Chechnya

Replacing Ramzan: Chechen Succession Planning and the Pivotal Role of Adam Delimkhanov

Image credit/license Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is central to both Chechnya’s repressive political system and Russia’s control of the republic. Yet long-term rumors about his health and potential succession planning…

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Ramzan Kadyrov: Between Putin’s Loyal Praetorian Guard and Devoted Servant of the Chechen People

Image license/credit In this policy memo, we analyze the ways in which Ramzan Kadyrov has instrumentalized Russia’s successes and failures in the war in Ukraine for his own political benefit.…

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Ramzan Kadyrov’s Gamble in Ukraine: Keeping Chechnya Under Control While Competing for Federal Power

A year after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the challenges faced by the Russian army in Ukraine opened the door for internal turmoil among its actors and…

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The Chechen Footprint During Russian Wartime

Following the call for partial mobilization announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 21, the Head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, did not remain silent. In his usual demonstration of…

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The North Caucasus and the Russian War in Ukraine

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the challenges faced by the Russian army have increasingly fed discussions about the political future of Russia, presidential succession, and the danger of…

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Similarities Stain the Kremlin’s Warfare on Chechens and Ukrainians

The Russian war in Ukraine continues with daily news reports from besieged cities documenting humanitarian disasters, growing civilian casualties, and fleeing refugees. Many commentators have compared this war in Ukraine…

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The Implications of Redrawing the Chechnya-Ingushetia Border

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The drawing of administrative borders between Chechnya and Ingushetia caused protests in Ingushetia that began in October 2018, continued until March 2019, and culminated in the resignation…

What Putin’s Exit Could Mean for Chechnya: The Pitfalls of Kadyrov’s State-within-a-State

(PONARS Policy Memo) After the Soviet Union broke apart, the Russian government fought two highly destructive wars against insurgents in Chechnya—in 1994-1996 and in 1999-2009. Both wars caused immense bloodshed, dislocation,…

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Mass Protest in Ingushetia

(Point & Counterpoint) An attempt to demarcate the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia has provoked mass protests in Ingushetia, Russia’s smallest region. Unusually for Russia, part of the Ingush elite…

Why Russia Is Failing the “Syria Test” for Counterterrorism Cooperation with the West

(PONARS Policy Memo) As the confrontation between the West and Russia matures, the proposition that the West should combine military containment with engagement in areas of mutual interest has been gaining…

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Replacing Ramzan: Chechen Succession Planning and the Pivotal Role of Adam Delimkhanov

Ramzan Kadyrov: Between Putin’s Loyal Praetorian Guard and Devoted Servant of the Chechen People

Ramzan Kadyrov’s Gamble in Ukraine: Keeping Chechnya Under Control While Competing for Federal Power

The Chechen Footprint During Russian Wartime

The North Caucasus and the Russian War in Ukraine

Similarities Stain the Kremlin’s Warfare on Chechens and Ukrainians

The Implications of Redrawing the Chechnya-Ingushetia Border

What Putin’s Exit Could Mean for Chechnya: The Pitfalls of Kadyrov’s State-within-a-State

Mass Protest in Ingushetia

Why Russia Is Failing the “Syria Test” for Counterterrorism Cooperation with the West