(The Moscow Times) There is no bad news to be found on Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's Instagram page. The Kremlin-appointed leader, whose page on the popular photo-sharing network boasts about one million followers, regularly posts snapshots and video clips touting his athletic prowess, sharing endearing family moments and documenting various milestones of a man broadly credited with having rebuilt a republic that was all but destroyed by civil unrest and two bloody wars.
But traditional media coverage of Kadyrov appears to be becoming less and less upbeat. And recent reports that a 17-year-old Chechen schoolgirl had been compelled to wed an already-married police chief three times her age have embroiled Kadyrov in yet another media frenzy. In Grozny, the ensuing backlash led to the firing of an official and a campaign of public shaming.
In comments to The Moscow Times, pundits said that the reaction to the latest scandal illustrated Kadyrov's growing insecurities about his image amid national media outlets' dwindling appetite for the relentless inflow of good news from Chechnya. […]
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