Kadyrovites
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Kadyrovites (Russian: Кадыровцы, Kadyrovtsy) is a term used by the population of Chechnya – as well as members of the groups themselves - for former members of the former so-called Presidential Security Service of the President of the Chechen Republic, headed by Ramzan Kadyrov, current President of the republic.
Kadyrovites -- thousands of personally devoted armed men, mostly former rebels -- has been accused of serious human rights violations. Rights activists working in Chechnya have said the group have been involved in kidnapping, torture and even murder to cement Kadyrov's rule; reportedly, this is the group now most feared by Chechnya’s civilian population.
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[edit] History and organisation
The Security Service was initially created as a personal security guard of the Moscow-appointed head of the Chechen administration, Akhmad Kadyrov, without any formal legal status, and gradually grew into a powerful military formation. It was commanded from the beginning by Ramzan Kadyrov.
Some of its sub-units were legalized in 2004 and 2005 to become parts of different structures of the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). After Akhmad Kadyrov was killed in a blast in May 2004, the Security Service was formally liquidated and most of the rest of its units integrated into the system of Russian law enforcement agencies and security authorities. Gradually, all structures of the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs are falling under control of the Kadyrovites.
As of 2006, the total strength of the Kadyrovites, which now include the Second Road Patrol Regiment of the Police (PPSM-2), the Oil Protection Regiment, and the Anti-Terrorist Centers (ATCs), is not disclosed. The estimations vary from 4,000 to 12,000 people, although the last figure is probably an overestimation. Some of the gunmen are completely legalized into structures of the Chechen Interior Ministry while others, estimated at at least 1,800, continue to exist in the form of paramilitary formations. [1]
In mid-2006 the ATCs were closed down, and some of their servicemen were transferred to the newly-formed Yug (South) and Sever (North) battalions of the Russian Army.
[edit] Incidents
[edit] Conflicts with pro-Alkhanov's forces
On April 28, 2006, security forces loyal to Ramzan Kadyrov fought a fist and then gun battle with the bodyguards of the pro-Russian president, Alu Alkhanov, according to Russian and foreign media. Up to two men were reportedly killed and four injured in the clash at the presidential administration, sparking fears of a broader power struggle between the groups of Chechen men who control the republic in support of the Russian authorities. The exchange of fire happened during a meeting between Alkhanov and a federal official, Sergei Stepashin. The Moskovskii Komsomolets newspaper reported that Alkhanov had banned Kadyrov from bringing more than two men of his private army with him into meetings; it reported that Kadyrov had rung Alkhanov and given him 30 minutes to flee the presidential administration as his men wanted to storm it. The official explanation of the whole incident was that "an ordinary quarrel" had occurred between two men who worked in the security services, and that no shots whatsoever were ever fired.
Russian news services reported that following day, on April 29, Ramzan Kadyrov officially disbanded his security service. "These structures are no longer existent, and those calling themselves Kadyrovites are impostors and must be punished in accordance with the law," Kadyrov was quoted as telling a television station in Chechnya. "Two battalions of Interior Ministry troops, codenamed North and South, have been formed from these fighters; they have their own commanders and generals, and from now on have nothing to do with Kadyrov." On June 4, 2006, President Alu Alkhanov said he would prefer his republic be governed by Sharia law and suggested adapting the Islamic code, as it is championed by Kadyrov; he also dismissed reports of conflicts with Ramzan.
People in Chechnya long ago started talking about the Kadyrov-Alkhanov struggle that already included armed confrontation, murders, and hostage taking; many of these incidents are provoked by Kadyrov's men. In February 2005, for example two of Alkhanov's men were killed and three civilians were injured during an attack in the Kurchaloev region of the republic, which was essentially in Kadyrov's personal domain; the ITAR-TASS attributed the killing to "members of one of the republic's security services currently involved in anti-terrorist operations". [2] In the other incident, members of an OMON unit based at the Grozny railway station exchanged fire with and then jailed a group of Kadyrovites. This incident outraged Kadyrov, who ordered his men to shoot to kill anyone who stood in their way and reportedly called Alkhanov to warn him that there would be a "war" if his men were further provoked. Both sides called for reinforcements and there was further shooting before the situation was defused.
[edit] Killing of Sadulayev
On 17 June, 2006, a group of the Kadyrovites and the FSB officers killed Abdul-Halim Sadulayev, the Chechen rebel president; Sadulayev's body was driven to Tsentoroi and presented to Ramzan Kadyrov.
[edit] Goretz mutiny
The Goretz (Mountaineer) detachment, once OSNAZ unit of the Federal Security Service (FSB), was formally disbanded and its servicemen were to be reassigned to Chechen Interior Ministry but refused because the Chechen police is controlled by Kadyrov. Goretz was headed by Movladi Baisarov, formerly a close ally to Akhmad Kadyrov, but regarded as his son's enemy and declared an outlaw by him. As of October 12, 2006 the prosecutor's office of Chechnya had been seeking commander Baisarov for a murder committed in 2004.
The Guardian in June 2006 detailed a showdown between Kadyrov's and Baisarov's forces that had taken place the previous month. The Kadyrovites ended up backing down in that confrontation when another Chechen warlord, Said-Magomed Kakiev, head of the Zapad (West) Spetsnaz GRU unit, came down on Baisarov's side. While as for October 2006 he was in Moscow, it was believed he still commanded 50 to little over 100 men based in Grozny. [3] On November 18, 2006 Baisarov was killed in central Moscow by Kadyrov's police. [4]
