Putin’s ‘attack dog’ Ramzan Kadyrov appoints his son, 15, as his top bodyguard weeks after he attacked a prisoner
CHECHEN leader Ramzan Kadyrov has made his teenage son his top bodyguard after he beat up a detainee in a Russian prison.
Schoolboy Adam Kadyrov, 15, will oversee the protection of a number of officials and VIPs as well as his father.
Warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, 46, is one of Vladimir Putin’s most loyal allies but is rumoured to be testing the 71-year-old dictator’s patience – deliberately, as he senses weakness in his circle.
The Chechen leader – or Putin’s “attack dog” – recently posted a video to social media in which Adam can be seen punching and kicking a 19-year-old prisoner accused of burning the Koran.
Adam drew some condemnation for the attack, but Russian law enforcement took no action against him.
Kadyrov, meanwhile, awarded his son the republic’s highest honour, a Hero of Chechnya medal, boasting: “He’s done well, he behaved like a real man.”
Adam is one of Kadyrov’s 14 children he shares with three polygamous wives.
The teenager was swiftly congratulated by top ministers from across the oil-rich region on his appointment to the position once occupied by his father.
In 2015, Kadyrov Senior ordered Chechen security forces to “shoot to kill” if they encountered police officers from other parts of Russia on the territory of the Chechen Republic.
Kadyrov said at the time: “I would like to officially state – open fire if someone from Moscow or Stavropol, it doesn’t matter where from, appears on your turf without your knowledge.
“We have to be reckoned with … If you are masters of your territory, then you must control it.”
Hundreds of security guards must now answer to the younger Kadyrov, who will turn 16 later this month.
Minister of National Policy Akhmed Dudayev said: “I sincerely congratulate… Adam Kadyrov on his appointment to an important position in the security service of the Head of the Chechen Republic.”
Health Minister Adam Alkhanov echoed Dudayev’s sentiments, adding: “Adam Kadyrov, despite his still young years, already has a wealth of practical experience, but most importantly, he has a strong spirit of a real and brave warrior.”
Adam’s appointment comes as Kadyrov recovers from a serious illness and rumours circulate he underwent a successful kidney transplant.
He was earlier reported to be in a critical condition in a coma after suffering from a “mystery illness” – fighting for his life while his “existing diseases” worsened.
Some have claimed he is terminally ill.
Kadyrov’s daughter and Adam’s sister Aishat, 24, was made deputy prime minister of Chechnya last month.
Some 30 per cent of the Chechen government is said to be from Kadyrov’s clan, with five deputy premiers in the Russian republic close relatives of his.
Britain and the US have imposed sanctions on Kadyrov who is accused of heading “an administration involved in disappearances and extrajudicial killings”.
The Chechen leader boasts he is more sanctioned by the West than any other figure in the world.