One of Vladimir Putin’s staunchest allies has had a mysterious near-drowning incident while on holiday in Turkey. Ramzan Kadyrov is the head of the Chechen Republic in Russia’s Caucasus region, an area that has been prone to volatility and unrest.
The Chechen leader has a been staunch supporter of Putin’s war in Ukraine, sending thousands of his soldiers to fight with the Russian army. The warlord has a brutal reputation for cruelty and has ruled his territory with an iron fist. He and his henchmen have been accused of carrying out unlawful arrests, sexual violence, torture, enforced disappearances and killings
The 48-year-old was on holiday on the Aegean coast, staying at a five-star hotel in the Kaynar district of Bodrum. The Chechen leader is reported to have gone into the sea for a swim when he “suddenly began to lose consciousness” and slipped beneath the surface.
Turkish Coast Guard officers and hotel staff rushed to his aid, pulling him out of the water, whereupon emergency responders provided first aid. Kadyrov was later transferred to a private clinic, where his condition was later described as stable.
As yet there has been no official statement released by Chechen authorities about the mysterious incident. However, the VChK-OGPU Telegram Channel claimed that the Chechen leader had tried to commit suicide. The channel is run by the former Rosbalt journalists Alexander Shvarev and Alisher Abdullayev, who write extensively about Russia’s law enforcement and intelligence communities.
The journalists wrote: “He was alone in the water. And, apparently, this is not accidental. According to the prevailing version, Kadyrov was not going to return from the sea, but his plans were interfered with by the beach security.”
The Chechen leader is said to be seriously ill and even tried to resign in May from his position.
A source told the Telegram channel that Kadyrov’s has nominated his ally Adam Delimkhanov in his will to rule Chechnya until his own son Adam, currently 17, is old enough to take over.
Kadyrov’s “attempted suicide” comes as a number of top Kremlin officials have died in mysterious circumstances in recent months, prompting fears of a Kremlin purge.
Andrey Badalov, the vice-president of state-owned pipeline company Transneft, was the latest official to fall to his death from a balcony. His apparent suicide was followed days later by that of Roman Starovoit, who allegedly shot himself in his car after his dismissal as minister for transport.