National Guard / Kadyrovtsy
The Chechen National Guard, a component of the Russian National Guard, is simply a Kadyrovite organization with new badges. The total number of armed "Kadyrovtsy", according to Russian experts, is approaching thirty thousand people. The thousands of armed fighters are the military infantry of Kadyrov himself, subordinated primarily to him personally, and not to the federal authorities. Only in Chechnya did the Kremlin allow the creation of local units controlled de facto only by the head of the republic. Kadyrov’s battalions remain the only military units in the country formations staffed on a national basis, although this is not provided for by law.
A thousand Chechen volunteers are on their way to fight for Russia in Ukraine, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said 17 March 2022. Kadyrov, whose security forces have been accused of numerous abuses, said on Telegram that one of his relatives, Apty Alaudinov, "is leading a thousand volunteers from the Chechen republic heading to take part in the special operation of denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine".
The deployment of Chechen forces likely consisted of several thousand fighters primarily concentrated in the Mariupol and Luhansk sectors. These forces likely consist of both individual volunteers and National Guard units, which are routinely dedicated to securing the rule of Chechen Republic Head, Ramazan Kadyrov. Kadyrov likely maintains close personal oversight of the deployment, while his cousin Adam Delimkhanov has likely acted as the Chechen field commander in Mariupol. The combat deployment of such disparate personnel demonstrates Russia's significant resourcing problems in Ukraine and is likely contributing to a disunited command which continues to hamper Russia’s operations.
Ramzan Kadyrov’s 30,000 troops are fiercely loyal to the Kremlin-backed Chechen leader, as he pardoned many of them in return for laying down their weapons and abandoning their separatist fight against Moscow. Ilya Yashin of the opposition Republican Party of Russia-People’s Freedom Party’s (Parnas) describes Kadyrov’s forces as "possibly the most battle-capable military group in modern Russia." Yashin wrote "In recent years, Kadyrov’s fighters have become active in Moscow. But while they see their main task as defending their boss’s regime in Chechnya, they are beginning to see the rest of Russia as potential loot."
Kadyrov reputedly receives an annual stipend of $1bn to keep his republic pro-Russia. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov on 29 December 2014 proposed the creation of a “special regiment” made up from Chechnya’s armed forces to help defend Russia from Western aggression. Kadyrov said his country stood firmly behind Russian President Vladimir Putin as Europe and the United States waged an “economic war” against Russia. “For 15 years Vladimir Putin has helped our people! Now we’re asking the Russian leader to consider us as his special regiment of volunteers, ready to defend Russia, its stability and its borders,” Kadyrov said in a speech in Grozny, addressing some 20,000 volunteers who had undergone military training.
The personal loyalty of the militants to Kadyrov is primarily due to the biography of many of them. The core of the power structures of Chechnya are former separatists who were amnestied by the decision of the head of the republic. He also gave them the opportunity to take up arms again, but under his control. Thus, the militants who fought with the Russian army owe Kadyrov not only their jobs and salaries, but also their freedom and lives.
Kadyrov pays considerable attention to the training of new personnel for his army, and new fighters are recruited in Chechnya from a very young age. Thus, the Young Fortress project operates on the territory of the republic, which, in fact, is a training camp for juvenile militants. In the barracks, teenagers from dysfunctional families live and train, who are trained to fight and kill.
Four new battalions will be formed in the Chechen Republic from Chechen military personnel to replenish the troops of the Russian Defense Ministry. This was announced 26 June 2022 by the head of the region Ramzan Kadyrov. "Very soon, four military battalions "North-Akhmat", "South-Akhmat", "West-Akhmat" and "Vostok-Akhmat" with an impressive number of personnel will be formed in the Chechen Republic. Only Chechen guys will enter the military contingent. They will replenish the composition of the troops of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation," he wrote.
According to the head of Chechnya, the desire to form new battalions is caused by an extremely patriotic mood among the youth of the region. "Together with the Chairman of the Parliament of the Chechen Republic, Magomed Daudov, I visited the inner-city settlement of Khankala to inspect a potential building that will be converted to the needs of two emerging battalions. A proposed location has already been selected for the first two groups. In the interests of the military personnel, all amenities will be provided here," Kadyrov said.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
