TSENTOROI, Russia, 11 May 2004 — Chechens buried their assassinated President Akhmad Kadyrov yesterday and began three days of mourning while the Kremlin scrambled to figure out a new strategy for winning control of the region after the death of its main ally.
Some 3,000 people marched through the main street of this village where Kadyrov’s family is based in Chechnya under a scorching sun chanting traditional prayers and paying their respects to a man in whom the Kremlin put its trust.
Kadyrov’s two sons Ramzan and Zelimkhan — seen as some of the most powerful figures in Chechnya — helped carry his body, covered by a white wool cloth on a bier in accordance with tradition.
“This is a day of mourning for the whole village, for the whole country,” said a villager who identified himself only as Alvi.
“We closed all stores and the streets were empty of all people except for children once the news came in,” he said with sorrow in his voice.
Kadyrov died Sunday when a bomb exploded directly under the VIP platform in a packed stadium at a gala concert commemorating Russia’s annual Victory Day over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Only days earlier he told Itar-Tass that “I know that the terrorists are trying to hunt me down” but refused to leave the republic.
Russia’s top general overseeing the war in Chechnya, Valery Baranov, who sat at Kadyrov’s right-hand, was seriously injured and was convalescing yesterday in hospital after his leg was amputated.
“Yes, we are losing our friends, but we will not be backing down. We will be fighting until the end,” said one of the current top commanders in Chechnya, Vyacheslav Tikhomirov. “We are ready to bring in new reserves if necessary.”
Death toll figures from the blast varied wildly. Russia’s top political representative to the region said seven people had died, while a Chechen Interior Ministry spokesman said Sunday the death toll had reached 32. An official with the Russian prosecutor’s office said police would question the Chechen security guards who worked at the stadium because regular civilians could not have made it inside to plant the bomb without their knowledge.
The attack was a huge blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin — who only two days earlier in an inauguration ceremony to his second term took pride in stamping Moscow’s control on the region after more than four years of war.
Putin pushed for the candidacy of Kadyrov — a Chechen rebel in the first 1994-96 war who switched sides and supported Moscow in the second conflict — in Chechnya’s controversial October presidential elections.
Kadyrov won almost unanimously and Putin identified this as the final step in the Chechen political peace process.
But Kadyrov had many enemies — both on the side of Chechen rebels and Russian troops who mistrusted and feared a massive and powerful personal military that he was building and which was headed by his son Ramzan.
Putin appointed Sergei Abramov — a 32-year-old former banker who most analysts agree has limited influence in Chechnya — to head the republic on an interim basis.
The Kremlin appeared to be staking its bets on Ramzan by appointing him as Abramov’s first deputy.
Chechnya now must stage new presidential elections by Sept. 9. The process is wrought with danger as the various clans in the Caucasus republic fight for power.
Most often these conflicts have been settled in recent years through military confrontation. The Russian military command in Chechnya issued a statement blaming the assassination on the republic’s former President Aslan Maskhadov and rebel leader Shamil Basayev — two figures who they blame for almost all attacks.
But Maskhadov now exercises only limited influence in the republic and analysts agree that the attack could have been staged by a myriad of clans and military groupings that now roam Chechnya.
Maskhadov issued a statement denying his involvement and saying that he “condemns all forms of terrorism.”
Kadyrov’s funeral was attended by Alu Alkhanov — the Chechen interior minister who was also slightly injured in Sunday’s attack — and interim President Abramov.
