian Knot reported, MMA fighter Max Divnich, an opponent of the head of the Akhmat special forces in public debate, published a video featuring an Akhmat flag on the grave of Russian General Alexei Yermolov, who fought against the Chechens. Judging by the context of the video, the flag was brought to the grave by an Akhmat supporter, although there is no reliable confirmation of its author's affiliation with the unit.

"Well, Max Divanovich. I've found your idol, Yermolov. What can I say? You can create a unit, a battalion, whatever you want under this famous name. But the main thing is that it be under our banner. 'Akhmat is strength. Russia is might. Allahu Akbar,'" the video's author says. The video, published on Divnich's Telegram channel on September 27, has been viewed by 71,900 users as of 11:20 PM Moscow time. Judging by the reactions, 3,600 subscribers laughed, while 862 users expressed confusion. Divnich himself admitted that he didn't understand the author's intentions, but decided to interpret the footage in a way that suited him. "The man went, took the time to visit the grave of the Great Commander, and even laid flowers. Well done," he wrote.

The conflict between Divnich and "Akhmat" has been going on for several weeks; their public polemics mentioning Yermolov arose back in the summer, and the flag with Ramzan Kadyrov's portrait on the general's grave is "just another episode in this story," says Vera Alperovich, an expert at the Sova Research Center*.

“Back in the summer, Divnich was outraged by the Sheikh Mansur Battalion and asked how you, Chechens, would react if we created a battalion named after Yermolov. Alaudinov reminded him of this in his address that summer,” she recalled. According to Alperovich, whoever placed Kadyrov's flag at Yermolov's grave "decided to taunt" the blogger.

She pointed out that the video could, to a certain extent, be considered a provocation. "Russian nationalists also don't mince words and regularly criticize both individual Chechens and the actions of Ramzan Kadyrov and the Akhmat Battalion. They dispute the role of Chechens in the SVO, believing that the Chechens are taking credit for others' achievements. However, this appears to be the initiative of a single individual who decided to call out Divnich's statements and poke fun at him," Alperovich believes.

Divnich's comment on this action, in turn, combines pragmatic conflict avoidance with trolling: he decided not to escalate the conflict, but he did poke fun at the author of the video in response, she noted.

Yermolov, according to her, is quite revered by Russian nationalists, but not as much as Shamil is in the Caucasus. Alperovich also believes that the rise of Chechen nationalism, like the nationalism of other peoples in the Russian Federation, is an expected response to the rise of Russian chauvinism.

“I think this is all a result of the fact that, thanks to the SVO, Russian nationalists and Chechens have found themselves so close to each other for the first time, and their spheres of interest have intersected. On the one hand, they seem to be doing the same thing, but on the other, mutual hostility regularly emerges. Plus, the ongoing rise of Russian nationalism in Russia as a whole cannot help but lead to a rise in all other nationalisms; that's basically how it works,” Alperovich explained.

Alexander Verkhovsky, head of the Sova Research Center*, also believes this was a lone wolf attack and that Divnich didn't mean to ignite a conflict. “Divnich doesn't want a conflict, and the perpetrator of the action, of course, wanted to provoke one. I don't know why, probably just to show off his prowess,” he told a Caucasian Knot correspondent.

According to Verkhovsky, the cult of Yermolov would not exist without his opposition to the Chechens. "Whereas for Chechens, the cult of Shamil is an integral part of the national myth," he emphasized.

Political scientist Ruslan Kutayev* also believes that the protest at Yermolov's grave was carried out by a lone individual. The purpose of the action is unclear, and the author's Chechen affiliation is also questionable, he noted.

"I don't know what he was trying to say. If he'd smashed that Yermolov bas-relief with a hammer, that would be a different matter: I would have understood that he was expressing his hatred for the enemy. But there's no goal there, no meaningful initiative. This man is most likely intoxicated with drugs or alcohol. He's trying, of course, to impersonate a Chechen accent, although I can clearly see that it's a contrived one," Kutayev* said.

According to the political scientist, the author of the video wanted to once again create a news story about "Kadyrov and the Kadyrovites." "I don't see any point in this for Kadyrov. I think it's just someone's stunt, to create a media precedent, to somehow spark a media conversation around Kadyrov's name and his followers. People are listening, watching, and liking it," Kutayev* concluded.

* are listed as foreign agents.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.