+10 Kyiv
Natalia DVALI
Editor
On March 7, 2015, the ninth day after the murder of the Russian oppositionist Boris Nemtsov in the centre of Moscow, the Director of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) Alexander Bortnikov informed of the detainment of two suspects – Zaur Dadayev and Anzor Gubashev. Both of them were arrested in the territory of Ingushetia. Later, it was reported that three more suspects were detained – Shagid Gubashev (Anzor’s brother), Tamerlan Eskerkhanov and Khamzat Bakhaev. The sixth criminal, Beslan Shavanov, was hiding in Grozny and blew himself up by a grenade during the arrest.
Zaur Dadayev and Beslan Shavanov, according to the Kavkazsky Uzel portal, were serving in the Chechen Sever battalion that is part of Special Brigade 46 of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and is based in Grozny. The battalion was formed in 2006 under the personal patronage of the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. At the time of Nemtsov’s murder, Dadayev and Shabanov were voluntarily dismissed from the Sever battalion. It should be noted that Zaur Dadayev was the deputy of the Sever battalion commander Alibek Delimkhanov, a brother of the adviser to the Chechen leader and a deputy of the Russian State Duma Adam Delimkhanov.
According to Rosbalt, Dadayev has already confessed to the organization of the murder having declared that the motive for killing Nemtsov allegedly were "the politician’s negative statements about Muslims living in the territory of Russia, about the Prophet Muhammad and the Islamic religion itself. Being a highly religious person, Zaur could not stand it". The other four people arrested have not admitted their guilt.
The Russian oppositionist, former deputy of the State Duma, Chairman of the Western Choice party Konstantin Borovoy is convinced that Nemtsov was shot by Kadyrov’s order. Borovoy said in the interview to the GORDON about why this murder could benefit the Chechen leader.
Boris Nemtsov’s murder is a direct order of Kadyrov
– I have no doubt – Borovoy immediately began the interview – that Boris Nemtsov’ murder is a direct order of Kadyrov. I can only add a formula that is very important for the Russian legislation and court: this is my own judgment. And still...
– Why are you so confident that Nemtsov’s murder was ordered by Kadyrov, and it was not that the brave Chechen patriots decided to free Russia from "national traitors" at their own decision?
– Chechnya and its people is a very rigidly controlled structure. Lawlessness in the rest of the Russian Federation is not able to compare with what is happening in Kadyrov’s land. Everything is much more terrible in Chechnya: repressions, not only destruction of opponents, but also burning of their relatives’ homes.
– If your version is true, a question arises why Kadyrov murdered Nemtsov?
– For no reason. Considering the current situation in Russia, Kadyrov estimated everything correctly: he actually drove Putin in a deadlock with Nemtsov’s murder. The Russian President can neither punish nor remove the Chechen leader because no one else can control the republic as hard as the bandit Kadyrov does it.
In addition, if something happens to Ramzan Akhmatovich, Kadyrov’s military groups fighting in Donbass, Transnistria, Georgia, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia will instantly turn their backs on Vladimir Vladimirovich. They will turn their back because the Kremlin, by its propaganda and organization of "Antimaidans", gave a secret order to destroy "national traitors" and the fifth column, therefore it cannot punish anyone for the execution of the order. Putin gave the command, "Bite!" and Kadyrov and his men immediately took it up and carried it out.
Late in the evening February 27, 2015, the opoositionist and former Russian Vice-Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov was killed with four shots in the back in the centre of Moscow not far from the Kremlin walls on Bolshoy Moskvoretsky bridge. Photo: Pavel Bednyakov / EPA
Kadyrov trapped Putin with Nemtsov’s murder. The aim is to strengthen his own power in Chechnya and go to the federal level. Kadyrov has long wanted to become a politician of all-Russian scale and head a repressive ministry. He is well aware that he will be needed as never before, because the time of real military confrontation is coming in Russia, so he is trying to prove that Putin does not have more loyal troops than Kadyrov’s men. Besides, Ramzan Akhmatovich wants to be closer to the Daddy...
– What "Daddy"?
– That is how Kadyrov calls Putin.
– But the Chechen leader as a clever politician should have understood that Nemtsov’s murder will cause a wide response in the world, Putin will hardly turn a blind eye on such a "stitch-up"...
– Pardon, but the phrase "Kadyrov as a clever politician..." is a very daring assumption. The Chechen leader was brought up in a very different intellectual, emotional and moral environment, which is called Asiatic barbarism in the civilized world. It is only in this environment that physical elimination of enemies, burning their relatives’s homes, vendetta, and sadism are considered normal.
The situation in Chechnya has long gone out of the Kremlin’s control. No single Russian law enforcement agency works within the country, federal laws do not apply, either. There is Kadyrov’s absolute kingdom there.
The fact that Nemtsov was shot by Kadyrov’s people was reported to the Kremlin immediately, but the Russian authorities did not know what to do with it
– If Putin cannot remove Kadyrov, then why did the Kremlin confirm the Chechen trace in Nemtsov’s murder through the official investigation instead of laying the blame on the "Kiev junta" or the Western intelligence services?
– I thought about it, too, but the situation is desperate for the Kremlin: they had no time to create and verify a fake version, therefore they make public what really happened. I think that the fact that Nemtsov was shot by Kadyrov's people was reported to the Russian authorities within the first hours after the murder. Moreover, the opposition was murdered near the Kremlin, within the sight of a dozen cameras, no one was hiding much.
