Who are the Kadyrovtsy? Yesterday, I wrote about studying Chechen security service units in Ukraine. A common term used for these units is Kadyrovtsy. But who or what are the Kadyrovtsy?

The Chechen security services were among the first groups to deploy to Ukraine in February 2022. But what did they actually do – on and beyond the battlefield? And what does this tell us about the role they play in the regime of Ramzan Kadyrov?

I'd argue strongly this is the wrong translation of his title. He's Уполномоченный, the closest translation of which is probably ombudsman - an official who is supposed to be independent and impartial (which is the misleading perception the authorities want to create)

OC Media@ocmedia.bsky.social · last mo.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded Chechen Human Rights Defender Mansur Soltaev for his ‘services in strengthening the rule of law and protecting the rights and interests of citizens’. Soltaev’s career has been marked by continued human rights abuses in Chechnya.

In his 2000 campaign bio, Putin named Ivanov first when asked whom he trusted. Ivanov had a more impressive KGB/SVR career than Putin. Suspect he lost out to Medvedev in 07-08 as prez b/c he was considered less pliable. Kept on Sec. Council until a few months before he died. Putin is also 73.

Meduza in English@meduza.io · last mo.

Former Russian Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov has died. meduza.io/en/news/2026...

The problem is that most UK universities are run by intellectual dwarves: copy-and-paste bureaucrats unable to see beyond their own field and completely devoid of anything resembling an original idea. The value of humanities and social sciences are difficult to quantify and therefore don't exist

John Heathershaw@jheathershaw.bsky.social · last mo.

My university is cutting almost a 1/4 of academics in humanities and the social sciences. Despite what managers say, it's not about the money. They are using a national crisis born of 15 yrs of govt neglect as a pretext to make ideological moves against HASS fields. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A Russian military court sentences a man to seven years for “studying the ideology” of the Russian Volunteer Corps and attempting to join the group. The man was already serving term for terrorism-related offences when he sought to join.

Substack has possibly the worst onboarding process I have ever seen. I blame @jeremymorris.bsky.social for sending me down this rabbit hole!

Novaya Gazeta Europe have another article on Chechen succession planning that can be filed under "distinctly dubious". novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...

Адам Кадыров в опале. Мы проанализировали видео с последних мероприятий с участием Кадырова и его «преемника». Кажется, уже бывшего — Новая газета Европа

26 марта Рамзан Кадыров опубликовал видео совещания с республиканскими силовиками, на котором с докладом в качестве секретаря Совета безопасности Чечни выступил Адам Кадыров.

novayagazeta.eu

Interesting article from Mediazona, using evidence from court cases to claim that the Crocus City Hall attack in March 2024 has had a major impact on terrorism-related prosecutions across the country. en.zona.media/article/2026...

The Crocus fallout. How the deadliest terrorist attack in recent Russian history seeped into every corner of the country’s courts

On March 22, 2024, terrorists stormed the Crocus City Hall concert venue in the Moscow region during a performance by the band Picnic. 151 people were killed and 609 injured. Those...

en.zona.media

Detailed report here on Russian recruitment in Africa for its war on Ukraine. Kenya and Cameroon lead the way as a source of recruits, and financial incentives are a key driver. Recruitment agencies and local officials facilitate the process lansinginstitute.org/2026/02/23/a...

Africa’s Recruitment into Russia’s War in Ukraine: Actors, Drivers, Impact, and Implications - Robert Lansing Institute

Recent intelligence reports and media investigations reveal that Russia has recruited significant numbers of fighters from several African countries to

lansinginstitute.org

Who are Russia’s non-Islamist insurgents? Over the last week, I’ve been building out profiles of two groups — the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion — and associated individuals.

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has complained about staffing shortages — echoing a long-standing complaint.

Stavropol Kray has introduced administrative fines for social media users who report on drone activity — the latest effort to use drones to censor unfavourable reporting in the region.

The FSB have shot a man accused of planning a terrorist attack in Stavropol on the Day of the Defenders of the Fatherland.

