Researchers compare "Akhmatization" of Chechnya with cults of Soviet leaders

In Northern Caucasus, there was no tradition to perpetuate rulers in names; therefore, the "Akhmatization" of Chechnya is akin to the cults of Lenin and Stalin, Orientalists have commented on the renaming of the Chechen cycling club "Gorets" (Highlander) into "Akhmat".

The "Gorets" cycling club, operating in Chechnya since 2012, has been renamed into "Akhmat", the "Caucasian Knot" was told at the Ministry of Sports of Chechnya.

Residents of Chechnya treat the renaming of the cycling club into "Akhmat" as excessive. "This is too much even for our republic, where everything is usually called 'Akhmat' – dwelling settlements and sports clubs," said Askhab, a resident of Grozny.

Akhmet Yarlykapov, an Orientalist, has noted that Chechen authorities have based their ideology on the "special role" of Akhmat Kadyrov as a "national hero and founder of modern Chechnya."

Mr Yarlykapov has emphasized that there is no tradition in the customs of North-Caucasian nations to glorify rulers in names.

Akhmed Gisaev, the head of the Human Rights Analysis Centre, sees the influence of the authoritarian political culture in the "Akhmatization" of Chechnya.

Ramzan Kadyrov's retinue treats his father as the best of the leaders of Chechnya, said Zaurbek Sadakhanov, a lawyer. "They treat any dissent as a failure to understand the importance of Akhmat Kadyrov' way," he said.