Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov has missed a pre-New Year meeting of the State Council of Russia chaired by President Vladimir Putin, with media reports suggesting he was hospitalised the night before the meeting.
According to Russian independent media outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe, Chechnya was the only Russian region not represented at the meeting which took place on 25 December.
A source cited by Novaya Gazeta Europe claims that Kadyrov had planned to attend the State Council meeting in person and arrived in Moscow on 24 December. However, on that night, his health condition, according to the source, deteriorated sharply, after which he was taken to the Central Clinical Hospital of the presidential property management department by ambulance. The source claims that no contingency plan was in place for Chechnya’s participation in the State Council meeting, and the event went ahead without a delegation from the republic.
According to another source close to Kadyrov’s inner circle, after receiving emergency medical assistance in Moscow, Kadyrov returned to Chechnya and has not appeared in public since.
‘In Moscow they barely managed to resuscitate him, after which he returned home and has not appeared in public since’, the outlet quotes the source as saying.
No other sources appear to have confirmed whether Kadyrov was hospitalised.
The deterioration in Kadyrov’s health is described not as episodic but chronic.
Earlier Novaya Gazeta Europe reported that Kadyrov was diagnosed with pancreatic necrosis in 2019.
Since then, sporadic reports in independent media and opposition Telegram channels have speculated about his possible hospitalisations and his health. In April 2024, Kadyrov attempted to dispel such rumours by releasing a video showing him exercising.
According to sources cited by Novaya Gazeta Europe, health problems affecting the head of Chechnya began to progress noticeably after his hospitalisation at the private Aymedi clinic in Grozny in early 2025. Since then, he has appeared in public far less frequently and has been less involved in the day-to-day governance of the region in his usual manner.
In May 2025, in the wake of persistent reports about his allegedly deteriorating health, Kadyrov released a video accompanied by a text stating: ‘I will live as long as I am destined to’, adding that ‘death is the path of every person’.
At the same time, Kadyrov’s press service regularly publishes videos in which he is training and appears active. At the end of October, footage was released showing him performing a bench press.
During a recent live phone-in, Kadyrov said that he had taken official leave four times over the course of the year. This is an atypical practice for the head of Chechnya, who had previously been known for an almost uninterrupted working schedule. In previous years, according to his own statements, Kadyrov usually took leave only for a short period during the New Year holidays. This year, his New Year ‘leave’ lasted almost two months.
During the same live broadcast, Kadyrov commented on his condition, mentioning ‘nervous disorders’ and a constant feeling of tension. He linked this state to concerns for Chechen fighters involved in the fighting in Ukraine.
Sources cited by Novaya Gazeta Europe claim that the head of Chechnya spends most of his time either at his residence or at the Aymedi clinic. According to the outlet, Kadyrov consulted German doctors twice during the year, with the most recent consultation allegedly taking place in November at a private clinic in Dubai. One source presented as an officer of the regional Federal Security Service (FSB) told the outlet that ‘there is no hope for a good outcome’.
Despite reports of the Chechen leader’s critical health condition, sources cited by Novaya Gazeta Europe claim that the Russian presidential administration has approved his candidacy to take part in the election of the head of the republic, scheduled for 2026. There have been no official statements from the Kremlin on this matter.
Elizaveta Chukharova
