Kadyrov Posts Video of Training After Break in Public Activity

Ramzan Kadyrov posted a video of himself exercising on a stationary bike, saying that he is “gradually” returning to exercise “after a break.” The post appeared after rumors of Kadyrov’s hospitalization and a pause in his public appearances.

As reported by “Kavkazsky Uzel,” in February, after a long absence from public view, the head of Chechnya said that “European and American newspapers” were spreading rumors about his illness, while he was only on official vacation. In early May, he once again commented on the possibility of his resignation, saying that he “himself asks” to be relieved of his post.

A video of the exercise bike workout was published on Ramzan Kadyrov's VKontakte page this afternoon, closer to the evening. "A light morning workout. After a break, you need to gradually return to full-fledged exercise," the caption to the video says.

In the video, Kadyrov is pedaling an exercise bike at a moderate pace, speaking in Chechen to a trainer who is off-camera. The trainer's speech includes the words "break" and "muscle recovery." Kadyrov's subscribers note in the comments that he has noticeably lost weight, and some wish him good health.

One of the commentators wrote that Kadyrov is sitting "on a rehabilitation machine" in the video. The journalist Alexander Plyushchev (recognized as a foreign agent by the Russian Ministry of Justice) also published a statement about the rehabilitation nature of Kadyrov's exercise machine on his Telegram channel.

Kadyrov published a video of the training after rumors about his hospitalization in Turkey: on June 25, the Turkish publication Haberler reported that while swimming in the sea, Kadyrov began to choke and an ambulance was called for him, after which he was hospitalized. The Bodrum TV channel Kent TV reported that the head of Chechnya was discharged from the clinic the next day. The Chechen authorities did not officially comment on these publications. “After this news, Kadyrov published a photo in which he is playing chess with his son, and then a video of him on a bicycle,” the channel “Beware, News” notes.

Journalists noted that Kadyrov had not appeared in public for five days after rumors of hospitalization, and as of today, had not participated in public events for a total of 11 days. They also noted that Aishat Kadyrova was spending her vacation in Turkey, which she wrote about on Instagram*.

Opposition Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov (recognized as a foreign agent by the Russian Ministry of Justice) commented on Kadyrov's video with irony: "Let's thank Kadyrov for the motivation, such a boost of energy is inspiring," he wrote on his channel.

* the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.