A time bomb called Kadyrov

Putin’s relations with the Chechen president have soured so Russia’s spies prepare for war.

Ramzan Kadyrov is no longer Vladimir Putin’s protégé.

The bond that the presidents of Chechnya and the Russian Federation once shared, when they exchanged compliments and ceremonious greetings on social networks and in their respective national media, is now gone. The crisis in Ukraine and over the rouble have sounded alarm bells for the Kremlin leader, who has always preferred to silence dissenting voices within his power circles and who needs allies at his side now more than ever.

Kadyrov could be such an ally, if he would just stop fighting with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). As it stands, Putin’s intelligence agents are on the warpath over incessant provocations from the Chechen president. Indeed, Kadyrov governs ‘his’ republic as he pleases, proclaiming himself entirely autonomous from the Russian secret service. The FSB has become so frustrated about its inability to operate directly in Chechnya that this spring there were even rumours of a secret service coup against Putin, held to be culpable of backing his Chechen ally against the FSB.

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