Ramzan Kadyrov - Succession
On July 2, 2023, the Instagram page which is maintained on behalf of the head of Chechnya published a video showing Ramzan Kadyrov and Adam Delimkhanov. First they speak Chechen, then switch to Russian. “The dog barks, the caravan moves on. <...> We live, we live slowly, we chew bread. An interesting life, life in general is interesting when it is short. Therefore, we still don’t want to live long. We will live briefly, but with dignity,” - said Kadyrov.
Some years ago, Novaya Gazeta’s sources in Kadyrov’s inner circle began mentioning an allegedly serious illness that was difficult to treat and had a mortality rate of 30%. For several years, Kadyrov’s state of health gave no apparent cause for concern, in spite of noticeable and frequent weight fluctuations. Kadyrov underwent check-ups twice a year, as is standard for a Russian class A official — in the presidential administration hospital in Moscow, during vacation. At times, his leave dragged on for up to forty days, and in several instances, he was seen at work meetings with an intravenous infusion catheter on his arm.
By 2022 changes in Kadyrov’s appearance had prompted rumors of his illness and even imminent death. Elkhan Suleymanov, a medical professional specialising in surgery and oncology, had reportedly been the Kadyrov family’s personal doctor since 2014. The disappearance of Suleymanov in October 2022 was connected to a rapid deterioration in Kadyrov’s health which begun around the same time. When Kadyrov’s health began to deteriorate sharply and unexpectedly, those around the head of Chechnya told him that he was a victim of poisoning. Kadyrov subscribed to this theory and brought his anger down on Suleymanov. Suleymanov had not been seen by any of his close friends or colleagues since October 2022. There were rumours that Suleymanov was killed, and possibly even buried alive.
The health of the Chechen leader became a topic of discussion in September 2023, when his plane left Grozny for Moscow, and a dozen foreign cars with Chechen license plates were spotted near the presidential hospital. According to Novaya, the September deterioration in the health of the Chechen leader was due to acute pulmonary failure, which he developed as a result of an overdose of the tranquilizer Dormicum - earlier, former editor-in-chief of Ekho Moskvy Alexei Venediktov claimed that Kadyrov was taken to the capital to undergo hemodialysis, which he allegedly needed because of "renal failure."
The leader of Chechnya and a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov was hospitalized in critical condition, Ukrainian intelligence said 15 September 2023. “The information is confirmed by various sources in the medical and political circles,” Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s military intelligence branch, told Obozrevatel, (a Ukrainian internet publication) which first reported the news. “There is information that the war criminal Kadyrov is in a serious condition and the diseases that were there have worsened and caused such a serious condition,” he said.
The presence of the head of Chechnya in Moscow was presented by the Chechen authorities as a visit by Ramzan Kadyrov to his uncle Magomed Kadyrov, who was allegedly undergoing treatment at the Central Clinical Hospital of the Presidential Property Management Department of Russia in Moscow.
After it became known that his plane had flown to Moscow three times in September, and cars with Chechen license plates had been spotted near the Central Clinical Hospital of the Presidential Property Management Department of Russia in Moscow, he published a video from Grozny in which he said that he had fulfilled "his walking norm of 11 kilometers" and wished "all those who cannot distinguish truth from lies on the Internet to take a walk in the fresh air" and "get their thoughts in order."
Ramzan Kadyrov's Telegram channel on September 17 released a a seven-second video showing the Chechen strongman smiling and talking to the camera in an apperent attempt to counter speculation about his health.
The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, citing a source , reported that cars with Chechen license plates had been arriving at the territory of the Central Clinical Hospital of the Presidential Administration in Moscow. “ In just one hour, the “Chechen” arrived at the Central Clinical Hospital: a Maybach with two security cars, a Porsche Cayenne, four Gelendvagens, two BMWs, etc. ,” wrote the telegram channel.
The former vice-prime minister of Chechnya, Akhmad Zakayev, told the German newspaper Bild in 2022 that Kadyrov had a serious kidney disease. By 2023 the warlord had been rumored to be in poor health for some months with kidney problems, supposedly as a result of drug addiction. The opposition leader claimed that some kind of energy pills previously supported the overactivity of the head of Chechnya.
Kidney transplantation was the treatment of choice in patients with end-stage renal disease or severe chronic kidney disease as it improves the quality of life and has better survival advantages compared to dialysis. Various factors merit consideration to match the donor kidney with the recipient, as the donor kidney acts as an alloantigen. In general, when transplanting tissue or cells from a genetically different donor to the graft recipient, the alloantigen of the donor induces an immune response in the recipient against the graft. This response can destroy the graft if not controlled.
The whole process is called allograft rejection. Acute rejection can happen any time after transplant, usually within days to weeks after the transplant. The incidence of acute rejection within the first year is around 8%. Chronic rejection usually develops more than three months post-transplant. Chronic rejection is the leading cause of organ transplant failure. The organ slowly loses its function and symptoms start to appear. This type of rejection cannot be effectively treated with medicines. Some people may need another transplant.
