Sanctions deal another blow to Kadyrov's favourite hobby

The Arab racehorse coach has lost his license because of his ties with Ramzan Kadyrov. This measure hit the head of Chechnya, Alexei Malashenko, a political analyst, believes. Magomed Khamidov, another political analyst, has noted that residents of the republic treat Kadyrov's hobby for horses as a whim of a rich man.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that horses are one of Kadyrov's income sources. One of the horses was presented to him by the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Human rights defenders have pointed out that the cost of the horse significantly exceeded the allowable value of a gift that a Russian official may take.

The Emirates Racing Authority has suspended the racehorse licence of the coach, Satish Simar, who is a six-time champion. The reason was that in 2020, Simar came under US sanctions for his ties with Kadyrov.

Simar had trained the Kadyrov's horse named "North America" since 2016.

Alexei Malashenko has noted that the sanctions against Simar caused some damage to Kadyrov as well. However, he has added that the sanctions are unlikely to affect the desire of foreign specialists, especially from third countries, to cooperate with Kadyrov.

According to Said-Alvi Shaptukaev, an equestrian coach in Chechnya, "for Kadyrov, horses are even superior that boxing."

Kadyrov's hobby for equestrian sports is negatively perceived by residents of Chechnya, Mr Khamidov believes. "Amid people's life hardships these races look wild," he has stated.

In August 2020, Kadyrov decided to expand the hippodrome under construction in Grozny, by adding another 600-seat stand to the available 1600-seat one. Instagram users have criticized this decision, believing that Chechen authorities should first solve the unemployment problem in the republic.