Advertisement

Thousands rally in Chechnya to back Putin ally, condemn Kremlin foes

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, December 10, 2015. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin

GROZNY/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Thousands of people gathered in the capital of Chechnya on Friday to voice support for the region's pro-Kremlin leader Ramzan Kadyrov who has become locked in an increasingly strident war of words with Vladimir Putin's political opponents. Documents leaked online beforehand suggested the authorities had made attendance at the rally compulsory for those working in the state sector, including for teachers, though the authorities said the rally was a genuine outpouring of support for Kadyrov. Two attendees told Reuters they had been forced to turn up. Kadyrov, 39, a former Chechen rebel turned Kremlin ally, has made a series of strongly-worded verbal tirades against the liberal opposition in recent weeks, calling them "enemies of the people," a Stalin-era phrase some of Putin's rivals see as an implicit death threat. He also said some opposition figures should be locked up in psychiatric hospitals, recalling an infamous Soviet practice of silencing dissent. Human rights activists and liberal politicians have condemned Kadyrov with some calling him "Russia's shame." The Kremlin has given him broad support. The row has erupted ahead of the first anniversary of the murder of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov next month. Police have charged a group of Chechen men with that killing. Kadyrov has denied involvement. Thousands of Chechens took to the central square of Grozny, the Chechen capital, on Friday to voice support for Kadyrov and back his campaign against Putin's opponents. "Some people are trying to use the country's complex economic situation for their own dirty agenda to destabilise things," Magomed Daudov, the speaker of the Chechen parliament, told the crowd. "These people are traitors." Daudov earlier this month posted a picture on the Internet of Kadyrov restraining an enormous dog called "Tarzan," hinting the animal could be set on the liberal opposition. Other speakers spoke of "a fifth column" inside Russia and of pro-Western groups plotting to collapse the country. Ruslan, a Grozny resident and a government employee, said he had been coerced into attending. "I came today because going to meetings, in our leadership's opinion, is part of our job," he told Reuters. "I was obliged to turn up. I'm sick of carrying out other people's will." He declined to give his surname. Many in the crowd carried portraits of Kadyrov and Putin as well as Russian and Chechen flags. One giant poster declared that Kadyrov was "a servant of the almighty and of the people and Putin's foot soldier." State media said the rally had attracted over one million people. A Reuters reporter said thousands were present. The official population of Chechnya is 1.37 million. The crowd, who regularly, broke out into cries of Allahu Akbar, finished the event by repeatedly chanting "Ramzan." (Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Richard Balmforth)