The Kremlin has thought what to do with the Chechen trace since Nemtsov’s murder. On the one hand, Kadyrov himself took the initiative and thus became more dangerous for Putin personally and for the entire federal government of Russia. On the other hand, removal of Kadyrov will cause a very difficult situation not only in Chechnya, but in the whole North Caucasus. There is another important point: it is not in vain that Kadyrov demonstrates his power, he proves to Putin that he can be very useful for him at the international level.
– What if the Russian president decides to remove the leader of the Chechen Republic?..
– Putin will never do that, otherwise Kadyrov’s people will remove Putin himself.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov declared immediately after the suspects were arrested, "i am convinced that he [Zaur Dadayev] is sincerely devoted to Russia and was ready to give his life for Russia." According to the Chechen leader, he knew Dadayev "as a real patriot of Russia" who "distinguished himself in the battle near Benoy when a special operation was carried out against a large gang of terrorists". Besides, Kadyrov reminded of the decoration awarded to Dadayev – Order of Courage, Medal for Bravery and Medal For Merits to the Chechen Republic. Photo: ЕРА
– Rumours have it that the Russian president has an incredible number of personal guards...
– I have no doubt that Putin’s guard is very powerful, but, like any large conservative structure, it is inert unlike a small mobile battle group. So if Kadyrov wants it, Putin will easily be removed. We have already seen this: they decided to annihilate Nemtsov and quickly realized this very complex mission.
– But Nemtsov did not have any bodyguards, he often travelled in Moscow by metro.
– And he was killed right in front of the Kremlin, he was shot demonstratively.
– It is no secret that Nemtsov was constantly shadowed, his phone was tapped. FSB officers could not but notice that some strange guys began to follow the oppositionist a few days before the murder.
– They noticed it, but the FSB never received instructions to protect Nemtsov, just to shadow him. I think that Kadyrov and his military group are operating in Moscow alone, they do not consult local security forces, they simply inform them that they are also working there but do not specify the purpose.
The worsening economic situation in Russia will lead to a bloody riot rather than a revolution. Putin understands this and is very afraid
– Assuming that your version is correct, does it mean that Putin will yield to Kadyrov’s blackmail and make him a federal-level politician?
– We will see it soon. If Putin does not try to reason with Kadyrov, it will mean than he plans to appoint the Chechen leader a head of a repressive punitive ministry. It is not necessarily the Federal Security Service or the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a new federal agency, for example Kadyrov’s Intelligence may be created. On the other hand, however, Putin is unlikely to be willing to share power, especially with a man who calls Russian president Daddy in the Russian language and says terrible things about him in the Chechen language. In fact, Kadyrov has no respect for Putin, he sees himself as a much more powerful person who can be completely independent from the Kremlin.
– Are not you afraid to come back to Russia from the USA?
– Last time I was in Moscow two months ago. There is some indirect evidence that there is a list of national traitors in Russia who are going to be removed. Ksenia Sobchak and Alfred Koch have already stated that they were threatened. I know that the situation is safe for me for the time being.
In fact, it is much more interesting to speak about Putin’s fears. The president is scared of the situation in the country and has decided to arrange a horror story for his opponents, that is the "Antimaidan" in Moscow.
On February 21, 2015, a year after the victory of the Revolution of Dignity in Kiev, a many-million demonstration with a slogan "There will not be Maidan in Russia" took place in Moscow. According to bloggers and oppositional mass media, state employees were chiefly sent to the demonstration; they were paied 300 roubles each (a little more than 100 hryvnias) for "demonstration of patriotism". Photo: Sergei Ilnitsky / EPA
– And what exactly scared the Russian leader?
– The economic situation in the Russian Federation that is deteriorating very quickly and very dramatically. The propaganda campaign has one important feature: people get tired of this technical, artificial overstimulation which lasts for more than a year. Even if people are protesting it, but opinion polls show that people's mood changes greatly under the pressure of the economic situation. It is why the Kremlin is scared.
– Are opinion polls in Russia reliable today?
– Of course, the authorities have to adjust the official survey data, but it is evident even according to the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center that people began to assess the situation in Russia more realistically. For example, according to a survey, 70% of people openly admit that life has become much worse. This means that the next step will be people’s demand to change the political course. It is scary for Putin, he does not have plan B, there is no emergency exit, so he continues arranging and aggravating horror stories, like "Antimaidan" where the half-wit biker nicknamed Surgeon scared the opposition with repressions. (Alexander Zaldostanov, nicknamed Surgeon –Putin’s friend, one of the leaders of Moscow "Antimaidan", founder of the Night Wolves biker club. - GORDON).
The administrative control is being lost in today's Russia, the Kremlin is no longer able to uphold the country with resources as before. It means that the time of improvisations and creativity begins, when such people as Ramzan Kadyrov start taking the initiative and taking advantage of the situation solely for their own benefit. Of course, they can call Putin "Daddy", but, obviously, they have begun an independent game that is far from the Kremlin's policy.
As for the mood of the Russians, the deteriorating economic situation in the country would not lead to revolution or protest, but to a bloody rebellion. Putin understands this and is very afraid.
P.S. At the time of the interview publication it became known that the Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded Chechen leader with the Order of Honour. Kadyrov has been decorated with the state award "for his outstanding achievements, social activity and many years of conscientious work."
