Kadyrov's health crisis and the shaping of Chechnya's future leadership

There has been a buzz of rumours about Ramzan Kadyrov's health recently. According to "Novaya Gazeta Europe" newspaper, the leader of Chechnya is allegedly seriously ill. His successor has even been identified. It is supposed to be Apti Alaudinov, who has said in the past that the war in Ukraine "is just the beginning" and "Europe will fall."

The independent "Novaya Gazeta Europe" revealed that Ramzan Kadyrov has been suffering from pancreatic necrosis for several years. The leader of Chechnya reportedly found out about the disease in 2019. The newspaper highlighted his numerous visits to doctors and absences during important events.

Kadyrov was not present, for example, during Vladimir Putin's speech to the Federal Assembly in 2023 or at his meeting with the heads of the North Caucasus regions. He also did not speak when Yevgeny Prigozhin marched on Moscow last year with a group of Wagner mercenaries.

Is Kadyrov really sick? Rumours about his health problems have been circulating for years. Following the publication by "Novaya Gazeta Europe," he shared on social media a video from the gym, which is supposed to confirm that he is actually in full strength.

"Nowa Gazeta Europa" meanwhile reports that the Kremlin has most likely already agreed on the successor to the leader of Chechnya - it’s supposed to be Apti Ałaudinov.

The newspaper notes that on April 16, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree appointing Alaudinov as the deputy head of the main directorate for political-military affairs in the Ministry of Defence. According to the newspaper's sources, this is supposed to be a "springboard to a spectacular future career".

Apti Alaudinov was born on October 5, 1973. He is a major general of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and serves as the secretary of the Chechen Security Council and commander of the Chechen battalion "Akhmat," conducting combat operations in Ukraine.

Since 2020, he has been under sanctions prohibiting entry to the United Kingdom and the freezing of bank accounts. In November 2022, - at the request of the Chief of Police.

Interestingly, in August 2022, Vladimir Putin awarded Alaudinov the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

At the end of last year, Gen. Apti Alaudinov was a guest on the Kremlin propagandist's program on Channel 1. Journalist Julia Davis made a snippet of their conversation available on the service X (formerly Twitter). The men discussed the war in Ukraine.

"Tell me, what is this war that we are conducting? How do you see it? How has it changed over two years?" asked the propagandist Soloviev.

The "Akhmat" battalion commander answered: "In reality, for Russia, it is a holy war and nothing more. It is holy because we didn't want to take from Ukraine some piece of land, some mountain or mine. It doesn't matter what they have or don't have".

"The most important thing is what lies behind it. We defend the interests of our nation in terms of spirituality, morality, divine values, universal human values," added Ałaudinov.

"In the conversation with the Kremlin propagandist, he also stated that "only Vladimir Putin can face the nations that believe nothing will stand in their way." - Believe me when I say that what we see today is just the beginning. This special military operation will end, but don't think they will let us live in peace after this," he announced.

"We have a very, very long way to victory ahead of us. We will fight until we find ourselves on top of the world. We are already there, but we need to prove it," he added.

In another interview, Alaudinov called American democracy "the main enemy of humanity." But that's not all. He also stated that the USA, Europe, and NATO embody "everything that is satanic" and are "the army of the antichrist".

Europe will fall, America will fall - he claimed and emphasized that then the West will "beg" Russia for forgiveness.