A stream of reports detailing brutal crackdowns on Chechnya's gay communities has drawn the world's attention. Foreign governments and human rights groups are beginning to pressure the Chechen and Russian governments to look into the accusations, which stem from an investigation by Novaya Gazeta. On April 1, the paper wrote that more than 100 gay men in Chechnya had been detained and at least three had been killed. Human rights defenders in the region, as well as unnamed sources from Chechen state agencies, confirmed the reports to the newspaper.
With international attention to the situation rising, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov to Moscow on April 19 for an unplanned meeting, in which the Chechen leader denied the accusations against his government. Though Russia has a spotty record on homosexual rights, the Chechen cases go beyond the Kremlin's typical crackdowns. The unscheduled visit was likely an attempt by Putin to quash the media hype while reining in the Chechen leader.
After all, the recent events only add to a string of incidents and scandals that point to a growing movement toward ultraconservatism and autonomy in Chechnya — a trend that will cause concern in Moscow. Kadyrov rules with a iron fist and enjoys the devout loyalty of most of the Chechen people, as well as the country's robust security forces. With his ability to control what was once a war-torn region, he has gained the trust of the Kremlin — and more important, of Putin. An unofficial contract has long been in place between the two: As long as Kadyrov keeps Chechnya stable and suppresses its secessionist tendencies, he can rule it as his personal fiefdom.
But Kadyrov has been acting further and further outside the Kremlin's bounds. In recent years, the Chechen leader and heavyweights from the Russian security services have been locked in a struggle for power and influence. The Chechen leader has acted as if Chechnya were a sovereign country — not a Russian republic. Kadyrov has taken foreign tours of the Middle East and North Africa and has received several Middle Eastern leaders during their visits to Russia, with some even making special trips to Chechnya. Adding to the Kremlin's concerns is the spread of ultraconservative sentiment in the Muslim-majority Chechnya, something Kadyrov has fostered.
Russian leaders want a stable and strong Chechnya. But they do not want the republic to act more independently or seek greater autonomy, nor do they want to see one whose conservative Islamism borders on radicalism. The longer Kadyrov and his followers are able to chart a course of their own that flouts the Kremlin's authority, the harder it will be for Putin to rein the region's leader and population back in.
