Experts on Caucasus state Kremlin's disregard of Chechens' humiliation

The practice of public humiliation of residents of Chechnya for criticizing Kadyrov will cease after the Kremlin's interference, but now, the federal centre ignores the problem. This was stated by Mikhail Roschin and Alexei Malashenko, experts on the Caucasus. Valery Borschov, a rights defender, believes that the situation will change only after the change of power in the republic.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that a woman-resident of Chechnya had apologized for her words about the illegal arrest of her husband. Earlier, she urged the head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, to intervene in the case on her husband's detention; he was accused of trying to join militants in Syria.

Mikhail Roschin, a senior researcher at the Centre for the Studying Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Urals and the Volga Region of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), also recalled the Aishat Inaeva's public refusal of her words about the collection of housing and communal fees, and apologies of Adam Dikaev, an Instagram user, for his criticizing Kadyrov's behaviour in social networks. In the opinion of Roschin, all the apologies were made under pressure.

The expert believes that persecutions of people who criticize Kadyrov are abnormal, because "people have no one to turn to for help," said Mr Roschin, noting that the all-Russian practices show that an appeal to the head of state may bring fruit. He recalled that the activist Ildar Dadin, the first Russia's convict under the article on repeated violations of the rules of holding rallies, and Evgenia Chudnovets, an educator from Ekaterinburg, convicted for reposting a video clip with a naked child, were released.

He is sure that "the people-Kadyrov dialogue can be established under the existing power. However, Moscow should interfere in the situation."

According to Alexei Malashenko, a member of the scientific board of the Moscow Carnegie Centre, there is no reason for Kadyrov to help his people and solve their problems, since in this case "Kadyrov will have to admit the mistakes of his special services, which detain innocent people."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.