Ramzan Kadyrov has now published a proof-of-life video of his son, Adam, in an attempt to dispel rumours that he had been seriously injured in a car accident in January.

Russian lieutenant-general Vladimir Alekseyev, deputy head of what is widely known as the GRU, was seriously injured in an assassination attempt in Moscow last week.

The health of Adam Kadyrov, son and heir apparent to the Chechen leader, continues to be the subject of speculation. But, in the end, it doesn’t really matter whether he is alive or dead.

Two people have been killed in Dagestan following a shootout with police. According to the official account, the police stopped a suspicious vehicle and killed the occupants after they opened fire. No police were injured and weapons were seized.

Slowly but surely, the Russian Security Research Lab (RSRL) is coming to life. I've been working on this for over a year, but most of the infrastructure is in place...

Vazhnyye istorii now claims Apti Alaudinov has fallen behind in the race to succeed Ramzan Kadyrov as head of Chechnya. In reality, he was always the weaker of the candidates.

Are you interested in debates about decolonisation in Russia? Well, then there's a special issue for you! Problems of Post-Communism have just published our special issue on power and social hierarchies in the North Caucasus.

I have used both ChatGPT and Claude for a variety of business-related tasks. They can be genuinely useful, but sometimes they do things that are very worrying. Exhibit A, which came appended to an actual answer to a question I posed:

Media outlets have reported that Adam Kadyrov, son and heir-aspirant of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, has been involved in an accident — with obvious implications for succession planning.

The Chechen parliament have now confirmed Akhmed Dudayev and Akhmat Kadyrov as deputy prime ministers. No surprise there, but it means they can drop 'acting' from their titles. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/419...

Чеченские депутаты утвердили повышение Ахмеда Дудаева и Ахмата Кадырова

На первом с начала года заседании парламент Чечни согласился назначить вице-премьерами республики старшего сына Рамзана Кадырова Ахмата Кадырова и главу Миннацинформа Чечни Ахмеда Дудаева.

kavkaz-uzel.eu

Mark Youngman@threatologist.com · 7mo ago

Akhmat Kadyrov could be heir to the Chechen throne, but his recent appointment as the republic’s deputy prime minister isn’t the reason he could replace his father, Ramzan, as head.

Chechen Prime Minister Magomed Daudov claims that a total of 67,440 fighters in total have left Chechnya to help wage Russia's war on Ukraine. Of these, 23,774 are volunteers. www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/419...

Даудов рапортовал об отправке из Чечни на СВО более 67 тысяч бойцов

Из Чечни в зону военной операции отправлены 67440 бойцов, отчитался глава правительства республики Магомед Даудов.

kavkaz-uzel.eu

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s family have expanded their portfolio of business assets further with the acquisition of an ice-cream factory in Novosibirsk.

Five insights from reading @johnalechner.bsky.social's excellent new book on Wagner and the growth of Russian private military companies:

The Chechen authorities have threatened to publicly shame bloggers who portray the republic in a negative light. In reality, this is nothing more than a confirmation of existing policy.

The FSB have accused Ukrainian security services of planning to blow up a railway bridge in Perm Kray. The authorities claim that the Russian citizen detained as a result was tricked by telephone fraudsters into believing he was helping test antiterrorism measures. rapsinews.ru/incident_new...

ФСБ возбудила дело в отношении планировавшего подорвать ж/д мост в Пермском крае

Сотрудники правоохранительных органов возбудили уголовное дело в отношении планировавшего подорвать железнодорожный мост в Пермском крае, сообщили РАПСИ в пресс-службе Центра общественных связей ФСБ.

rapsinews.ru

Some random thoughts on using ChatGPT for research, since @jeremymorris.bsky.social has written a blog post about it and I've also spent a fair bit of time playing around with its capabilities. postsocialism.org/2026/01/08/d...

Doing Russia research with ChatGPT (it doesn’t end well)

also think it’s underestimated how many researchers and academics just don’t really enjoy (or value) writing and will go to lengths to avoid it. Someone recently remarked: “bad papers now loo…

postsocialism.org