In the life of a famous Chechen politician, there are seven women whose fate is directly dependent on his success, his health and his longevity. and his women were recently declassified - these are his mother, wife and five beautiful daughters. According to Chechen customs, the mother always remains the head of the family. Her authority is unquestionable; even men listen to her opinion. She is the teacher of the son-president, the keeper of ancient traditions and the strict teacher of the daughter-in-law.
In honor of his mother, Aimani Kadyrova, the faithful wife of the first president of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Akhmetovich Kadyrov built a mosque. This is the first time in the history of the Muslim religion that a place of worship of Allah is named after a woman.
The most sophisticated materials were used in the creation of the temple.
Temporary materials and technologies that made the mosque a true star of the East, the heart of the faithful world and a place of worship for mothers who lost their loved ones in the fratricidal war.
Today, the great woman is trying to help orphaned children - she regularly participates in charity events, visits hospitals and orphanages.
Medni Kadyrova
The current head of the Chechen state met his wife when she was at school. The modest, black-eyed girl struck the courageous horseman in the very heart - he could barely wait for Medni to finish school. Since then they have been inseparable, and there are no other women in the life of Ramzan Kadyrov - she is the mother of his children and a faithful companion for many years.
According to Chechen custom, the wife has no right to participate in the affairs of her husband, but such wordless obedience is compensated by gifts - Medni cannot be called unhappy.
She regularly visits orphanages and hospitals, bringing with her generous donations and listening attentively to thousands of complaints. In addition, a kind woman took into her home two orphans - the sons of her husband's brothers-in-arms, who died at the hands of terrorists.
Although Allah did not deprive Ramzan Kadyrov’s family of his children - his beloved woman bore him 9 children, while remaining his tender shelter after hard work.
Today, under the auspices of the First Lady of Chechnya, a whole line of casual and festive clothing for Muslim women has been developed, which allowed her to register her own brand. The head of the Chechen Republic is very happy with his wife’s success, saying in his interviews that this will help familiarize the whole world with Muslim traditions. He hopes that the example of his wife will force modern Caucasian youth, in particular girls, to behave more modestly.
Kadyrov and polygamy
The repeated wishes of the President of the Chechen Republic to legalize polygamy caused a particular stir in the open media. Many publications hastened to declare Kadyrov an eligible bachelor and attribute to him an immediate readiness to acquire a second wife. Allegedly, Ramzan Akhmetovich is looking for a beauty of suitable origin and with external characteristics corresponding to his position.
Aishat Kadyrova is pregnant
Whether this is true or not is unknown, but rumors have spread that Kadyrov’s unofficial spouses include:
- Tina Kandelaki. The famous Russian and Georgian TV presenter, according to Ksenia Sobchak, repeatedly visited the Arab Emirates in the company of the President of the Chechen Republic, accepted jewelry and antique furniture from him as signs of attention;
- Tamila Sagaipova is a sweet girl with a very beautiful voice, who has been a Chechen pop star for a long time. She fell out of favor after publishing a song of her own composition and rather frivolous content. If you believe the girl’s words, the head of the Chechen government has a whole harem of unofficial wives who are no match for her;
- Zamira Dzhabrailova is the winner of beauty contests in Chechnya and the winner of the audience award in 2006 in Moscow at the “Beauty of Russia;
- Zalina Israilova. A whole scandal broke out in the Western media about this girl and her death. Allegedly, she gave birth to a son from Kadyrov, whom he took away and sent the girl to the so-called field training camp. Women lived there who, for some reason, did not please Kadyrov and were subjected to torture and violence. Zalina managed to escape, she contacted a famous human rights activist, who told the world this heartbreaking story. Whether this is true or not is unknown, but soon both women died.
A social worker from a Chechen village accused Kadyrov of embezzlement of public funds, extortion and window dressing. A few days later, it was shown on state television: the head of the republic was scolding, and the residents of the area were collectively condemning. In the report, for example, the following words are heard from local officials: “A woman’s intelligence is half that of a man’s. Because of our actions, longing fell on Ramzan’s heart.” “They don’t know that the slave system was abolished long ago,” users write on social networks.
A social worker from the Chechen village of Gvardeyskoye, Aishat Inaeva, said that after paying off the debt for electricity, water and gas, her boss announced that she would withhold 3,000 rubles from the woman’s salary as an advance payment for housing and communal services. In an audio recording distributed via Whatsapp, Inaeva blamed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov for this. “What do you want from us? You don’t really allow us to bring our wages home. Only you are allowed to eat? Only you are allowed to drink? Only you have the right to live?”
