Kadyrov Is Not Only A Liar, But A Coward Too – OpEd

On 20 March 2020, during a meeting on Covid-19 Head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov said: “Just wait, you will die anyway. Don’t try to die before you are supposed to. Those with good health will overcome the virus, but those with week immunities will not.” He also advised everyone on how to resist the virus: “Mix water with lemon and honey, drink and wait. Eat garlic. Your blood will be cleaner.”¹

Kadyrov went even further, adding: “Why do we arrest and eliminate terrorists? So that they don’t kill people, detonate objects and create disorder. A terrorist can kill several people, but that one sick person can kill several thousand people.”² I wonder, what exactly did Kadyrov mean by this? That he intends to put all those infected in jail or kill them?

Seems that the Chechnyan leader loves to give advice, but doesn’t love following it – on 21 May, it was revealed that Kadyrov had tested positive for the virus and he was taken to a hospital in Moscow.³

Kadyrov hasn’t shown up since, but the speaker of the Chechnyan parliament rushed to announce that any news regarding Kadyrov being infected with Covid-19 and him being in a hospital are made up and false.⁴ Of course, we live in a time characterized by gossip and fake news, but if Kadyrov is indeed healthy and working, why hasn’t he made a public appearance, not even on television? A person who up until now has actively communicated with his people has suddenly become completely silent? We cannot rule out that possibility, but I don’t think this is the case. His inability to hold his tongue and his exaggerated bravado is something he is well known for. Because of this, we can reasonably assume that the news about Kadyrov catching the virus are most likely true.

Everyone can make assumptions as they please, but it is different when these assumptions are confirmed by pro-Kremlin sources who only back the notion that Chechnya loves to hide information or, to be more precise, loves to lie. Information has appeared on Kadyrov’s condition: he was admitted to a hospital in Moscow with 70% lung damage, and now medics have informed that his condition is stabilizing. Kadyrov can now move around his ward without assistance.­⁵

It seems that Kadyrov is not planning to follow his own words of either jailing or killing those infected with Covid-19. This would be a great opportunity for him to show that he is a man of his word, and I am certain that Chechnya would only benefit from this.

What else did Kadyrov say and how does it pertain to the current situation?

First, so it turns out that Kadyrov’s health is bad, as he himself said, because he caught the virus. Second, either his advice is horrible, or he loves to say one thing and do something completely different. Third, seems that Kadyrov is holding on for his dear life, but still manages to ignorantly teach everyone else. Aside from all this, he has made healthcare in Chechnya so abysmal that it is unable to provide any kind of care, or he simply distrusts Chechnyan medical personnel. How else would you explain the fact that the leader of Chechnya is not being treated in his republic, but instead is transported somewhere else?

What is the state of healthcare in Chechnya during the Covid-19 pandemic?

On 17 May, Kadyrov ordered to dismiss all doctors who had complained about the lack of masks, protective suits and other equipment. He also announced that Chechnya has sufficient masks, suits and equipment.⁶ If there were enough supplies, how does he explain that the deputy chief doctor of Grozny Hospital No. 4 died of Covid-19⁷,and in the same hospital 92 doctors had been infected by 21 May?⁸ We now know that if doctors have enough individual protective equipment they rarely catch the virus, even more so if there are only 1,112 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Chechnya.⁹ There are two possible explanations and both of them could be true. Kadyrov is once again lying, either about there being enough individual protective equipment for medical workers, or about the total number of people infected with Covid-19. However, as I said it is completely possible that he is lying about both things. Why do I think so?

Quite simple – if there were indeed only 1,112 cases in Chechnya, how do you explain the announcement made on 15 May that 90 students are to be engaged in the fight against the coronavirus? What is more, after a week the engagement of additional 120 students was announced.¹⁰ Would there be a need to call up students if the number of cases was so low? It is possible to somehow cover up the number of infections, but the fact that students are being called to hospitals is a bit more difficult to hide.

What do we conclude from all this? Kadyrov has numerous times proven he is lying. If Chechnya received a dollar each time Kadyrov lies, maybe the republic wouldn’t be in such a poor condition. Kadyrov’s bravado goes only as far until he himself becomes affected by an issue. Upon becoming ill, he immediately went to Moscow for treatment, despite previously saying something completely different. I feel sorry for the brave Chechen nation who are being led by a liar and a coward.

1 https://www.rosbalt.ru/russia/2020/03/15/1832708.html

2 https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2020/04/18/84967-vrachi-v-kamuflyazhe

3 https://lenta.ru/brief/2020/05/22/kadirov_covid/

4 https://ria.ru/20200522/1571868851.html

5 https://live24.ru/politika/25280-o-sostojanii-kadyrova-soobschili-vrachi.html

6 https://lenta.ru/news/2020/05/17/trebovanie/

7 https://lenta.ru/news/2020/05/13/brach_chechnya/

8 https://www.kavkazr.com/a/30625321.html

9 https://covid19.rosminzdrav.ru/

10 https://tass.ru/v-strane/8483957