Orientalists explain Kadyrov's spending on making medals and orders

In Chechnya, awards have a special meaning and support Kadyrov's cult; the awarding demonstrates how loyal an official is to the leadership, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 11, the Chechen governmental committee for state orders posted an application on the state procurement website for the purchase of 15 medals named after the first Chechen President Akhmat Kadyrov and 15 Kadyrov's orders. The overall cost of the awards will be 10.2 million roubles.

Oleg Orlov, a board member of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that such awards are very important for Chechen officials. According to his story, "any official in Chechnya dreams of receiving such an award," because this means promotion along the hierarchy built by Kadyrov, an important element of climbing the bureaucratic stairs.

Mikhail Roschin, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that receiving as award is important to the recipient – as a person who has been singled out against the background of the rest; besides, it supports Kadyrov's cult. "In Chechnya, awards have a special meaning, not the same as in other regions," Mr Roschin told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The awarding process and participants thereof are important, said Professor Alexei Malashenko, the head of scientific studies at the "Civilizations' Dialogue" Institute. "An award is a formalized loyalty to Kadyrov. [...] This is a sign of honour, meaning that the awardee has proved his loyalty to Kadyrov," Mr Malashenko told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 23, 2020 at 11:32 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.