Video, posted on the “Present Time” page, received over 4.4 thousand shares on Facebook.
The teacher at the rehabilitation center accused Kadyrov of embezzlement of public funds, extortion and window dressing. A few days later, Kadyrov held an “Open Dialogue” with Inaeva on television, where she allegedly had the opportunity to directly address the “padishah” (a word that Chechens often resort to in Kadyrov’s company).
Sitting next to her husband, who looked openly depressed, surrounded by the Speaker of Parliament Magomed Daudov, the head of the presidential administration Islam Kadyrov and her boss, Inaeva took back her words. Kadyrov played excerpts of her audio message while Inaeva looked at the floor and sometimes wiped her nose with a headscarf.
“We will die of hunger, and you don’t care about that. As long as your business goes well, as long as your construction projects go well. You pay your artists with apartments and cars. Why don’t you give it to ordinary people?” – she asked in her address.
“I’m not going to punish you. I want you to simply explain to me and to the people, what’s the show? How did I steal money from the people?” asks Kadyrov, who posts photographs of his collection of exotic animals on Instagram.
In the state TV report, Inaeva remains largely silent as Kadyrov and his aides explain to her where the budget money is going - for new kindergartens, roads, power lines and water pipes.
Magomed Idigov, Inaeva's husband, also apologized to the cameras, saying that he blamed himself for not keeping an eye on his wife and allowing her to spread such lies. “I don’t know what kind of shaitan has settled in it. This is how our people listen to those who are abroad and denigrate our Chechnya and the padishah,” he said.
After Inaeva’s meeting with the head of Chechnya was shown on television, rumors appeared that the woman was severely beaten and had to be hospitalized. However, according to the North Caucasus bureau of Radio Liberty, Inaeva is healthy and continues to work. “Everything is very good with her. No one is persecuting her. ... She continues to work for us,” Inaeva’s boss told the Caucasian Knot publication. “I haven’t thought about quitting yet.”
“Be sure to look - this is the Russian Federation, these are our fellow citizens,” the journalist wrote Oleg Kashin by sharing a link to the video.
“Even the women in the hall cannot hide their tears of horror, knowing what this unfortunate woman, who swung at the “holiness” of her “padishah,” will have to endure. While all the men cowardly sing his praises about his “great mercy,” in all "Chechnya found the only brave woman who called a spade a spade. To what extent did these proud people need to be intimidated so that they turn into a herd of obedient, frightened slaves? How long can they live in this Stone Age?" – the singer wrote
The Radio Liberty journalist spoke about life in Chechnya - about prohibition, the fight against short skirts, admiration for the head of the republic and cars with criminal license plates that cannot be photographed
During the two and a half hour flight from Moscow to Grozny, I manage to find out a lot of interesting things. For example, that in Grozny it is worth preparing for prohibition. “Kadyrov banned alcohol, and some young people are on pills, and they are now fighting against this,” a young man named Aslan tells me. He talks about his life - how he went to school during the war, and at that time shells were heard exploding and classes were stopped, how he lived with his parents for a week in a tent in a forest belt. “What kind of study? What is English like at school? All hope is for a generation that does not remember the war. To be honest, it only became more or less calm about two years ago,” says Aslan.
There is no hint of additional control at Grozny airport. The Terek Hotel greets me with a huge soccer ball mounted in the ceiling and portraits of Akhmat-Khadzhi and Ramzan Kadyrov. Diego Maradonna and other football stars stayed here. In the huge Terek building with a swimming pool and billiards, it’s just me and my colleague. The hotel was built a couple of years ago especially for the Terek team - the players lived here when they came to matches from Kislovodsk, where they constantly train. “Now the team doesn’t stop here. But we don’t allow locals in, only visitors,” says the receptionist. “Why do the locals need a hotel?” – I’m perplexed. “Yes, they organized orgies here. Even the head of the republic spoke on this matter.” Well, since the head of the republic spoke out, then measures were taken - there is no doubt about it.
Stadium "Akhmat-Arena" for 30 thousand seats
“If he is driving in a motorcade and sees a girl in a short skirt on the side of the road, he can roll down the window and start yelling right from the car,” says a Grozny resident named Madina. However, girls in short skirts and without headscarves on the streets of Grozny are a rarity.
