Putin in rare visit to Chechnya

The Russian president dared to travel to Chechnya for the first time in thirteen years.

Vladimir Putin was received by the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov – and compared the Ukrainian ground offensive to the terrorist act against the Beslan school.

Chechen strongman Kadyrov is loyal to the Kremlin and says he has sent thousands of fighters to support Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.

In addition, Kadyrov has previously invited Putin to visit Grozny, which is the capital of the sub-republic; to which Putin replied that he “would do everything he could” to travel.

Russia’s state-run Ria Novsti news agency reported how Putin amicably put his arm around Kadyrov’s shoulder as he was welcomed out of the helicopter the president was traveling in.

Problems for Moscow

Chechnya has been a challenge for Moscow, which has waged two widely brutal and controversial wars to keep the republic within the Russian Federation.

But under Kadyrov’s leadership, Chechnya has joined the Kremlin, while the sub-republic has retained some autonomy.

However, Putin has not visited Chechnya since 2011.

On the Caucasus trip, Putin chose to stop in the city of Beslan, notorious for the severe massacre that occurred when Chechen rebels took 1,000 people hostage in a school in 2004.

It ended in a bloodbath, when Russian special forces entered the gymnasium where the hostages were. At least 330 people were killed in the incident.

Compare with Ukraine

In a speech, Putin chose to compare the act with Ukraine’s ground offensive in Russia:

“Just as we fought terrorism, today we fight against those who commit crimes in the Kursk region. But just as we achieved our goals then, we will achieve the goals of fighting neo-Nazis,” Putin said.

He did not mention Russia’s war of invasion in Ukraine, or the circumstances surrounding the shootout that erupted when Russian special forces entered the school gymnasium where the hostages were being held.