Novaya Gazeta reported that since 2019, Kadyrov had been diagnosed with complications of pancreatitis, which include pancreatic necrosis and pancreatogenic ascites. The mortality of acute pancreas ranges from 3% in patients with mild edematous pancreatitis to as high as 20% in patients with pancreatic necrosis.
Acute pancreatitis is an acute response to injury of the pancreas. Chronic pancreatitis can result in permanent damage to the structure and endocrine and exocrine functions of the pancreas. The causes are extensive and include, but are not limited to, the following: gallstones, alcohol use, autoimmune pancreatitis, hypertriglyceridemia, post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), genetic risk (gain of function mutations in PRSS1, mutations in CFTR and SPINK1 genes), pancreatic duct injury and medications. Eighty percent of patients admitted with pancreatitis usually have mild disease and can be discharged within a few days. Overall mortality of acute pancreatitis is approximately 2%. Chronic pancreatitis can occur by repeated acute attacks which leads to inflammatory infiltrates and fibrosis within the pancreas. In mild pancreatitis, fat necrosis is minimal; whereas, with severe pancreatitis, there are large foci of fat necrosis that have merged.
Pancreatic ascites is extremely rare, and the epidemiology is not well studied. Pancreatic ascites is an intraperitoneal collection of pancreatic fluid primarily caused by persistent pancreatic duct leakage or the intraperitoneal rupture of a pancreatic pseudocyst. This condition is commonly observed as a complication of persistent chronic alcoholic pancreatitis. While mild cases may resolve spontaneously, infected or persistent pancreatic ascites, along with cases associated with pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma, are linked with significant morbidity and mortality. Comparative studies between different treatment approaches are unavailable due to the low incidence of this condition.
Novaya Gazeta reported that since September 2023, the Russian presidential administration had been developing a scenario in case of a forced change of power in Chechnya due to Kadyrov's progressive illness. The Kavkaz.Realii editorial board's sources identified the three most likely successors to the head of Chechnya, whom the Kremlin may choose in the event of Kadyrov's death or inability to perform his duties due to health reasons.
Adam Delimkhanov
Back in 2009, Ramzan Kadyrov stated : “I have prepared a person who can replace me,” and he named Delimkhanov in this role, noting that he is his “closest friend, closer than a brother.” Adam Delimkhanov defected to the federal forces in 1999, on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ichkeria. Before that, he was the personal driver of field commander Salman Raduyev, who was considered terrorist No. 2 in Russia (after Shamil Basayev).
Delimkhanov was later linked to the murders of former State Duma deputy Ruslan Yamadayev and former commander of the Chechen battalion "Vostok" Sulim Yamadayev. Kadyrov's confidant is also known for threatening the Yangulbayev family and other critics of the Chechen leader. After the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Adam Delimkhanov went to the combat zone, where he began to meet "volunteers" on camera, hold award ceremonies, and persuade dissenters. The deputy is subject to international sanctions.
According to the editorial board's sources, Delimkhanov's main advantage for the Kremlin is that he could ensure a safe transfer of power in Chechnya, since his brothers are high-ranking security officials; the main disadvantage is the deputy's criminal past and present.
Ruslan Edelgeriev
A career civil servant, a native of the village of Akhmat-Yurt, his mother, Vera Deryabina, is a school teacher of Ramzan Kadyrov. Edelgeriev has three higher educations, including law and agriculture, he worked for several years in the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Chechnya, and from 2012 to 2018 he headed the government of the republic, and is now an adviser to President Putin "on climate change issues." At the end of 2023, Edelgeriev accompanied Kadyrov's children to the climate summit in Dubai. The official's big minus as a potential successor to Kadyrov is the lack of his own team; the plus is that he has not been involved in corruption or criminal showdowns.
Magomed Daudov
The chairman of the Chechen parliament, recently promoted to major general in the military (in addition to his police rank of major general). Since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Daudov has been responsible for providing military personnel and security forces from the republic, and is also responsible for training "volunteers" who are recruited from all over Russia. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) last spring filed charges against Magomed Daudov for his role in the Russian invasion. The Chechen official, the agency said, "is part of Kadyrov's inner circle and carries out his orders to wage an aggressive war." In Russia, Daudov was awarded the Order of Honor after his trip to the separatist "DPR" and "LPR."
Since 2014, Magomed Daudov has been included in the US sanctions list for human rights violations. In 2020, the UK imposed restrictions on him due to violations of the rights of LGBTQ+ people in Chechnya. Due to the war in Ukraine, Daudov was also sanctioned by Poland. According to the editorial board's sources, Daudov's advantages as a potential successor are that he speaks Russian fluently, has organizational skills, and strives to remain in Kadyrov's circle at any cost; his disadvantages are that his entire career has been spent in the shadow of the head of the republic, and he does not have his own team of security officials.
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