The Chechen morality police are represented by social advertising: on Putin Avenue (formerly Pobeda Avenue) there is a huge poster with the inscription in Chechen: “A headscarf is the pride of a Chechen woman.” The statement belongs to Ramzan Kadyrov. Aka "R.K." “RK”, “KRA”, “RAK” - this is how Ramzan Kadyrov is called in the republic for short.
"A headscarf is the pride of a Chechen woman"
It is better not to photograph black cars with KRA series numbers, local residents say. This abbreviation means “Kadyrov Ramzan Akhmatovich”.
We are driving through the center of Grozny, and suddenly the driver starts swearing: “..., again a motorcade.” The roads are blocked and we are stuck in a traffic jam. Finally, after about 20 minutes, three black jeeps rush down the road. “This is his security team. And Kadyrov himself has 25-30 cars in his motorcade,” the driver reports.
I take photographs of Grozny City as I go. High-rise buildings of 30-40 floors evoke an unreal feeling: are we in Grozny or Dubai? According to local legend, Ramzan Kadyrov was not allowed to build a building of fifty floors so that it would not be higher than in Moscow, and at the federal level the project was approved only for forty.
Grozny or Dubai?
In the new Grozny, when it rains, the water on the streets is ankle-deep, and water supply failures are not uncommon. So, on June 30, they spent the whole day repairing the accident. This did not surprise anyone - restaurants, for example, did not stop working and offered improvised washstands. “They built houses, but forgot about the sewage system. And the roads were built quickly, but how long will they last?” say local residents. The recent heavy rain actually washed away the road to the high-mountain village.
Unemployment
But the main problem of the restored Chechnya is unemployment. Residents of Chechnya say that today the highest paid job in Chechnya is in the security forces. In Soviet times, Grozny had oil refineries and a chemical industry, but today there is nothing. All that remained were the bullet-ridden factory pipes. “Why, when so much is being built, can’t at least one plant be restored?” – this simple question comes to mind for many local residents.
Grozny, factory district: shot-out pipes remain from the factories
According to businessman and political scientist Shamil Beno, whom we met in Grozny, Ramzan Kadyrov is still young and it does not occur to him that in order to walk in parks and go to restaurants in the evening, people should be able to earn money during the day. And the advisers to the President of Chechnya simply do not dare to approach the leader with their recommendations.
There is also a more conspiratorial version: “I ask myself, maybe industry is not being restored on purpose in order to keep Chechnya on a short leash, dependent on federal subsidies?” says one local journalist. Her job is to report only positive news, and therefore it is out of the question to include her name in this report.
Be that as it may, about a year and a half ago, the Rosneft company began building a small oil refinery in the Zavodskoy district of Grozny. According to Rosneft, today about 2 million tons of oil are produced in Chechnya per year, 90 percent of the wells are mothballed.
Grozny. Construction of an oil refinery
Former Minister of the Oil Industry of the USSR, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Salambek Khadzhiev in an interview with RS recalls:
— There were three oil refineries and one chemical plant in Grozny. Grozny's maximum processing capacity during Soviet times was up to 20 million tons of oil per year. And this continued from the 70s to the 90s.
Grozny, factory district
This is a very large number. In addition, there was a high depth of oil refining. At first it was our own oil. Then oil came from Western Siberia, from Baku. The first polyethylene was once produced in Grozny. Today, of course, the Grozny factories do not exist.
- How did it happen? Accidentally bombed?
- I think it was on purpose. In 1995, all factories were saved. The Soviet upbringing, the value of factories, and pity for human labor remained in everyone’s minds. In 2000, all this no longer existed. Both sides of the conflict—federal forces and militants—participated in the destruction of the factories. Then, together, these factories were transported for scrap metal. Territories at the factories were divided between federal forces and militants, and equipment was exported through Russian territory, mainly through the port in Novorossiysk, to Turkey. And so, the Grozny factories were melted down into metal in Turkey.
Grozny before and after restoration
— Is it possible to restore industry now?
— The restoration of the oil industry in a broad sense is already underway. The Grozny Oil Institute was restored and began to operate. The professorship is being recreated, the whole country is helping this institute today. The design of the first oil refinery began. It will employ a thousand people. This is not much, considering that unemployment in various localities reaches 30-60 percent. But you have to start somewhere, he says. Salambek Khadzhiev.
Having barely begun, the construction of the oil refinery on the outskirts of Grozny, according to local residents, stopped. It has not yet been possible to obtain confirmation or refutation of this fact: the press service said that they would consider Radio Liberty’s official request within a month and a half.
