05 October 2018, 00:00
Residents of Grozny complain about being forced to attend MMA tournament
On October 4, the fight tournament in mixed martial arts (MMA) was held in Grozny with enhanced security measures. Fans were obliged to come to the tournament, reported students and public employees.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the day of October 5 was declared a non-working day in Chechnya in connection with the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Grozny.
Earlier, residents of Grozny have expressed their dissatisfaction with the preparations for the holiday. They criticized the authorities for the inflated budget of the celebration and declared the increased number of subbotniks and forced participation in them. The city residents also reported on the law enforcers' raids.
On October 4, out of ten fights of the MMA tournament, eight were won by athletes from the Chechen "Akhmat" fighting club, reported an official from Chechen Ministry of Sports. According to him, the sports hall designed to accommodate 5000 spectators was "completely full."
The territory of the sports hall was cordoned off, and to enter it, everyone had to undergo a personal search, reported Musa, a resident of Grozny.
"There was a very thorough inspection, perhaps, because Ramzan Kadyrov himself was there. That's why people were forced to come to fill the stands," Musa suggested.
Islam, a student of a Grozny's institution of higher education, has reported that students were obliged to come to the tournament as fans. Shamil, another student, has noted that the failure to come to the tournament threatened with non-admission to the exams.
There were a lot of true MMA fans at the tournament, noted Ramzan, an employee of a Grozny enterprise.
Earlier, in Chechnya, public employees and students have already complained about being obliged to take part in public events. So, on September 22, they complained about being forced to come to watch the matches of the "Akhmat" Football Club.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 5, 2018 at 12:16 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: CK correspondent
