Kadyrov Says He’s in Command of All Military Forces in Chechnya -- and Not Just Chechen Units

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Jan. 9 – Having staked out his role as someone who trains Russian troops not only in Chechnya but across the country (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2025/01/chechnyas-kadyrov-expanding-his.html), Ramzan Kadyrov has now declared himself commander of all troops in Chechnya and said anyone who disagrees with that must be dismissed.  
    His words are undoubtedly at least in part bravado, but the fact that Kadyrov feels free to make such a declaration must disturb many in Moscow because it suggests that at least in Chechnya, Moscow’s control may not be nearly as tight as the Kremlin would like to believe (kavkazr.com/a/ramzan-kadyrov-zayavil-o-edinolichnom-podchinenii-emu-vseh-voennyh-v-chechne-/33269640.html).
    But there are two other implications, one immediate and one longer term, that may prove more serious. In the short term, Kadyrov’s suggestion will exacerbate relations between him and Chechen forces, on the one hand, and the Russian high command, on the other, in the fighting in Ukraine, reducing unit cohesion and effectiveness.
    And in the longer term, Kadyrov is doing what many analysts have suggested other regional leaders might do in the event that Putin leaves the scene unexpectedly and the center weakens. If other governors make similar claims, that could trigger a far worse civil war than anyone is now projecting.