Chechnya for tourism: only mines interfere
“I was sitting seven meters from Akhmat Kadyrov when he was blown up,” the receptionist tells me - in the empty Terek Hotel, he is bored and can’t wait to talk about himself. Beslan lived in Europe for several years as a refugee and only recently returned to Chechnya. I met several such returning “Europeans”. Some speak perfect German, others speak French, English, or Dutch.
Grozny, a typical cafe with almost Moscow prices
I met one of these “Europeans” named Rustam at Japan-Hata, a restaurant with advanced equipment. The menu here is served on an iPad, and the waiter is called using a special button. Prices are close to Moscow, which, however, is typical for the restored Chechnya, although it suffers from unemployment. Rustam says that, having returned to Chechnya, he is working with French specialists, who are attracted to build a ski resort in Veduchi, the ancestral village of Ruslan Baysarov. “Let's go there, this is what a photo report could turn out to be!” we suggest. “You know, it’s worth waiting a couple more months. While there is no construction there yet, nothing is visible, preparatory geological exploration work is underway,” Rustam answers cautiously, and we are not going anywhere.
Construction of a tuberculosis clinic in Grozny
Will you be able to get to the construction site in the Itum-Kale area even in a couple of months? Difficulties may arise with the penetration of correspondents into this area; even in the Shatoi region, the de facto counter-terrorism operation (CTO) regime continues to operate. And Itum-Kalinsky is even further along the road to the mountains. According to the deputy head of the Shatoi district administration, Shadid Chabagaev, journalists in Itum-Kale were recently fined for not having an FSB permit and expelled from there. True, officially such permits are no longer needed after the formal abolition of the CTO, but the security forces on the ground have a different opinion.
Shatoi district, self-propelled gun on a tractor
Even Kadyrov’s entourage does not believe that the ski resort will still open. Naturally, critics ask not to indicate their names. Why is Ruslan Baysarov investing in this project? Shamil Beno is not surprised by this: all Chechen businessmen bear social responsibility for the restoration of Chechnya, he believes.
Shatoy: WHO de facto
A local media journalist is more categorical: “Kadyrov’s people contact a Chechen businessman, no matter where he lives, and offer to invest. You can refuse, but...Recently, oil tycoon Bazhaev, who lives in Kyiv, refused to invest in Chechnya, and in Chechnya everyone with the name Bazhaev was dismissed from their positions.” But these, of course, are just rumors. Perhaps they arose because Ramzan Kadyrov not so long ago personally criticized Bazhaev, speaking on television.
Parapets in the Shatoi region
There is a checkpoint on the road from Grozny to Shatoy. A man in uniform, waving a machine gun, is satisfied with verbal explanations about the purpose of my visit and lets the car through. The road is surrounded by forested mountains, sometimes smoke can be seen from behind the greenery - this means that the Russian military is stationed here. But here they are by the road in helmets, standing guard, surrounded by sandbags. A self-propelled artillery unit is being transported past on a tractor (in slang - “self-propelled gun”, firing range is 13 km): “They used to drive under their own power and destroy roads, but now this is prohibited,” says the driver.
In the Shatoi region, freshly laid gas pipes are striking. Residents of the village of Vashendaroy are confident that gasification was paid for by a Swiss businessman of Chechen origin Bulat Chagaev, who previously helped Terek, but now finds himself in disgrace (Kadyrov personally criticized Chagaev on television). True, the head of the administration says that gasification took place within the framework of the federal program and Bulat Chagaev’s participation, if there was any, was unofficial.
Gasification of mountain villages
Shamil Beno will note in this regard that for a Chechen it is natural to help his ancestral village, no matter how this help is formalized.
We met with the deputy head of the Shatoi district administration, Shadid Chabagaev, on Friday. On this day, religious Muslims do not shake hands with women before prayer.
Shatoy before reconstruction
When asked how the region lives today, whether agriculture is developed, as in Soviet times, Shadid Chabagaev waves his hand: “What kind of agriculture - the haylands are mined, we cannot raise livestock. Such alpine meadows are disappearing..." According to Shadid Chabagaev, over the past year “only” five people were blown up by mines.
Shatoy today
Shadid Chabagaev manages to complain that “young people are completely lazy, they are sitting on social benefits,” then apologizes and leaves for Friday prayers.
Why are the minefields not cleared? The local population has very different versions, for example, this: probably, the Russian authorities are not sure that mines will not be needed yet. Recently, doctors in Chechnya fought for the construction of a tuberculosis dispensary. The site allocated for it turned out to be mined, and the Russian military refused to remove the mines, and now the dispensary is being built in another place.
