Several members of Chechnya’s Kadyrov family have received a variety of awards from the Chechen special forces. The awards were handed out by Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov’s cousin.
The Kadyrovs were handed the awards on the occasion of the OMON Akhmat-Krepost unit’s establishment.
Kadyrov reported on his Telegram channel that his cousin Abdul-Kerim Kadyrov, who has headed the Akhmat-Krepost unit since the beginning of this year, presented medals during the event to several high-ranking officials and his relatives.
Among those awarded were Ramzan Kadyrov's 17-year-old son Adam Kadyrov, the republic’s Security Council Secretary, the father of the husband of one of Kadyrov’s daughters Tabarik, Chechnya’s Deputy Prime Minister for the security bloc Abuzayd Vismuradov, the Head of the regional Rosgvardia (Russian National Guard) and Kadyrov’s fourth cousin Sharip Delimkhanov, as well as Chechnya’s Interior Minister Aslan Iraskhanov.
In May, Adam Kadyrov was awarded a medal from the OMON Akhmat-Krepost unit for ‘active initiative, assistance in fulfilling combat tasks, and a significant contribution to the development of the National Guard units’.
A few days prior to this, Adam Kadyrov was awarded a jubilee medal marking the 25th anniversary of the OMON Akhmat-Grozny unit. In March, he received a badge from Akhmat-Grozny. Earlier in 2025, he was also decorated with the Russian National Guard medal ‘For Military Valour’.
Iraskhanov, a close associate of Kadyrov, according to an investigation by Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta, took part in an extrajudicial execution in Grozny in 2017. Journalists reported that 27 people were shot dead on his orders. As a result, the US imposed sanctions on Iraskhanov in 2019.
The Telegram post did not specify what connection the awardees had to the Akhmat-Krepost unit or what contribution they had made to its activities. According to state Chechen media, the unit has been involved ‘from the very first day’ in the full-scale war on the territory of Ukraine.
Akhmat-Krepost is a Russian National Guard transport unit formed in Chechnya. Before Abdul-Kerim Kadyrov was appointed commander at the beginning of this year, he served in the SOBR (The Special Rapid Response Unit) Terek unit. In 2019, he headed its training centre, and in 2020 he received a medal ‘For Cooperation’.
Abdul-Kerim Kadyrov gained wider notoriety after a conflict in 2021 between Chechen special forces fighters and representatives from other regions of Russia. At that time, Abdul-Kerim Kadyrov failed to pass the qualification tests for the right to wear the maroon beret and was removed after the first stage. During the march, other Chechen fighters were transported by car, even though the standard required them to complete the distance on foot.
Elizaveta Chukharova
