Ramzan Kadyrov: Putin's Loyal "Attack Dog"

Have you heard of Ramzan Kadyrov, notorious leader of the Chechen Republic and staunch Putin ally?

• Kadyrov has been the leader of a region known as Chechnya for over 15 years. Chechnya is a Muslim majority region in Southern Russia. He is a member of Putin’s United Russia party
• He is also the son of assassinated former President Akhmad Kadyrov. Akhmad Kadyrov is known to have fought for Chechen independence in the 90s, but switched alliances when Putin came into power.
• Recent reports have claimed that Kadyrov has been promoted to lieutenant-general for his role in the invasion of Ukraine.
• Following recent peace talks in Istanbul he is alleged to have sent a Telegram message saying “Peace talks are pointless” and “we must end what we have started.”
• In the past, Kadyrov has come under criticism from a number of international organizations. Human Rights Watch stated that his actions are so wide scale that they constitute crimes against humanity.
• He has been accused of a number of human rights violations, particularly against the LGBTQA+ community in Chechnya. He is also charged with a number of assassinations across Europe.