Shatoi district
A team of disabled people, mostly made up of young people who were killed by mines, play football on crutches in the old stadium in Grozny. Last year they became Russian champions.
Team of disabled people. Mostly - those who were blown up by mines
The ski resort in Veduchi is not the only tourism project in Chechnya. Last year, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism organized a study tour for tour operators around the Argun Gorge and Lake Kezenoy Am, tour operator Tatyana Yaichnikova, who participated in the trip, told a RS correspondent. According to her, the tour operators were delighted, and only the “reorganization of the travel company (Turometer) prevented the first organized group of tourists from sending this route.” However, Canadian tourists and Polish bikers have already come to Chechnya as “savages”.
Vedensky district
The high-mountain lake Kezenoy-Am is located in the Vedeno region of Chechnya. We get here from Grozny through the city of Argun and many villages. A mosque is being built in Argun according to a Turkish design. “This is a mosque in the shape of a flying saucer,” my guide Sharpudi answers, laughing.
Lake Kezenoy-Am, Vedeno district.
On the way, Sharpudi says that his grandfather was shot like a kulak in the 30s. Sharpudi's father bought the body so that it could be interred according to adat. The grave was secret, and only after the fall of Soviet power it became possible to visit it openly.
Lake Kezenoy-Am, a potential destination for tourists
Today, Muslim traditions are strictly observed. There is a special application on your smartphone that sings the call to prayer at the right time. Mosques and prayer rooms high in the mountains are actively visited by parishioners.
But the ban on the sale of alcohol is somewhat hypocritical: in Grozny you can buy beer, vodka or Vainakh cognac under the counter. True, this does not apply to small villages.
Argun, a mosque "in the shape of a flying saucer"
In the Vedeno region we pass through many villages, shining with restored cottages and gas pipes. Every village has a street named after A-Kh Kadyrov. “So what, this used to be Lenin Street,” laughs Sharpudi. On the way, he shows me another attraction - the house of Shamil Basayev in Vedeno, or rather, its ruins.
Finally, we get to the mountain lake Kezenoy-Am, where in Soviet times the Olympic base for training rowers was located. Now the place is deserted, but a cafe has already appeared and a small hotel looks almost ready. But, of course, for now this is only a landscape for local artists and a resort of local importance.
Lake Kezenoy-Am.
“Give me a magnet with Kezena-Am,” I ask in one of the stores in Grozny. But this does not turn out to be the case. They offer me pictures of the “Heart of Chechnya” mosque or a portrait of Akhmat/Ramzan Kadyrov.
Chechnya and Bolotnaya
There are legends about Ramzan Kadyrov in Chechnya. It’s easy to identify loyalist ones: “He bench presses 180 kilograms.” “He rejoices to the point of tears, like a child, when a new building is ready.” “He can arrive at a construction site at three o’clock in the morning on some tractor so that no one recognizes him, and check how things are going.”
“Kadyrov is, of course, a unique person - I mean his ebullient energy. If only he still had an education!” says one local resident, predictably not giving his name.
House of Shamil Basayev in Vedeno
“There were cases of disappearances of people involved and not involved in the underground,” recalls journalist Sulim Yunusov, who moved abroad. Among those who have lost relatives, there are rumors that there is a bitter dispute among the victims over who has the right to take priority revenge on the authorities. For now, however, vendetta seems unthinkable - on every corner in Chechnya the idea is being instilled in everyone who is boss here. And many Chechens are completely sincerely grateful to Ramzan Kadyrov for the restoration of Chechnya: “Without him, nothing would have happened.”
“Kadyrov achieved some kind of stability when he introduced the responsibility of relatives for the fact that their son went to the mountains. The houses of relatives began to be set on fire. And it began to work. It’s terrible: these are medieval methods, but they are effective,” admits one of the local journalists.
Meanwhile, Chechnya is following with curiosity the events on Bolotnaya Square and the “Occupy” protests, because the idea that if there is no Putin, there will be no Kadyrov seems obvious to many here. Nobody knows what will happen in Chechnya then. Chechen Rustam is confident that peace is fragile, since Russia did not apologize for abuses during two wars, and if it had apologized, there would have been reconciliation. I remind Rustam that the Russian authorities have not yet apologized for the 1944 deportation. And in Chechnya, books about the deportation are being republished, and a feature film is being prepared.
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