Adam Delimkhanov, a State Duma member from Chechnya, has claimed that work was being carried out outside the republic to focus on the ‘spiritual and moral upbringing’ of young Chechens residing outside the republic.
Delimkhanov published his statement on his Telegram channel, accompanying the post with a video of his speech at a meeting with Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. In the video, he praises the head of the republic for his ‘work in all spheres’ and for his merits before ‘the entire Muslim world’, and also expresses gratitude on behalf of representatives of the Federation Council and Russia’s regions.
The authorities of Chechnya have in recent years repeatedly emphasised the need to monitor people from the republic living outside its borders, including abroad. Representatives of the Chechen leadership stress that this activity is carried out through diasporas, community organisations, and religious institutions and, according to them, is aimed at ‘preserving traditional values’ and ‘spiritual and moral education’.
Delimkhanov has personally intervened — or chose not to — in several high-profile cases involving Chechens outside of Chechnya.
In 2022, Seda Suleymanova, a Chechen woman, fled the republic fearing forced marriage and threats from her relatives. After her escape, Suleymanova lived in Saint Petersburg, but in August 2023 she was detained by police officers from Chechnya accompanied by men in civilian clothes, placed in a police station, and handed over to her relatives, who took her to Grozny against her will.
Suleymanova was taken away under the pretext of a criminal case on theft charges, which, according to human rights defenders, was fabricated in order to return her to her family. After her return to Chechnya, almost no reliable information about her has emerged, and her whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
In June 2025, Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs officially declared Seda Suleymanova missing and added her to the federal wanted persons database, confirming that she had disappeared at least as early as February 2024. Representatives of the human rights organisation NC SOS Crisis Group noted that she may be a victim of a so-called ‘honour killing’, a practice in which family members kill a female relative for violating social or religious norms.
An investigation was launched by the Investigative Committee in April 2024, but official bodies have not published detailed reports on its progress, as a result of which activists have repeatedly staged pickets.
Human rights defenders have asked Delimkhanov, as an MP, to take Suleymanova’s case under his personal control, but he refused, citing that doing so was beyond his jurisdiction.
However, Delimkhanov has personally intervened in the case of another Chechen woman, Liya Zaurbekova, who in 2024 attempted to flee family control and violence.
She hid from her relatives in Moscow and contacted the police, fearing for her life. Following a public campaign and wide coverage of her story, police ultimately ensured her safety, and Zaurbekova was able to leave Russia and start a new life abroad.
At that time, Delimkhanov said he had ‘taken the situation under control’ and intended to establish ‘who had misled Liya and was manipulating her’. He also expressed confidence that Zaurbekova would be returned to her relatives in the near future.
In 2025, natives of Chechnya repeatedly became participants in various kinds of conflicts.
In mid-July, in the town of Krasnozavodsk near Moscow, a mass brawl erupted between natives of Chechnya and Ingushetia on the one hand and, allegedly, representatives of the pro-government far-right organisation Russian Community (Russkaya Obshchina) on the other. Around 200 people took part in the conflict, in which knives and metal rods were used as weapons.
In September, a 15-year-old teenager from Chechnya, Roman (Muslim) Murdiev, accused of attacks on peers, was sentenced to one year and 11 months’ imprisonment. According to the official version, he and other suspects selected victims on the street, verbally insulted them, and picked fights with them. Others involved in the case taught the teenager how to strike blows or even took part in the beatings themselves. The case includes eight victims.
Elizaveta Chukharova
