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Andrey Piontkovsky: In Russia they are creating "territorial defenses" for the post-Putin mafia war

19 Feb, 2023
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Andrey Piontkovsky: In Russia they are creating "territorial defenses" for the post-Putin mafia war

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Political scientist and publicist Andrey Piontkovsky in an interview with Unian told what Kadyrov is preparing for, playing for the audience.

"Ramzan Kadyrov paused for a long time, came out and uttered a bunch of pro-Putin nonsense - that he was going to capture Kharkiv and Odessa, that he could personally fulfill the goals of the "Special Military Operation" before the end of the year. But on the other hand, recently, Kadyrov was given the title of "father of the people", and amendments were made to the Constitution. This already looks like an open mockery of Putin. Is Kadyrov still with Putin today, or is he already trying to distance himself from him as much as possible and starts his own game?

Kadyrov has always been himself as the leader of an independent Chechen state. In his appeals to his people, he clarified that Russia had lost the war in Chechnya and was paying a massive tribute. For this, he means loyalty to the Kremlin. But he does not behave like the head of some region of Russia. He is the head of an independent state who is in some kind of personal union with Putin for tactical reasons.

Kadyrov's recent statement was especially frank. Even more frank than this proclamation of him as the "father of the nation." At first glance, it is addressed to the West and even to Ukraine, but it is addressed to the Chechens. Kadyrov has many enemies in Chechnya, and not everyone was happy with the deal he made with Putin. Read what he says there: "We fought for the independence of Ichkeria, we fought heroically against the empire, but the West did not support us, and the Ukrainians did not support us, so we were forced to conclude an agreement." And then, he lists all the huge economic preferences that he received. Probably, in the original, it was pronounced in the Chechen language. In essence, he said: "Yes, I agreed to cooperate with Putin, but look how much I made Russian dogs pay for it."

From the very beginning of the war, Kadyrov used the opportunity to create his own army. As Prigozhin and others create PMCs, there are already 27 of them. All these structures, their owners and their leaders are not thinking about a war with Ukraine. They understand that the war with Ukraine is lost. And for war with Ukraine, 27 PMCs are not needed. The basic principle of war is a unity of command. Prigozhin and others are preparing for a future mafia war inside Russia, when, after defeat, the Putin clan will lose power and trillions of property assets will be left orphaned. And Kadyrov is creating an army to protect the independence of Chechnya, to protect against attacks by Russian security forces. They all hate Kadyrov. Therefore, he will have two military problems - to defend Chechnya from attempts to conquer it again by the security forces and to retain power in Chechnya, where there are many suicide bombers.

Kadyrov has long been solving his internal problems. Everything else is PR, work to get more weapons from the General Staff of the Russian Federation for their personal army.

I remember that at the beginning of the war, there was discussion of the immediate possibility of him taking some major position - the head of the National Guard or the deputy minister of defense and that he could even be Putin's heir in the future. But Kadyrov is well aware that if he leaves for Moscow and takes up a position, he will be shot the next day. He will never buy into this. He will never move to Moscow. He acts and behaves like the head of independent Ichkeria, who, in this war, wants to defend his independence and preserve his personal power in it.

Half of the 27 PMCs are regional, created by governors under the slogan of territorial defense. This can still be understood in Belgorod, but from whom is the territorial defense in Khabarovsk? I would not say that they go that far in their plans. They are creating "territorial defenses" for the post-Putin mafia war in Russia. We know the Russian system: the governor is an oligarch, a multibillionaire, and property owner in his region. He needs an army to keep it going and maybe expand it. After the war is lost, when Ukraine reaches the border in 1991, there will be a huge country on the other side of the border, into which no one will climb. Neither the West nor, I think, Ukraine has such desires. And there, the classic Russian turmoil will unfold. For this, 27 private armies are being prepared. Which of them will go far enough to secede from this new Russia… one I can name is Chechnya."


The Odessa Journal

The Odessa Journal

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